The Ill Wind

The psychedelic group Ill Wind released just one album, and even though it was for a fairly big label (ABC), it was indeed ill-distributed and heard by few at the time. Like a number of late-'60s bands from Boston, Ill Wind suffered from the lack of a consistent musical direction and uneven material and production that didn't make the most of the bandmembers' assets, though there was some instrumental and vocal talent in the group. Their album, Flashes, was a tense, brooding stew of folk-rock and freaky psychedelia that didn't quite coalesce, with the stirring, assertive vocals of Conny Devaney the best ingredient. Although it was produced by one of the best producers in 1960s rock, Tom Wilson (who had worked with Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, the Mothers of Invention, and others), it didn't do much, and the Ill Wind disbanded at the end of 1968, though the group re-formed for a few months in 1970. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide