The individuals behind the Motherlight LP never played a live gig as they were essentially a studio vehicle for Mike Bobak, Andy Johns, and Wil Malone. Morgan Blue Town, one of the UK’s leading psych pop labels, released this unsung gem in 1969. It’s one of the most collectible and expensive LPs from the 60s UK psych scene.

Wil Malone had previously led the prolific UK psych group Orange Bicycle and would go on to release a folky solo disc in 1970 and also play in another psych pop group named Fickle Pickle. The Motherlight project saw him write most of the album’s lyrics, sing lead, play keyboards and lead guitar while Bobak and Johns supplied the rhythm section. In my mind, the Motherlight LP is Malone’s finest work ever. The feel of this album is low key but ominous, unlike anything I’ve heard and it’s this quality that makes the LP so special. Tracks such as the masterful On a Meadow-Lea and the hypnotic Lens exemplify the eerie mood of the music and are genuinely psychedelic. Many tracks have tasteful but brief guitar solos that usually feature light distortion and fuzz. Other worthy cuts are Wanna Make a Star, Sam, which goes for a blues rock Procol Harum vibe without forsaking its pop roots. Mona Lose is the album’s hardest rocker with blasts of hard guitar distortion and a fast paced arrangement. For many, the album’s highlight was House of Many Windows, a beautiful progressive psychedelic piece with inventive keyboard work.

Overall, the Motherlight LP is a very solid 4 star album, not to be missed by UK psych fans. As mentioned above, it’s an album with a unique ambience but the songs are also very good and the listener never knows what to expect next.

Mona Lose:

On a Meadow-Lea:

Burning the Weed:

LP | Morgan Blue Town | 1969 | discogs ]