Transparency by
Sky Saxon is the kind of elaborate musical statement in a deluxe CD/DVD package that the garage rock legend truly deserves, the wise old sage pictured in a circular rainbow of colors placed behind him on a white background for the disc cover, a superb wraparound for this major work from the intuitive lead singer of
the Seeds. "You Gotta Ride" sounds like
the Doors, a place not foreign to
Sky Saxon (see
Raw & Alive: The Seeds in Concert at Merlin's Music Box for more details on that), and if more proof is necessary, check out the
Morrison-esque aspects of "Daytime Girl" or "Little Red Book," the latter of which could be an uptempo pop version of "When the Music's Over," except that some light and fluffy
Vanity Fare riffs pop in over the dark vocal (
Frank Zappa would totally approve). "Walk Along" is fun, obscured philosophy à la
Willie "Loco" Alexander's "Pup Tune" if it were toned down a few tempos, with off-key vocals about meeting a dog, going to heaven, and dogs somehow morphing into all your gods. The melody is very "Coney Island Baby" from
Lou Reed -- and this could be the post-
Lou Reed Willie "Loco" Alexander version of
the Velvet Underground in a battle of the bands with
the Doors. "Alkazam" is a good sonic reenactment of the rainbow picture cover,
Transparency sounding like the early
Seeds meet
Kraftwerk in the concrete jungle. "Lighter" cleverly mops the "Can't Explain" riff from
the Who, itself a mutation of "Pushing Too Hard" (or vice versa), and throws in some cool eerie
Who-styled backing vocals just for fun.