Crow were a heavy blues-rock band from Minneapolis; Crow Music, their debut album, was released in 1969 and is notable for including the song “Evil Woman,” which Black Sabbath covered on their own debut. But Crow are worth hearing on their own. Their version of “Evil Woman” includes blaring Blood, Sweat & Tears-style horns, while the next song, “White Eyes,” is a stomping psychedelic hard rock anthem seeming to take the Native American perspective and decry the white man’s perfidy. “Busy Day” is a surprisingly funky jam, while “Time to Make a Turn” brings the horns back for more hard-charging soul-rock, while “Listen to the Bop” is an unfashionable-for-1969 embrace of 1950s rock ’n’ roll. Crow are mostly forgotten, but this is a surprisingly vital album that sits right between Steppenwolf and early Chicago.

– Phil Freeman