Vanilla Fudge - Vanilla Fudge (1967)
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Album: Vanilla Fudge - Vanilla Fudge
Released: 1967
Genre: Psycedelic Rock
Atco - 7567-90390-2
CD re-issue of the mighty Fudge album from 1967 which consisted of covers. Stoned-out, slowed-down de-tuned versions of classics such as "You Keep Me Hanging On" "Ticket to Ride," "Eleanor Rigby," "People Get Ready," and others are the order of the day with intense brooding keyboards bass and guitar work. One of the earliest heavy acid rock albums and pretty much essential. - Freak Emporium
In a debut consisting of covers, nobody could accuse Vanilla Fudge of bad taste in their repertoire; with stoned-out, slowed-down versions of such then-recent classics as "Ticket to Ride," "Eleanor Rigby," and "People Get Ready," they were setting the bar rather high for themselves. Even the one suspect choice - Sonny Bono's "Bang Bang" - turns out to be rivaled only by Mott the Hoople's version of "Laugh at Me" in putting Bono's songwriting in the kindest possible light. Most of the tracks here share a common structure of a disjointed warm-up jam, a Hammond-heavy dirge of harmonized vocals at the center, and a final flat-out jam. Still, some succeed better than others: "You Keep Me Hanging On" has a wonderfully hammered-out drum part, and "She's Not There" boasts some truly groovy organ jams. While the pattern can sound repetitive today, each song still works as a time capsule of American psychedelia. - Review by Paul Collins, AMG
Who in the world would have thought that seminal 60's psychedelic hard rockers Vanilla Fudge would have reunited, yet alone record a new CD? Well folks, it has happened. Original members Carmine Appice on drums, Tim Bogert on bass, and Vince Martell on guitars and vocals, are joined by new organ player Bill Pascale, for a fun collection of tunes that prove to be a look to the past combined with some newer material.
Vanilla Fudge probably started the whole guitar/organ thing which was later popularized by bands like Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, and Uriah Heep. Drawing mainly from covers of other artists material, Fudge turned the R&B hit "You Keep Me Hangin' On" into a huge hard rocking hit back in the late sixties with heavy organ and guitar riffs, plus oodles of psychedelic vocals. It is a formula that the band continues today, although with the new advances in studio techniques, the band sounds much more polished than they did thirty years ago. A few of the bands early hits are re-recorded here, like "Season of the Witch" and the already mentioned "You Keep Me Hangin' On", plus other classic rock tunes like "Eleanor Rigby", the Zombies hit "She's Not There", and "People Get Ready." The biggest surprise is the choice of recording kick ass heavy versions of the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync hits "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "I Want it That Way." Who would have thought that these poppy boy band tunes could ever have this much testosterone? Featuring HEAVY organ and driving guitars, I actually had a smile on my face and banged my head a bit to these two tunes. There are also a couple of new originals as well, which further cement their hard rock style.
This is a fun and amusing CD at the same time, and a great piece of nostalgia so to speak. The band is touring the US this summer (minus Bogert who has taken ill, and is being replaced by popular bassist TM Stevens) which should bring new attention to the band. - Sea of Tranquility - The Web Destination for Progressive
Vanilla Fudge are considered one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, as they placed a huge emphasis on musicianship as much as the vocals, stretching out well beyond the standard 3 minute form prevalent at the time. Their main trademark was their elongated and slowed right down cover versions of hits of the time. We're not talking 'Stars on 45' here, as the original versions were completely transformed and rearranged. For a time, this formula was hugely successful inspiring a whole movement of similar bands in the UK, including The Gods, (early) Deep Purple and (very early) Yes. However, Fudge were the first and best of this sub-genre of rock. The sound of all of the heavy prog acts such as Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster and Birth Control effectively starts here too, alongside Iron Butterfly.
The eponymous debut is considered their essential opus. Me, I think the superb 'Renaissance' has the edge as it featured predominantly original compositions, but this is obviously still first flight music. 'Ticket To Ride' radically re-arranges The Beatles' original to a sludgy and very heavy tone, with bombastic harmonies, screeching guitar work and howling Hammond organ throughout, with some thunderous rhythmic work from Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert that show why Jeff Beck hired them for his Cream esque project, BBA.
'People Get Ready' is a lovely rendition of a classic by The Impressions. Though this has received many a cover, this is one of the best. It starts with a pseudo classical intro with 'Hall Of The Mountain King' style guitar and keys alongside militaristic drumming, prior to a very tasteful and quite subtle (surprisingly) take on a standard, with languid harmonies and some laid back organ work, until the band kicks back in with stunning harmonies and a driving bass motif. Although the vocals are typically melodramatic (and predict the likes of Ian Gillan and David Byron), it's a very nicely worked arrangement.
'She's Not There' sees one proto prog band pay homage to another- The Zombies. However, 'She's Not There' was from The Zombies' earlier years (which was not prog) and starts out with a burning intro with screeching organs and clattering drums prior to the slowed down, dramatic take on the track with a melodramatic vocal performance and quite ornate musicianship, and a massively grandiose climax, yet the track's essential, paranoiac qualities are still there, with a tremulous section with fiddly organs that Uriah Heep borrowed for 'Gypsy' thrown in.
'Bang Bang' is yet another smash hit, as sang by Cher (bet you never thought you'd read that name on the site!). The arrangement is utterly unlike Cher's though, with some marvellous organ work and some heavy guitar work and, as the title would imply, sledgehammer style percussion. The intro is almost avant garde at times prior to the heavier, slowed down intro to the acoustic splendour of the main song, with some quite fiddly organ and guitar solos thrown in.
'You Keep Me Hanging On', a cover of a Supremes hit, will always be the song most identified with Fudge, but not the longer version here. It starts out with a wonderfully progressive introduction, with military drumming, insistent rhythms and sitar like guitar lines plus fluid organ work, until the song kicks in with an on-the-money vocal performance that are accompanied by some excellent harmonies. Even in the single form though, this sounds completely unlike anything else from the time, prior to an outro that recalls the prog splendour of the intro.
'Take Me For A Little While' doesn't deviate hugely from the Motown original, apart from the slower tempo and the bombastic overall sound. But the song's commerciality remains and shows the soul influence that many of the American proto prog acts had but is rarely ever mentioned.
'Eleanor Rigby' is, by contrast, a hugely daring reworking. It starts out with a very unusual quote from 'Three Blind Mice' (!), prior to a fiddly organ/guitar introduction that soon the whole band join in on and up the ante, prior to a rapidly speeding up section that King Crimson arguably took note of before the song proper begins, with strident organ and percussion to the fore amongst the total bombast of the vocal arrangement.
All in all, a stunning debut that's still very consistent- it's perhaps the most consistent album in their catalogue and its influence can still be heard today. Here is a band on the cusp of prog, leaving no genre unused with classical, jazz, blues, world, folk and soul all thrown into the rock mix. - James Jeffery, ProgArchives.com
Vanilla Fudge was one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal. While the band did record original material, they were best known for their loud, heavy, slowed-down arrangements of contemporary pop songs, blowing them up to epic proportions and bathing them in a trippy, distorted haze. Originally, Vanilla Fudge was a blue-eyed soul cover band called the Electric Pigeons, who formed on Long Island, NY, in 1965. Organist Mark Stein, bassist Tim Bogert, and drummer Joey Brennan soon shortened their name to the Pigeons and added guitarist Vince Martell. They built a following by gigging extensively up and down the East Coast, and earned extra money by providing freelance in-concert backing for girl groups. In early 1966, the group recorded a set of eight demos that were released several years later as While the Whole World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge, credited to Mark Stein & the Pigeons.
Inspired by the Vagrants, another band on the club circuit led by future Mountain guitarist Leslie West, the Pigeons began to put more effort into reimagining the arrangements of their cover songs. They got so elaborate that by the end of the year, drummer Brennan was replaced by the more technically skilled Carmine Appice. In early 1967, their manager convinced producer George "Shadow" Morton (who'd handled the girl group the Shangri-Las and had since moved into protest folk) to catch their live act. Impressed by their heavy, hard rocking recasting of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Morton offered to record the song as a single; the results landed the group a deal with the Atlantic subsidiary Atco, which requested a name change. The band settled on Vanilla Fudge, after a favorite ice cream flavor. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" didn't perform as well as hoped, but the band toured extensively behind its covers-heavy, jam-oriented debut album Vanilla Fudge, which gradually expanded their fan base. Things started to pick up for the band in 1968: early in the year, they headlined the Fillmore West with the Steve Miller Band, performed "You Keep Me Hangin' On" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and released their second album, The Beat Goes On. Despite its somewhat arty, indulgent qualities, the LP was a hit, climbing into the Top 20. That summer, Atco reissued "You Keep Me Hangin' On," and the second time around it climbed into the Top Ten. It was followed by Renaissance, one of Vanilla Fudge's best albums, which also hit the Top 20. The band supported it by touring with Jimi Hendrix, opening several dates on Cream's farewell tour, and late in the year touring again with the fledgling Led Zeppelin as their opening act.
In 1969, the band kept touring and released their first album without Morton, the expansive, symphonic-tinged Near the Beginning. After part of the band recorded a radio commercial with guitarist Jeff Beck, the idea was hatched to form a Cream-styled power trio with plenty of individual solo spotlights. Exhausted by the constant touring, the band decided that their late-1969 European tour would be their last. Following the release of their final album, Rock & Roll, Vanilla Fudge played a few U.S. farewell dates and disbanded in early 1970. Bogert and Appice first formed the hard rock group Cactus, then later joined up with Jeff Beck in the aptly named Beck, Bogert & Appice. Appice went on to become an active session and touring musician, working with a variety of rock and hard rock artists. Vanilla Fudge reunited in 1984 for the poorly received Mystery album, and have since reunited several more times, though only for tours. Their most recent incarnation features keyboardist Bill Pascali in place of Mark Stein. - Biography by Steve Huey, AMG
1 Ticket To Ride 06:03
2 People Get Ready 06:33
3 She's Not There 04:58
4 Bang Bang 05:27
5 Stra (Illusions Of My Childhood-Part One) - You Keep Me Hangin'On - Wber (Illusions Of My Childhood-Part Two) 07:25
6 Take Me For A Little While - Ryfi (Illusions Of My Childhood Part Three) 03:55
7 Eleanor Rigby - Elds 08:11
Carmine Appice - drums
Tim Bogert - bass
Vince Martell - guitar, lead vocals
Mark Stein - keyboards
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