Sweetwater was composed of eight individuals of different ethnicities, all of whom had common beginnings on the coffeehouse circuit in Los Angeles. With
psychedelic music at the height of its popularity in 1968,
Reprise Records decided to sign the band to their label to capitalize on it. The band was not just limited to the psychedelic scene though, as Sweetwater immersed itself in multiple musical genres ranging from
folk rock,
latin rock, and
classical music. Reprise knowingly produced for the band, despite the fact their sound was not marketable to the general public. Recording commenced at the
Sound Factory in
Hollywood,
California with producer
Dave Hassinger, notable for producing other musical groups like
The Electric Prunes. The tracks included original material along with covers of traditional pieces. The band was highly versatile as it possessed musicians who played a wide variety of exotic instruments, including
congas,
percussion, and
bongos. The congas, in particular, were a peculiar aspect of the group at the time since other bands, most notably
Santana, had not yet come to prominence with their incorporation of the instrument in rock music. Another interesting aspect regarding recordings was the total lack of electric guitar, an instrument Sweetwater disregarded the use of, even in live performances. Arrangements of the instrumentals were conducted by Alex del Zoppo and Frank Herrera, and, in all aspects, the two utlilized the capabilities of their bandmates as they were involved in the process of each track. For that reason, there was complexity in all aspects of their compositions, from the hallucinogenic tunes such as "My Crystal Spider", and more traditional arrangements like their rendition of the
Negro spiritual "Motherless Child". Nansi Nevins was the
lead vocalist on nearly every track; however,
Sweetwater is the only album that the singer was involved in throughout the whole process. This was a consequence of an automobile accident in which Nevins suffered severe injuries to her brain and
vocal cords.
Sweetwater was released in 1968 with the catalog number RS #6313, just getting into the national charts at number 200 where it would stay for two weeks. With the album, two singles, "Motherless Child" backed with "Why Oh Why" and "My Crystal Spider" b/w "What's Wrong" preceded it, both of which failed to chart. Still, "Motherless Child" became popular in Los Angeles when it was constantly played on
FM radio. The band's take on the traditional blues song became a favorite associated with group. The cover features the group in their usual live attire, and their primary instruments in hand. == Track listing ==