![]() We were looking to play more blues-based hard rock, Appice explains. Appice and Bogert had already been looking for other members for their new band. Historically important, listening to this archive piece is truly a labor of love, with the emphasis on labor. In fact Vanilla Fudge staggered on until March 1970, playing their final gig back at the Action House in Long Island where it all started. What would you rather hear, readings from The Bible or the single from January 1968, "The Look of Love" b/w "Where Is My Mind"? Thankfully, Sundazed has included the Bacharach/David tune and two additional Mark Stein titles, "All in Your Mind" and the aforementioned B side, "Where Is My Mind," on the expanded Renaissance album, the real follow-up to the Vanilla Fudge debut. Exploring the initial ideas that brought them fame was what was expected of Vanilla Fudge. Kennedy, Hitler, and others, all a very strong argument against artistic control for some producers. The expanded CD has jam session versions of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" and the Beatles' "I Feel Fine," "She Loves You," "Day Tripper," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and "You Can't Do That." Any of these extended à la "Eleanor Rigby" from their debut would be more desirable than the interview-type questions about sex the Beatles' interest in "Indian meditation" (sitar enters here, and how would the VF know?) audio newsclips of John F. Even a killer guitar version of "The Beat Goes On" would have been more exciting than "18th Century Variations on a Theme by Mozart" or noodlings that can't decide if they are "Chatanooga Choo Choo" or "Theme to the Match Game." For a group of impressionable young kids out of high school, as referenced in the liners, this must've been extremely rough. Renaissance, which they were recording simultaneous with this, at least included a Donovan tune, "Season of the Witch." The exotic wandering would have been better served by a reworking of "Strawberry Fields Forever" across a side of the disc instead of the keyboard notes which reference the tune. Morton set before the boys a daunting task which needed much, much better execution. ![]() Bassist Tim Bogert notes that "The Beat Goes On was the album that killed the band," while guitarist Vinny Martell adds "we had already started our second album when Shadow (Morton) had this other concept idea for The Beat Goes On." Morton had produced the Shangri Las, not the Beatles, and this creative effort was by a group with only two hit singles arriving on the scene around the time of Sgt. The problem with this project is that they failed to influence themselves. (Britain was more hip to the group.) They finally hit in America in the summer of 1968, but had already begun to influence Deep Purple and the Rotary Connection, among others. The single from their previous album, Vanilla Fudge, originally charted in the Top 100 in the U.S. The Beat Goes On is a difficult record, especially after the explosion that was their debut. The revealing liner notes that Sundazed project manager Tim Livingston adds to the reissues of these Atco albums helps put this influential band in a better light. And an unqualified success.The expanded CD release of this second Vanilla Fudge album is much more accessible than the original vinyl version because of the inclusion of a number of cover tunes, most notably Beatles songs. I'll bet it would be a brave new adventure for The Fudge. This leads me to the point of wondering if they have it in them to push the boundaries even further and tackle something "newer." I would love to see what the could do with Nirvana which was always filled with excitement, drama and poetry. "Spirt of 67" was a more tapered sound but equally compelling. ![]() The bus were excellent and Tepper went on to score hits with Benny Mardones, Pat Benetar and others before establishig himself with Sylvestor Stalone in "Rocky" with the signature "No Easy Way Out". A local band called Unchartered Bus was opening for them and it so happened that Mark Stein and Robert Tepper of the Bus were from Bayonne NJ. I SAW THE FUDGE ay back in the winter of 67 or 68 at Marist High School in Bayonne NJ after the release of their first album.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |