Discovery
I think it was this page http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/804 (Julian Cope reviews Billy Joel's Attila album) that mentioned, in passing, the Brooklyn combo Sir Lord Baltimore. Sir who? That has got to be one of the best band names ever. Research follows.
Who?
Sir Lord Baltimore was a trio from Brooklyn with a guitarist, bassist, and drummer/singer from the early 1970s. They put out two albums at the time.
Some songs, some in detail
Kingdom Come http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpu8wuGMTrY
0:00 Check out the great fuzz guitar sound. or is it? This is actually a bass guitar. As you'll see at the sound progresses, the bass is HEAVY and panned right, and the guitar is panned left. This bassist knows how to play parallel fifth guitar-style chords in the right octave, with the right sound, to make you _sure_ that it's a guitar.
0:10 Check out how much fuller the sound gets once the actual guitar track comes in - also not the severe compression, which gives it that unique sound.
0:23 Notice how energetic this fill is - the snare piece at the end is a pretty unusual embellishment.
0:29 Note the fuzz bass, which sustains the note longer when everyone plays that same note.
0:30 Note that the guitar and bass play the same notes here (that changes later)
0:32 The vocals come in - this is a great voice for a band called Sir Lord Baltimore. Notice the not-so-heavy ambient guitar sounds. Are these effects or overdubs? I'm not sure.
0:36 Notice how the drummer can't quite keep the time in this song - he speeds up noticeably on these parts, for instance.
0:54 Another spot where the drums notably skew from the 'normal' beat.
1:09 Note the background vocals (coooome), and also the bass imprivsation (some descended inverted fifths)
1:11 What the drums lack in rhythm, they make up for in crazy energetic triplets.
1:15 The guitar is now playing a harmony for the bass - fourths, it sounds like!
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