ATOMIC ROOSTER '80

In 1970 guitarist and vocalist John DuCann joined Atomic Rooster and he immediately went on tour with the band. When bass player Graham left the band keyboardist Crane refused to replace him and started playing bass lines on the lower part of Hammond organ. To compensate the fact that he couldn't use his left hand to press down chords on the lower manual he created a 'burning' style of playing, often in furious interplay with DuCann. When Carl Palmer left Atomic Rooster to join Keith Emerson and Greg Lake left for supergroup ELP, Rick Parnell shortly replaced him. John and Vincent were not satisfied about his skills and decided to replace him by Paul Hammond, an extremely good drummer from a local band called Farm. The recordings from this CD (with two bonustracks) are from 1980 featuring the line-up John Du Cann (guitar and vocals), Vincent Crane (Hammond C3 organ) and Preston Heyman (drums and percussion) who has worked with Kate Bush, nowadays a familiar face on Prog Archives!

On this album the trio started to develop their harder- edged progressive music with swirling Hammond B3 organ and fiery guitarplay. The interplay between John's guitar and Vince organ is hot and often furious. In fact this powerful sound was very influential, many metal- acts from The Eighties pointed at Atomic Rooster as their main source. The ten songs sound rather straightforward but very energetic and propulsive with elements from Deep Purple (organ and guitar), Led Zeppelin (guitar riffs), Argent (organ), Alice Cooper (vocals) and The Stranglers (vocals and organ). To me Atomic Rooster sounds as an exciting heavy progressive rockband. By the way, in '89 it was all over for Atomic Rooster because of Crane's tragical death, he commited suicide

One never knows what to expect with some reunion album. Is it for the worse or for the best?

I am usually quite sceptical about such works, and I really wondered what would come up out of this album. The gang of Crane/Du Cann is in place again, but what would they achieve?

Actually, the period which was my fave from AR, was their early days (their first two/three albums). Their heavy keyboards were a real enchantment and I never could get into their more bluesy/jazzy music afterwards.

So, this Atomic Rooster 80 is a good return to a more rocking music. The heavy beats are fortunately back. Of course, this is no masterpiece of an album, but when you listen to the opening track, you can't honestly say that it is not very Purple oriented (Highway Star). As soon as you have listened to this track, you think: the band is well on track. And you are right. They will repeat this with Watch Out which is another highlight.

This is an excellent rock album. Of course, you have to remember that we were in 1980 while this album was recorded. And obviously, the new wave had its mark on the music (Where's The Show). It is a very good and hopping number; well in the tradition of the time (even if maybe two years late). Another highlight after They Took Control Of You.

Some songs are weaker like In The Shadows(which is rather Stranglers oriented) but if you are open minded, a song as Do You Know Who's Looking For You which is not far from the punkish mood is really appealing. Great beat (I did say punkish, right) and fun.

I am very pleased to listen to this reunion album. No poor tracks, good rocking music and some new beats: this is a good mix IMHHO. Seven out of ten, really.

When I start discovering rock in the mid-Seventies, myself and a mate worked through his older brother's record collection discovering bands who no-one was writing about anymore, one of which was the mighty Atomic Rooster. They had multiple line-ups, but for me (and many others) it was the trio of Vincent Crane, John DuCann and Paul Hammond and their album 'Death Walks Behind You' which was for me the height of their power. Given the way the band had imploded no-one ever imagined that Crane and DuCann would work together again, but they patched things up and recorded this album in 1980 with session drummer Preston Heyman. This was at the height of NWOBHM in the UK, with bands like Iron Maiden, Samson, Def Leppard, Saxon and Angelwitch all over the radio and in the charts, but here was a band with no bassist and huge amounts of Hammond Organ turning the clock back and showing the oldies could blast it out just as much as the new breed.

Cherry Red Records have now remastered and expanded that release with 11 additional tracks, many of which are demoes (including a version of "Play It Again" ? I bought the 12" version of that single when it was released and still have it), plus a bonus CD which was originally released separately by Angel Air in 2002. That CD is a recording of Crane and DuCann being reunited with Hammond and recorded live at The Marquee. I was fortunate enough to be at university when they undertook that tour, and one of my happiest gig-going memories is standing right in front of DuCann as he and the guys blasted through an amazing set packed with classics. That live album actually sounds better for being put together with this set as it all seems complete, with DuCann proving he really was an aggressive rock singer and guitarist, Crane demonstrating he really was a master of the Hammond and Paul Hammond doing much more than just keeping a beat.

One can only wonder what would have happened if the band had managed to stay together back in the early Seventies, as they never met their full potential, but when the trio reunited it showed just how much they had to offer, but when Du Cann left in 1982 that really was the end and in 1983 the band imploded for the final time. A new version of the band formed in 2016 around former members Pete French and Steve Bolton, but any version of the band without Crane can never truly be valid, while DuCann was the voice. This expanded version is well worth discovering, bringing together their final album together and the live recordings. The band were much more than "Tomorrow Night", "Devils's Answer" and "Gerhatsa" and this proves it.