Various Artists: Local Customs: Lone Star Lowlands

Distant stars flicker briefly

For the second installment of their Local Customs series spotlighting regional studios, Numero Group combed the archive at Mickey Rouse’s Lowland facility in Beaumont, Texas, the town where Johnny and Edgar Winter got their start. Spanning the late ‘60s to early ‘70s, Lone Star Lowlands is intriguing in theory, but is short on originality; most of these obscure artists sound like imitations of their more famous contemporaries. Among the more arresting moments are Linda Crowe’s piano cabaret ballad “I Still Remember”; Boot Hill’s “No Control,” combining the bluesy stomp of early Zeppelin
with an extended Jethro Tull-style flute solo; and Mourning Sun’s “Where’s Love Gone Today,” which shamelessly lifts the vocal harmonies of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”