Ted Lucas – Images of Life 
Last year the good folks over at Third Man dug into the world of Ted Lucas, long already a beloved figure among psych-folk heads, most notably for his 1970 eponymous album. The record blended his loner folk with an aptitude for Eastern modes picked up studying under Ravi Shankar and Harihar Rao. The record has cropped up again and again through the legit and leery reissue circuit, but Third Man gave it the scrub up and scholarly take it deserved. That release opened the door to far more than fans of Lucas could hope for, and the bulk of that wealth is worked through in this three-disc set right here. Lucas was a storied musician long before he “broke through” with his 1975 LP, but his story is also one one tragedy, mired by misunderstandings, misgivings, and eventually an early death. As the liner’s here note, Lucas knew that someday his works would rise. He kept a vast archive of works, videos, tapes, and acetates and they all help shape the world of Images of Life.
The first set deals with Ted’s pre-solo bands, a trio of Detroit-based psych could-a-beens that served as outlets for garage rave-ups, psych-folk foundations, and bar band hedonism. His first brush with fame came from The Spike-Drivers, whose singles are included here. The band capitalized on the psychedelic boom, with a lysergic strain that differed from many of their Detroit peers. The band was signed to Reprise, following a famous brush with Atlantic that didn’t work out due to Ted’s hard-headedness. The band cut a single, but languished long enough for cracks to appear between the members.
As a few of the Drivers departed back to Detroit, Ted and bandmate Richard Keelan were left to pick up the pieces. They’d create The Misty Wizards, enlisting session guitarist Vinnie Bell, and Mothers of Invention drummer Billy Mundi for their single “It’s Love.” Delays found the band drifting from psych-rock and towards something more mellow, something more familiar to Ted heads. The comp also culls in works from his last pre-solo outfit The Horny Toads, a hometown vamp with former Spike-Driver Steve Booker that bloomed into a bar band and lead to the single “Head In California,” revived most recently in a great cover by Grave Flowers Bongo Band. A version was included as an acoustic bonus on the original Third Man reissue last year, but the original gives a far different picture of where Lucas was at during this period.
The rest of the set dives deeper into the unreleased works that were among Lucas’ collected archives. A set of solo recordings should feel familiar to the collectors already invested in the solo album. The middle record spans solo work from ’70-’74. The collection culls from live recordings, cut-outs from the OM period that lead to his eponymous LP, and excellently orchestrated studio work that would unfortunately languish due to his health issues. While much of the work here could easily sit alongside the songs on the OM record it’s the last disc that is considered a true “lost” album. The record was largely recorded at a nascent Don Was’ studio, just barely getting its feet off the ground and providing a pro bono spot for Lucas to work. The backing band consisted of locals Lucas had dubbed the Boogie Disease.
The period would see Lucas pivot towards pop, becoming a bit of a perfectionist, but always searching for a thread of notoriety he knew he deserved. The through line of the set is missed opportunities, largely due to Ted’s own reluctance to really let himself succeed. His talent was surpassed only by his own fear of failure, and thus many of these hallmark recordings never made it out of his small inner circle. A dissolving marriage, failing health, and an early grave took much of the momentum out of any of his later works, but here they are now, ready for their reassessment, and hopefully for their place in the pantheon of rock’s best.
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