Fantasy Train – Fantasy Train

There's a reissue of the album from Subliminal Sounds coming out in December 2023 which will include "a biographical interview insert telling the fascinating story behind Fantasy Train and the creation of their unique 1984 album for the first time"!

A real interesting one from Tennessee. Fantasy Train presents a set of very earnest, homemade compositions that conjure The Sixth Station and ESG if they had decided to ditch the dance grooves for more sprawling psychedelic funky ballads. Throw in some Jackson 5, a pinch of Blondie, lyrics like "take the crystal to the dragon's cave..." and a dash of synth experimentation for good measure. If you want to judge a book by its cover, peruse the photos on this acid archives worthy oddity. Looking at the images of a pretty diverse set of band members you might imagine a hard rock/blues rhythm section, funk, and even early hip hop influence. We probably assume that Jackie Ford (vocals) is related to Ralph Ford (Backing vocals, bass). Hard to tell, but there may even be significant age difference among members...as if a younger neighborhood crew discovered that the muscle car-owning guy down the street Mike Parker also owned a bitchin' professional drum kit...not unlike when Dawn Weiner's brother lands Steve Rogers ("only one of the most popular kids in class") for The Quadratics. It all really makes you wonder how Fantasy Train even got on the rails. Somebody tell us more!