"ALTHOUGH lOS Angeles was at the epicentre of the 'big hair' hard rock explosion during the 1980s, it was also a place where other, less flamboyant, musical renegades were carving out a niche for themselves. Groups such as Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers may have been ploughing a thoroughly modern path but deeper in the undergrowth lurked a retro centric three piece power trio by the name of Burning Tree. Taking their cue from late sixties Blues boomers such as Cream, Mountain and the Jimi Hendrix Experience they cooked up a musical soup by showboating a number of golden elements, including hard rock, psych, soul and blues. The power trio approach was, for the era, something of an exception, and focused the spotlight not on outrageous antics but squarely on the music. Marc Ford's guitar work was pivotal to the band's sound; a sinewy stylist with a carefully executed sound that placed the emphasis not on how many notes he could squeeze into each track but more on how much space he could leave for the song to breathe. No wonder the Black Crowes snapped him up immediately after Burning Tree's demise. Despite valiant efforts to the contrary, Burning Tree's expansive sound failed to connect with a mass audience, leaving the band with little choice but to splinter and eventually disband. Retro for sure, but in a strange way there's was also the sound of uncompromising futuristic blues."