Aztec Two Step
Historically a chance meeting between Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman in 1971 at a Boston coffeeshop called the Stone Phoenix resulted in Aztec Two Step. The name of the band was copped from a Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem and the first song ever written about Jack Kerouac’s iconic ‘On The Road’. Folk singer Neal Shulman, nurtured in the fantasy tales of Donovan found immediate connection with an astounding guitarist called Rex Fowler who started out with Second Phloor alongside the Chet Atkins clone Jim Gallant. Within a few months of working together, they recorded their debut as Aztec Two-Step, and a few months later, they had a deal with ‘Elektra Records’.
The duo’s self-titled debut was released in 1972 to widespread critical acclaim, assisted by ex Loving Spoonful John Sebastian, ex Dilliards banjo maestro Doug Dillard, ex Association bassist David Vaught and ex Modern Folk Quartet Jerry Yester with his Autoharp & Celeste, reminiscent of his Rosebud association with Judy Henske on their psychedelic Farewell Aldebaran. Aztec Two Step’s debut was heralded in the early-’70s with a radio hit called “The Persecution and Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On the Road), an ode to a character in Kerouac’s ‘On The Road’. Album highlights included the Loving Spoonful influenced “Baking” and “The Infidel”, a psyche master filled with esoteric acoustic in the same dimensions as Richard Farina’s “Another Country”. Nothing touches “Prisoner” a love ache beyond James Taylor or Crosby’s “Guinevere” and possibly the greatest love-song next to Phil Och’s “Changes”.
The memorable “Killing Me” and scintillating “Highway Song” reach acoustic royalty, yet far from the eerie “Cockroach Cacophony”, another Yester/ Henske “Three Ravens” chill. Aztec Two Step, very much in the same acoustic spell as Magna Carta opened up for the great Tim Hardin and proceeded with heavy touring in support of their earlier albums. Years passed before they followed up with Second Step (1975) Two’s Company (1976) and Adjoining Suites (1978). In 1979 Aztec Two-Step released The Times of Our Lives and then hit the road touring around the U.S. and Europe.