Grapefruit - Deep Water (1969)

Grapefruit's second and last album was a mighty sour disappointment after the tentative but rich promise of their debut. For whatever reason, their previous course -- as a lighter variation of the British pop-psych being done by the Beatles -- had been totally discarded. Out the window too went the multi-textured harmonies and orchestral arrangements responsible for so much of whatever charm the group could muster. In their place was a very routine band, playing very average harder rocking material mixing soul, pop, blues, and country. On "Can't Find Me," for instance, they seem to be trying to be a pop-slanted version of the Band (not a strategy bound to succeed in the hands of anyone), while "The Right Direction" is rustic country-rock with banjo. "Thunder and Lightning," "Come Down to the Station," and "A Dizzy Day" are all so-so boogie-rock numbers. Only on "Time to Leave" (which sounds just a bit like Badfinger) and "Blues in Your Head" do even traces of their early harmony pop arise, and even so they aren't very good ones. Not recommended, even if you enjoy the first Grapefruit album and are convinced that the follow-up might have at least something to offer. The CD reissue on Repertoire adds both sides of their 1971 single "Sha--Sha"/"Universal Party," which George Alexander recorded with help from George Young and Harry Vanda, and which unsurprisingly sounds similar to the Easybeats' final recordings in its lumpy harmony pop/rock.