by Steve Leggett
Although this rather dubious collection hints that original Electric Flag members Mike Bloomfield, Harvey Brooks, Barry Goldberg, Nick Gravenites, and Buddy Miles are involved in all of these nine tracks, it seems doubtful, as is the claim that these are live archival cuts. &I Should Have Left Her& (which is really a version of Howlin' Wolf's &Killing Floor&) is definitely live, but most of these tracks appear to have been drawn from the band's rather lifeless mid-'70s reunion. Versions of this set have appeared under various titles over the years, including An American Music Band, Groovin' Is Easy, Small Town Blues, I Found Out, and even under the title Great Hits (Electric Flag never even came close to having a hit). Starved Flag fans might find it worth a few bucks, but truthfully, Electric Flag were a one-album act, 1968's A Long Time Comin'. The band fell apart as soon as it left the station, and although it managed a couple more albums in various combinations, it was the Flag in name only.