Too Smooth (3)

70s rock band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1973, Too Smooth featured stunning songs and twin guitar runs; intricate time changes and fall-off-the-cliff dynamics; riverine vocal melodies, close gospel harmonies and bubbling musical improvisations. These were elements of what was coming to be called progressive rock - yet Too Smooth also offered a decided tip of the hat to the proud tradition of Lone Star boogie, blues, and hard rock. The genesis of Too Smooth came from the fortuitous collision of two groups, the Austin band Phoenix, with guitarist Jeff Clark and drummer Tom Holden, and Applejack from Beeville with guitarist Brian Wooten and bass player Danny Swinney. Clark and Holden were the primary vocalists and songwriters, and each had a distinctive compositional flair: Holden wrote with a bluesy, barroom energy while Clark’s tunes were more fluid and melodic. Wooten co-wrote many of the early years’ staple songs and quickly developed into a songwriter of equal prowess to Clark and Holden. Swinney contributed to the material, as well, and each song underwent a filtering process wherein the entire group arranged and imprinted the songs in rehearsal and live performance. As such, despite a diversity of sonic possibilities on any given song, there was a without question an exuberant and distinct “Too Smooth sound.”