Even in their 1980s heyday, fusion outfit Steps Ahead could be a touch on the glossy side – white-toothed purveyors of airbrushed textures and bouncy melodies straight out of a daytime TV schedule. But way back before founding that band – and before fusion per se even existed – Mike Mainieri was already experimenting with electrifying his vibraphone and mixing jazz and rock to interesting effect. Recorded in 1968, Journey Thru An Electric Tube crackles with fashionable psychedelic energy: fuzzed-out acid-rock guitar solos and pulsating dancefloor grooves jostle with breezy, flute-driven jazz and even a cheeky bossa, while Sally Waring’s sultry vocals add a certain louche sophistication to the ballads. If some of the album feels a little clean- cut and somewhat safe, Mainieri scores authentic freak points for the much more experimental closing track, ‘Allow Your Mind To Wander’ – a sprawling, 14-minute patchwork trip of free-form meanderings and loose, exploratory jams. Far out.