Lost In the Ozone

Commander Cody (George Frayne) and his merry crew of cowboy stoners never topped their 1971 debut Lost in the Ozone. It’s not that the band couldn’t keep churning out its habit-forming blend of Texas swing, deep-fried rockabilly and pothead humor — it’s simply that the stuff was the freshest the first time out. The Commander plays the slow-drawling, piano-tickling impresario on these tracks, encouraging vocalist Billy C. Farlow, lead guitarist Bill Kirchen and fiddle ace Andy Stein to turn in rousing performances. A woozy sort of camaraderie lights up numbers like “My Home in My Hand,” ”Seeds and Stems Again Blues” and the title song, making them work simultaneously as legit country-rock and comedy routines. Cody and company can boogie and bop as well, as evidenced by their remakes of “Hot Rod Lincoln” and “20 Flight Rock.” Even a down-home weeper like “Family Bible” emerges as more than a gag, and amidst the album’s haze of hippie dissipation there’s a sturdy traditionalism to be found here. Undeniably, Lost in the Ozone is an early ‘70s period-piece that seems a bit quaint today but the Commander’s virgin flight deserves kudos for its solid chops and zoned-out abandon.