Well, fuck me if this isn’t one of the most interesting releases of the year. See, I make it a point to download anything Ninja Tune puts out, so I gave this Dragons thing a shot as soon as it became available online. I was immediately impressed by their new signing as the sprawling psychedelic masterpiece before me sounded nothing like what I was used to from the label, heavy in live-played vintage keyboards and double-tracked, AM radio vocals. When I investigated further on my way to purchase said release, I discovered quite the story.
Much to my surprise, BFI was actually recorded by the Dragon brothers at the tail end 1969 and early the following year. Doug, Daryl, and Dennis were the sons of a symphony conductor and a soprano opera singer, and thus from good musical stock. Living in Malibu and gigging around L.A. exposed their minds to the surreal sounds of The Doors, The Byrds, and Jefferson Airplane, but their urge to add something to the West Coast cannon was only igniting. They called in a favor from a friend at Sunwest Recording Studios in Hollywood and laid down the album then known only as Blue Forces Intelligence, or BFI for short. However, none of the majors were particularly interested in balls trippin’ psychedelia at the time and were unable (or unwilling) to hear a hit in the project, so no one would touch it.
Thus, BFI’s master tapes got shoved in a drawer somewhere and forgotten for 37 years. The three boys would find work as session musicians, ending up in The Beach Boys’ backing band for a while, before splitting off in their own directions. Doug garnered a modest fan base as a touring artist in early '80s Australia before moving to Hawaii. Daryl would indeed score several major hits as The Captain with Toni Tennille. Dennis built a moderately successful career as a producer, working with Captain Daryl as well as Cheech & Chong and the Surf Punks (also performing as their drummer). It was only thanks to a crate digging expedition that Strictly Kev/DJ Food was made aware of The Dragons via an obscure surf movie soundtrack and, in turn, Ninja Tune. Otherwise, we’d still be at square on, and I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now.
This is a truly remarkable album for too many reasons to count. BFI is as fresh and vivid today as it was the day Jabba froze it in carbonite. “Food For My Soul” is a jive piece of West Coast psych-pop soul, crucial not only for its inclusion on the last DJ Food instalment in the Solid Steel mix series, but for its obvious hit potential. A potential that reveals an utter lack of foresight shown by labels before I was born. “Are You There” borrows some heavy Doors and Santana (minus Carlos’ guitar) style for a mid-tempo expression of relationship dissatisfaction, with Edwin Starr like vocals, that could have been an easy follow-up single. Their use of keyboards, synths, and organs, as well as phasing and samples filtered through jazz, rock, and pop structures of the day perhaps came a couple years too late for the psyche prom, but the skill and vision present deserves its proper place in history. I mean, they printed Metal Machine Music as soon as it was recorded just a handful of years later and it was just a pile of noise with a name attached. At least Ninja Tune has finally made the effort to set things right. The karma wheel has been realigned... for now.