Consumer Guide Album

PG&E: The Best of PG&E [Columbia, 1973]
You have to sympathize with a band whose tragic history includes the theft of their name--a name greater than Tongue & Groove or Nova Local--by a power monopoly. But this boasts as many moments as they deserve. Charlie Allen synthesizes Taj Mahal and Otis Redding (more Arthur Conley, actually) over a blues-soul ensemble without the chops or drive of the similar bands led by Delaney Bramlett, one of Pacific Gas & Electric's producers. The highlight is their only hit, the rousing "Are You Ready?" Added attractions include "Rock and Roller's Lament," which is autobiographical, and "Staggolee," which isn't. B-