Year: September 1969 (CD 1991)
Label: Repertoire Records (Austria), REP 4168-WZ
Style: Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Country: Long Island, New York, U.S.
Time: 48:24
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 269 Mb
Vanilla
Fudge was one of the first American groups to infuse psychedelia into a
heavy rock sound to create "psychedelic symphonic rock" an eclectic
genre which would, among its many offshoots, eventually morph into heavy
metal. Although, at first, the band did not record original material,
they were best known for their dramatic heavy, slowed-down arrangements
of contemporary pop songs which they developed into works of epic
proportion.
Originally, Vanilla Fudge was a blue-eyed soul cover band
called The Pigeons, formed in New Jersey in 1965 with organist, Mark
Stein, bassist, Tim Bogert and drummer, Joey Brennan, and guitarist,
vocalist and US Navy veteran, 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 hit-record girl groups. In
early 1966, the group recorded a set of eight demos that were released
several years later as "While the World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge."
The
East Coast, in particular, New York, and New Jersey, created a sound
all its own. Inspired by groups such as The Rascals and The Vagrants
(fronted by guitarist, Leslie West of "Mountain" fame), The Pigeons
reworked many of their own existing arrangements of covers to reflect
their unique interpretation of this "East Coast Sound."
In late 1966,
drummer, Joey Brennan, moved out to the West Coast; the Pigeons
immediately drafted drummer and vocalist, Carmine Appice, a disciple of
the renowned Joe Morello (Dave Brubeck Band) and a seasoned veteran of
the club scene.
In early 1967, The Pigeons manager, Phil Basile,
convinced producer, George "Shadow" Morton (producer for The Shangri-Las
and Janis Ian), to catch their live act. Impressed by their
heavy-rocking, trippy and psychedelic version of The Supremes’ "You Keep
Me Hangin’ On," Morton offered to record the song as a single. This
resulted in a deal with the Atlantic subsidiary Atco, which requested a
name change.
The band settled on Vanilla Fudge; they were a white
group singing and playing with the soul of the brothers. The band toured
extensively behind its covers-heavy, jam-oriented debut album, Vanilla
Fudge, to expand their fan base. Vanilla Fudge, the album, was released
on June 2, 1967 the day after The Beatles’ released their Sergeant
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Vanilla Fudge first album rose up
the charts to # 4 without the aid of a big hit single.
In 1968,
Vanilla Fudge headlined the Fillmore West with Steve Miller. The group
then performed "You Keep Me Hangin’ On" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and
released their second album, "The Beat Goes On." Despite its avant-garde
conceptualization and execution, the LP was a hit and climbed into the
Top Twenty. 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
Twenty. The band had three albums in the Top One Hundred, two of which
were in the Top Twenty and one in the Top Five Single. The band toured
with Jimi Hendrix, played dates equal billed or headlined with groups
such as Cream, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, among many others; late
in the year, they toured with the fledgling Led Zeppelin as their
opening act.
In 1969, while immersed in extensive touring, Atco
released the expansive, symphonic-tinged record, Near the Beginning.
Among the group’s many TV appearances on legendary shows were Dick
Cavett, Merv Griffin Show, David Frost, Where The Action Is among
others. The group did a TV commercial for Braniff Air, and also recorded
a radio commercial for Coca Cola with guitarist Jeff Beck, a fill-in
for Vince who was unable to be there that day. This event gave rise to
the eventual creation of a Cream-styled power trio featuring Beck,
Bogert and Appice. Exhausted by the constant touring, the Vanilla Fudge
decided that their late 1969 European tour would be their last.
Following the release of their final album, Rock & Roll, they played
a few U.S. farewell dates and disbanded in early 1970.
Vanilla Fudge
reunited in 1984 and recorded a new album, Mystery, which also had Jeff
Beck as a guest artist. In the summer of 2006, the original Vanilla
Fudge reunited to tour with The Doors of the 21st Century; it culminated
in a VH-1 special, "Decades of Rock." The group currently continues to
tour in the USA. In August of 2007, they performed at Radio City Music
Hall with Deep Purple another opening act for the Fudge in the sixties.
Critics praised the Vanilla Fudge’s performance that night as one of
their greatest!
On October 15, 2006, Vanilla Fudge were inducted into
the Long Island Music Hall of Fame by Felix Cavaliere for their
contribution to music history. Other inductees were Billy Joel, Joan
Jett, and Twisted Sister to name a few. Also in 2006 they recorded a
tribute to their old friends Led Zeppelin by creating their own
interpretations of their music on their CD, "Out Through The In Door."
Vanilla
Fudge is celebrating their 50th year Anniversary in 2017 and is still
rocking the world with concerts in the USA and European tours performing
at festivals, theaters, and TV appearances on The Jimmy Fallon TV Show.
With the new CD on Cleopatra Records "Sprit of 67", Vanilla Fudge are
ready to Rock the world in 2018!!
(arotr.com/vanilla-fudge)
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