Resisting allusions to modern dens, we should say that these Dragons were three brothers, Doug, Dennis and Daryl Dragon, all sometime members of the early 70s Beach Boys road band, but here doing very much their own thing.
BFI (aka Blue Forces Intelligence) is a fascinating jazz-rock influenced album that evokes early Steely Dan in several places, even though it predates their debut. Keyboards with varying effects lead the songs, with a plethora of stacked vocals and sundry studio effects adding up to some arresting collages. Food For My Soul is one fine track that did escape on a film soundtrack at the time, and is preceded here by the strong instrumental opener Cosmosis. Mercy Call’s varied sections is the only track that vaguely evokes The Beach Boys in parts, but mostly this is an album where the brothers enjoy finding the breath of studio possibilities to produce a work that offers refreshing inventiveness at every turn. A rare case of a genuine period find that could attract psych, pop and prog fans alike.
