ATOMIC ROOSTER

This is the second (and apparently final) compilation of rare songs put together by John Du Cann featuring the Du Cann, Vincent Crane and Paul Hammond line-up. They were a great live band, certainly the best act I saw on the college circuit, and the booklet is interesting, with some great photos. But, there is hardly any information on the source of the music! Anoraks like me need to know where the songs originate from on collections like these. It was only on reading the press release that I discovered that "Broken Window" was the last ever song recorded by this line-up.

The result is an album that annoyingly sits between two areas. It is fascinating for the fan, but they would like to know more, yet there are not enough versions of well known numbers to attract the casual listener. A shame, as musically this album shows how powerful a unit they could be with the Hammond organ and drums driving Du Cann further on both guitar and vocals. Less waffle about how great they were and more data about the songs please!

Originally appeared in Feedback #64, Oct 01

It does exactly what it says on the tin! This is an album comprised solely of unreleased or rare versions with some demos and radio ads thrown in for good measure. However, although this is obviously aimed at the hard-core fan, there are some real gems that show even to the uninitiated that here was a band that never really fulfilled their potential. Listen to the live in the studio version of "Death Walks Behind You" from 1981, and be impressed with the sheer power.

There is even the original demo version of "Devil's Answer" from 1970, with a young Mr. Palmer on drums. The ads were for American radio, and sound quite funny and extremely dated. Their last 'hit' was "Play It Again" and the demo is also on here from 1981.

Overall an interesting compilation that shows just a little of what this fine band were all about. An excellent booklet, as one would expect from Angel Air, which makes this a 'must purchase' for the fan.

Originally appeared in Feedback #61, Feb 2001

While the sound quality of this CD may not be the best in the world there are plenty of warnings, both in the title and the booklet. What is important is that the first half of the CD contains four live cuts from the line up which included Carl Palmer on drums, and these are the only live recordings known to exist from that era. Recorded at the Paris Theatre with Mr. John Peel introducing each number, and giving the fans some history, such as the fact that John Du Cann had only been in the band a month. All of these four songs are interesting but to me the highlight must be the instrumental "Gershatser" which contains some great Hammond Organ from Vincent Crane, but also a drum solo from Carl. This is how ELP would have sounded if they had become a hard rock band. By the time that Rooster returned to the Paris Theatre a year later Carl had left to join some other guys, and he was replaced by Paul Hammond. This is a very different sounding band, as John had by now removed a lot of the jazz influences and had made them very much a hard rock band. Of the four songs, one is "Tomorrow Night", which was their second biggest hit.

Originally appeared in Feedback #58

— First review of this album —

This Atomic Rooster EP is unfortunately overlooked and under the radar for a lot of fans of the group, and that is definitely a mistake-for fans of the classic period of the band, this record is a dream come true.

In 1980, Atomic Rooster, now with guitarist John du Cann back in the fold, released an exciting album known as "Atomic Rooster 80", and it was a great hard rocking effort, exhibiting that no holds barred Rooster sound akin in some ways to the Death Walks Behind You music. It was not really that promoted or known by fans, with the result a vote mainly of indifference. While a group like Budgie rode the tide of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal in a successful way, AR did not, perhaps even though they had a hard rocking side to their sound, their credentials were more progressive than Budgie, and with the result that fans did not turn out in droves to see them in the early 80s during the UK heavy metal upsurge.

An unfortunate misconception is that Rooster, as the eighties progressed, were at a low ebb, musically, perhaps because their weakest effort, 83's Headline News album, was the one that was on the radar for a lot of people. In between 1980 and 1983, the band produced a couple of EPs on Polydor, the second of which is End Of The Day from 1982.

The result is a totally different sound than Headline News, and even an improvement on the 1980 album. End Of The Day has three songs, and for the first time on record again is the lineup that produced the Death Walks Behind You album, Crane, du Cann, and Paul Hammond (but with guest bassist Big John McCoy added). For fans of the classic Death Walks sound, this EP has everything you could wish for-an exciting, gutsy groove, Du Cann and Crane playing together, and playing off each other in that inimitable Rooster fashion with Hammond's heavy drum beat in the background. Du Cann does the vocals in that no holds barred way of his that is so infectious and keeps you glued to the song at hand.

After side one's End Of The Day track is side two's Living Underground, and a real treat, a new recording of the classic Rooster hit Tomorrow Night- the band are in such fine form, and rock your socks off in the process!

This is everything appealing about Atomic Rooster, but with an updated, improved production, though never loosing that gutsy, in your face appeal. A perfect record for those who think the band had lost it's way in later times, and once you hear this, i guarantee you will have found your way! Five stars

I kept reading the name Atomic Rooster as I read reviews on this site and I finally figured that I had to check them out. I vacillated between buying Death Walks Behind You and In Hearing of, and in the end it was the song Head in the Sky that made me choose because one reviewer had noticed that the style was like a prototype of Wolfmother and I love their music, so I was intrigued.

By now, my prog explorations had taken me to Yes, Genesis, Rush, ELP, and the bands I already had in my collection, such as Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. I was developing a notion of how progressive rock should sound: complicated rhythm changes and odd time signatures, virtuosic playing of all instruments including bass and keyboards, songs over 10 minutes long, lyrics on a more enlightened level than just sex, cars and the life of a drifter or a criminal. A first listen though, I can't say this album really blew me away. Some of the songs just seemed too much like ordinary early seventies rock.

After a few more spins and some specific digging I found that some of the progressive elements I had sought were indeed there. On tracks like Breakthrough and A Spoonful of Bromide there are some interesting classical piano parts that add colour to the standard slightly funky or jazzy hard rock sound as well as some cool drumming with tricky rhythm. There is also the brass in the instrumental The Rock, which would figure more strongly on the Made in England album. And Head in the Sky indeed sounds like the grandfather of Wolfmother except it begins with some atrocious guitar playing in a flood of distortion in a very lame attempt to impress that this song is going to be a wild one.

There are other things about the album that don't really impress me. Pete French's guttural Joe Cocker-like voice doesn't appeal to me, sounding rather like a non-prog band's vocalist. Break the Ice is a catchy rock number but the bum-ba-de-dum keyboard repeating throughout the song has me wanting something more Emmerson/Wakeman/Lord-like. The guitar never really goes above standard rock either. I can't say any of the solos impressed me much and there is little in the way of inspiring riffs. Most of the guitar riffs also sound very mundane to me. Perhaps Messieurs Alex Lifeson, Steve Howe and Steve Hackett who have spent so much time recently in my ear buds have spoiled me for more standard playing.

In conclusion, I find this to be a pretty good rock album and at least three of the tracks are finding themselves selected for mixed playlists. But I can't say I can rate this highly as a prog album. Maybe I am missing something? Maybe I'll find it eventually.

This is the seventh and final effort of Atomic Rooster, the musical testament of Vincent Crane (who sadly died few years after its release) and in fact the album is generally regarded as a solo effort by Crane.

The album sounds like a cross between later Pink Floyd (it even features the collaboration of David Gilmour) and Hawkwind with the addition of 80s electro-rock (or is that new wave influence?) that sounds today a little bit dated. The general mood is far from what this band has accustomed us to in the early seventies. However the songs are far from awful: Crane's playing is haunting (he even provides vocals); he probably was on a creative high at that time. The only negative remark is that new wave type of sound that weakens the whole impact of the record.

This is one of the most important prog records: dark, brooding and heavy with keyboards of Vincent Crane in evidence. It is often referred as the missing link between DEEP PURPLE and EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER.

It is also referred as the best offering by Atomic Rooster. The title track balances all the ingredients perfectly while "Tomorrow Night" provided an excellent hit single (UK # 11) that helped the album to established itself in the higher rankings of the charts. "VUG" showcases the amazing keyboard playing skills of Crane while "Nobody Else" discloses an unespected melancholic ballad. "Seven Lonely Streets" is probably the most complete and exciting number with dominating electric guitar (as in "Sleeping for Years").

All in all a wonderful record that is better not to be missed.

Out of the proggy bands releasing two albums in 1970, I can't think a band that changed so much in sound like these guys did between those albums in the same year. Their first album was basically keyboard-led jazzy prog rock with little to no guitars. This follow-up brings the guitar heaviness to the fore, resulting in a band that essentially is juggling progressive rock with workingman's hard & heavy rock. They largely succeed here by sticking to their strengths and not going overboard in either direction. The instrumentals, while being showcases for the players, don't feel like structureless noodling; it's all tightly composed with a rough edge to keep the non-proggy fans interested. Straight up rockers like "Tomorrow Night" have enough of a prog sensibility in their sound (I dig the opening piano melody) to set themselves apart from your typical barroom brawlin' band.

The overall sound of the band leans more towards Deep Purple than Black Sabbath, but with a more sustained Hammond organ focus while not overshadowing the guitar. The vocals aren't gonna knock yer socks off, but they get the job done within its range and actually work quite effectively during the title track, which is one bad mutha. Prog influences also show up for numbers like the mellow but ultra cool "Nobody Else", although that opening backwards blabbering is a bit of an annoyance.

This was the right thing to do to keep the band alive. Vincent Crane didn't waste time finding replacements for the drums, and getting a loud guitar into the mix gave Atomic Rooster some added cojones. The drumming and guitar playing is, by the way, excellent. Hammond (the drummer, not the instrument) is more of a straightforward basher than Palmer, but it works perfectly within the context of these songs, and even though I'm no fan of drum solos, I actually kind of like his solo during "Gershatzer".

When I think of 'atomic' I think of something powerful and potentially destructive beyond belief, and when I think of 'rooster' i think of something screaming and waking up dazed families at the crack of dawn. This album is where the band lived up to their name.

The rooster with the hooters in the cube. There's so much meaning to this that I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just stick to reviewing the contents of the music itself. It's proggish, often driving rock with the Hammond as the main melodic instrument and very little guitar playing, occasionally poking its neck out here and there, but mostly dormant. The songs have a nice range of styles to them, with the opener coming across like a keyboard drenched Communication Breakdown, to the depressed ballad entitled "Winter".

Released in 1970, this debut is the first of two efforts released by the band that year, and makes for an interesting example of what a strange transitional time for rock music 1970 was. Here, the earlier incarnation of Atomic Rooster leans a bit towards the late 60s with an almost whimsical vibe concerning some of the music, especially "And So To Bed", which is also one of the more memorable tracks with its groovy time signatures, strong musicianship and funky lyrics ("all you need is sex with fame". I can live with that). The lack of guitars gives the songs a bit of incomplete feel for me personally at times (lack atomic- ness I guess) that dates the music a bit. Without guitar wailings getting in the way, Carl gets to really strut his stuff throughout every song, including a busy snare-happy drum solo in "Decline And Fall". The vocal histrionics suit the bluesier tunes, with Nick acting all wide- eyed at times, tossing in a rare flute solo when needed. Vincent's playing is sort of an Emerson/Jon Lord hybrid, with emphasis towards Lord in style and attitude. Honestly, this band really needed a loud guitar to complete the picture, in which the US release versions found on the recent CD reissue shows. I prefer those versions to the originals.

If the music leans a bit towards the late 60s in overall attitude, the lyrics are more firmly planted in 1970. A bleak and uncertain outlook, combined with a raunchy demeanor that foreshadows 70s hard rock gives the album a bit of uniqueness in addition to the constant drum barrages.

By the end of this odd pivotal year, the band would sound much different than they do here, with their next album having one foot firmly planted in 1971, the year hard rock (and prog to an extent) became a monolith industry.

Vincent Crane had to rebuild his band from scratch since the debut, but in doing so he picked up the guitar talents of John Du Cann, whose arrival crystallises the band's sound on this second album. Whereas Crane's songwriting dominated the debut, this time around Crane and Du Cann share compositional duties more or less evenly, and between the pair of them they are able to carve out a distinctive and novel sound for the band.

The trio takes the dark and brooding themes unleashed that year by Black Sabbath, speeds the playing up, and enhances Du Cann's volcanic guitar playing with Crane's organ backing. The result is a fusion of prog-flavoured hard rock and proto-metal, with some doom metal spice (especially on the title track). Although the closing track is weak in points (it does sometimes turn into a showcase for Crane's organ solos), otherwise the album is solid from beginning to end. If Black Sabbath's two 1970 albums formed the blueprint for doom metal, this album has to be one of the foundational documents of more traditional metal (I particularly hear its influence in New Wave of British Heavy Metal acts of the late 1970s). Possibly the band's finest work.