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VANILLA FUDGE

Proto-Prog • United States


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Vanilla Fudge picture
Vanilla Fudge biography
Founded in 1967 - Disbanded in 1970, the band reunited several times - Still performing as of 2016

The story of VANILLA FUDGE started (in my opinion a pivotal progressive band in the vein of KING CRIMSON, COLOSSEUM and THE NICE) in the New York era when Mark Stein (organ and lead vocals) and Tim Bogert (bass guitar) played in a band called Rick Martin & The Snowmen. Tim and Mark were so impressed by the sound of THE RASCALS (swinging and floods of organ) that they dediced to form their own band with Vinnie Martell on guitar and Rick Martin's drummer Joey Brennan. They named themselves The PIGEONS but, after the replacement of Joey Brennan by Carmine Appice, the new name became VANILLA FUDGE. In '71 the band signed with Atco Records, a division of the famous Atlantic label. They released the single "You Keep Me Hangin'On" and then their first album "Vanilla Fudge". The second album "The Beat Goes On" was the ambitious project of producer Shadow Morton to tell the entire history of contemporary music (from MOZART to COLE PORTER and ELVIS PRESLEY). Unfortunately it all sounded too weird: a 44 minutes nonstop tapestry of sonic images and interruptions by sound bites from band Atco re-released the first single "You Keep Me Hangin'On" and historical figures. To stop the possible demise of the hoped for the best. It became a small hit and soon they released their third album "Renaissance" that consisted primarily of original material. February '69 their fourth album "Near The Beginning" (with the sidelong live track "Break Song") came out and in september '69 their fifth and final album called "Rock & Roll" was released. After these five LP's VANILLA FUDGE decided to split up and to look for other musical challenges. VANILLA FUDGE's sound is a captivating and exciting blend of soul, blues, rock and progrock with strong hints from JIMI HENDRIX (fiery electric guitar) and THE RASCALS (floods of Hammond B3 organ).

The best way to get an impression of the dynamic and alternating VANILLA FUDGE sound is the compilation-CD "Psychedelic Sundae (the best of..)": some Rhythm & blues with soul/gospel-like vocals and vocal harmonies but mainly music that is based upon great interplay between the fierce electric guitar (like JIMI HENDRIX) and the powerful Hammond B3 organ. The compositions range from slow, almost hypnotizing to propulsive with heavy outbursts. The vocals sound soulful, a rather unusual combination in progrock. Discover this captivating, very progressive blend of different styles and keep in mind that YES, DEEP PURPLE and URIAH HEEP pointed at VANILLA FUDGE as their main influence! Best albums to start with are "Near the Beginning" and "Rock & Roll".

: : : Erik Neuteboom, The NETHERLANDS : : :
Fan & official Prog Archives collaborator

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VANILLA FUDGE discography


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VANILLA FUDGE top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.63 | 122 ratings
Vanilla Fudge [Aka: You Keep Me Hanging On]
1967
1.79 | 59 ratings
The Beat Goes On
1968
4.09 | 115 ratings
Renaissance
1968
3.23 | 66 ratings
Near the Beginning
1969
2.75 | 41 ratings
Rock & Roll
1969
2.07 | 22 ratings
Mystery
1984
3.29 | 26 ratings
The Return
2002
3.02 | 17 ratings
Out Through the In Door
2007
2.83 | 14 ratings
Spirit of '67
2015

VANILLA FUDGE Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.93 | 6 ratings
The Best of Vanilla Fudge: Live
1991
3.09 | 3 ratings
Extended Versions
2007
0.00 | 0 ratings
Good Good Rockin' (Live at Rockpalast)
2007

VANILLA FUDGE Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

VANILLA FUDGE Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.50 | 2 ratings
The Fantastic Vanilla Fudge
1969
1.05 | 3 ratings
Vanilla Fudge (aka Star-Collection)
1974
3.56 | 14 ratings
Psychedelic Sundae: The Best of Vanilla Fudge
1993
3.25 | 4 ratings
Then and Now
2004
3.33 | 3 ratings
Renaissance & Near the Beginning
2008

VANILLA FUDGE Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

5.00 | 1 ratings
You Keep Me Hanging On / Take Me for a Little While
1967
0.00 | 0 ratings
Ticket to Ride / Bang Bang
1968
3.00 | 1 ratings
Where Is My Mind / The Look of Love
1968
4.43 | 5 ratings
Some Velvet Morning / People
1969
0.00 | 0 ratings
Season of the Witch, Pt. 1 / Shotgun
1969
0.00 | 0 ratings
The Windmills of Your Mind
1969

VANILLA FUDGE Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Out Through the In Door by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.02 | 17 ratings

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Out Through the In Door
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by Heart of the Matter

4 stars One serious problem with the appreciation of an album consisting (such like this one) of nothing more than cover versions, is that it seems hardly avoidable the initial confrontation with the originals, and, in this particular case, with the powerhouse status investing the historic figure of Led Zeppelin, that remains rightfully intact to this day. Serious, granted, but not one that should keep standing in our way.

The addition of Vanilla Fudge to this classic songs, in my view, is not trying to improve the heavy element in them (an almost impossible task), but rather to bring out some implicit acid and soulful traits to the light of day. There is also a funkier accent impregnating, for example, Trampled Under Foot through the rhythm section and the vocals. In the very enjoyable rendition of Willie Dixon's Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, we get a tasty flurry of acid guitar with wha-wha. In Dancing Days, the mellotron plays the part of the acid creeper, with the necessary involvement of the rest.

I don't think the Vanillas were trying to beat the Zepps in any dexterity contest either, more likely they try to shed new light on some colour shades, like the acoustic psychedelic folk fingerpicking in Black Mountain Side, Page's instrumental track gracing Zepp's 1969 debut. That kind of truly satisfying details, I came across time after time through the one well-invested hour of listening that this album demands.

Most certainly, nobody should postpone the discovery of Led Zeppelin's own recorded legacy, since there's no doubt that therein lies the real thing in its prime. But if you have explored those treasures enough, and you are looking for a view of that classics from a different angle, consider that this album offers an excellent choice, presented by a band that is a classic in its own right.

 Spirit of '67 by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 2015
2.83 | 14 ratings

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Spirit of '67
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by Mortte

2 stars Havenīt got any idea before this day also Vanilla Fudge made comeback and even four new albums! Of course it isnīt any surprise, because most of the old bands have done it. 1967 is one of my favorite music years, so I was curious, but also suspicious to hear this album. Vanilla Fudge was those bands whose album my brother had in his shelf in the eighties when I really started to listen music. "Near the Beginning" became soon one of my big favorites, so I bought also "Renaissance". I understood later, that Vanilla Fudge really created the base of heavy metal, specially those very high vocals were their invention, not Deep Purpleīs or Uriah Heepīs. As many bands in rock history, they were ahead of their time, so those others put to account their invention a bit later. Anyway band has returned many times from the eighties, but not still achieved lots of attention. In this album there were three original members, only bass player Tim Bogert left 2009 and his place was given to Pete Bremy.

At first it sounds to me Vanilla Fudge had decided to make funk versions of every piece in this album. What really irritates from the beginning is plashing drums, totally out of sixties spirit. In "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" you canīt recognise the song from anything else except lyrics. Itīs very boring groove piece. "The Letter" was originally unknown song to me, so I listened also The Box Tops version of it. Original wasnīt the greatest song in the world, but anyway it has good sixties sounds instead of pompous sounds in Fudge version. First it was pain to hear "I Can See For Miles" as funk version because itīs one of my favorites from the Who-songs. When first shock is over, this piece sounds decent and becomes the best one in this album. The Doors classic "Break On Through" starts promising. Itīs the first one that really has in the beginning psychedelic feeling. But of course there comes those plashing drums in the middle and in the end song is more Whitesnake than the Doors or anything from the 1967.

"The Tracks Of My Tears" is again unknown to me. Both Johnny Rivers and this album version are really mediocre, so you can wonder, why they pick this song. "Iīm a Believer" is the first one that has arranged in the same method as they did in 1967. But again they sound more Whitesnake than Vanilla Fudge. "Gimme Some Lovin" is made as rhythm and blues song. Not bad, but again it sounds like Coverdale and co. Finally in "For What Itīs Worth" they achieve something that made them interesting in the sixties. Their version of that really hippie song is really dark and all the way totally different song, reminding their great version of Donovanīs "Season Of the Witch". Sadly they return to "Whitesnake"-mood in "Ruby Tuesday". If they had done something to those plashing drums, their version of "Whiter Shade Of Pale" would have been decent. "Letīs Pray For Peace" is only own piece in this album, itīs sympathetic ballad with itīs universal message.

Itīs sad my suspicios were right. When thinking only music in this album, this really is only one stars album. But guys anyway play really good, so that rises it into two stars. I believe they had fun in the studio, but I think best solution would have been this had been never released. There are old artists like Faust, Roy Harper, Gong, Magma, Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson and Haikara, that has made really great albums after seventies. When listening this album I donīt think Vanille Fudge is. Not yet heard those other albums, I guess as old fan I have to listen them at least once. Anyway young people who havenīt got any idea of sixties music, donīt listen this album! Instead put on original albums of the Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, the Who etc. In this album there is no spirit of ī67.

 Near the Beginning by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 1969
3.23 | 66 ratings

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Near the Beginning
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by friso
Prog Reviewer

2 stars Vanilla Fudge must have been one of the wildest and loudest group of the sixties. And when it comes to groups like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster, Birth Control (and many more) the Fudge must have been very influential with its brand of symphonic heavy psych. The recording of this record is so intense that its sound heavy even today, but also very chaotic, compressed and hard to listen to. 'Some Velvet Morning' sounds exemplary for how progressive (hard)rock bands would sound at the start of the seventies; heavy riffs, majestic organ theme and soulful verses. On all other tracks the band sounds quite directionless and heavy for the sake of it. The second side is recorded live and sounds like a heavy jam with solo's of the individual members. The organ solo's sound particularly like those of Purple's John Lord. The fuzz guitar by Vince Martel is particularly ear-piercing. If you should fancy owning this record I would do so mostly because of its crazed out sound and some moments of actual prog musicality, but for most others I would recommend skipping this one. I myself am glad I found a vinyl copy to just have heard this record once, because Vanilla Fudge is simply a phenomenon to behold.
 The Beat Goes On by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 1968
1.79 | 59 ratings

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The Beat Goes On
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by SteveG

2 stars The good, the bad, and the very ugly.

Vanilla Fudge's second album from 1968 may well be their best known for all the wrong reasons. A concept album that was the direct result of the psychedelic movement that exploded after the Beatles released the seminal Sgt. Pepper's album in 1967, it's a collection of faults. By stringing together snippets of songs "through the ages", VF tried to make their own avant garde psychedelic classic. While the song selection may have been inspired, the performances certainly were not. Particularly on a run of mid sixties Beatles covers, as who but the Fab Four could do justice to songs like "Day Tripper" and "I Feel Fine". The singers of VF, Mark Stein and Tim Bogart, are merely passable vocalists to begin with, and musically the songs are boring straight covers. It's only when the band turn on their own organ drenched and heavy bass and guitar sound on Beethoven's Fur Elise/Moonlight Sonata that real proggy musical fireworks erupt. But it's a case of too little too late, after the band takes one on a musical history lesson that is well known, basic and boring.

A tape collage of politician's speeches that's some kind of anti war statement does little to bring the album to any type of climatic close, but "Voices In Time - Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and others" is probably the most inspired idea on the album.

If Vanilla Fudge had focused solely on working their musical magic on only or mainly classical compositions, the result would have been a very good proto prog album in the vain of the Nice's Ars Longa Vita Brevis. I must say that the album does hold a strange fascination for me, like watching a highspeed car crash, but that's not art, is it? What's left is this failed experiment that shows off the worst excesses of the late sixties' psychedelic movement. No wonder it was short lived. 2 stars.

 Vanilla Fudge [Aka: You Keep Me Hanging On] by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 1967
3.63 | 122 ratings

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Vanilla Fudge [Aka: You Keep Me Hanging On]
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by TenYearsAfter

4 stars "The most overlooked legendary prog band"

Back to 1967, a magical year in rock music. The UK is flooded by very exciting and adventurous albums, from The Nice, Pink Floyd and The Beatles to Procol Harum and The Moody Blues. These bands are scouting the boundaries of a wide range of styles, with the emphasis on rock, folk and classical, the press labels it as progressive rock. In the USA there is also an interesting progressive movement, but more focussed on blending styles with the emphasis on blues and psychedelia. The most famous bands are The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane and Santana. Another interesting band in the USA in 1967 is four piece formation Vanilla Fudge, in that magical year their eponymous debut LP reaches # 6 in the Billboard Album Top 100. Soon Vanilla Fudge is embraced by the young music fans in the USA and within a few years the band becomes the headliner during concerts with Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Deep Purple and Canned Heat. Later legandary bands like Yes, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple point at Vanilla Fudge as an important source of inspiration. But despite these facts Vanilla Fudge is the most overlooked progressive band, in a world where Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson and ELP are hailed as 'the gods of prog'. So how about Vanilla Fudge their music, and the 'prog factor'?

The story of Vanilla Fudge started in the New York-area when Mark Stein (organ and lead vocals) and Tim Bogert (bass guitar) played in a band called Rick Martin & The Showmen. When Mark and Tim listened to the popular band The Rascals they were so impressed by the hot R&B covers with floods of Hammond B3 organ that they decided to form their own band, named The Pigeons. Together with Rick Martin's drummer Joey Brennan and new guitarist Vinnie Martell they started rehearsing and playing but Brennan was replaced by Carmine Appice. He played one night at the same place as The Pigeons and he was simply asked to join The Pigeons. At about the same time The Pigeons decided to change their name into Vanilla Fudge, after the nickname of the female singer of The Unspoken Word (she liked ice cream very much). And also a bidding war started to contract them because the band was very promising. Eventually in July 1967 Vanilla Fudge signed with Atco Records, a division of the famous Atlantic label. They released the single You Keep Me Hangin'On and then their first album Vanilla Fudge, soon Vanilla Fudge became the darlings of the underground, like Pink Floyd in the UK. The second album The Beat Goes On was the over-ambitious project of producer Shadow Morton to tell the entire history of contemporary music , from Mozart to Elvis Presley. Unfortunately it all sounded too weird and then Atco decided to re-release their first single You Keep Me Hangin' On, in order to stop the possible demise of the band. Atco hoped for the best, and indeed, the single became a small hit and soon they released their third album Renaissance that consisted primarily of original material. February '69 their fourth album Near The Beginning came out and in september '69 their fifth and final album called Rock & Roll was released. After these five LP's Vanilla Fudge decided to split up and to look for other musical challenges. During the years they reunited several times, and for me a dream came true when I attended a very inspired and exciting Vanilla Fudge gig in 2015 (see my avatar).

This review is about Vanilla Fudge their eponymous debut LP featuring only covers. How ironical, the creative way Vanilla Fudge re-arranged the covers showcase their unique and pivotal sound. Their trademark has two elements: on one hand the soul and gospel inspired vocals (with different lead singers) and vocal harmonies and on the other hand a pioneering Hammond-harder edged guitar combination.

Ticket To Ride (The Beatles) : The sound of the Hammond organ and the bluesy atmosphere creates a very special climate, fuelled by a dynamic rhythm-section (acknowledged by Jeff Beck who later founded Beck, Bogert and Appice). On this first track Vanilla Fudge also introduced thei trademark blend of soul and gospel inspired vocals. And the fiery guitar is a perfect counterpart to the powerful and omnipresent Hammond organ.

People Get Ready (The Impressions, written by Curtis Mayfield) : A slow rhythm and compelling work on the Hammond, and again fiery guitar runs and gospel/soul vocals.

She's Not There (The Zombies): The lush Hammond and raw electric guitar sound awesome, topped with strong vocals, this is trademark Vanilla Fudge.

Bang Bang (Cher, and Nancy Sinatra, written by Sonny Bono) : An omnipresent Hammond, pleasant vocal harmonies, a psychedelic touch and a strong final part with heavy guitar and Hammond outbursts.

Illusions ? The 3 parts are short psychedelic sonic impressions.

You Keep Me Hangin' On (The Supremes) : This is the single that got Vanilla Fudge on the map and for me the highlight on this album. Vanilla Fudge presents a captivating and dynamic blend of rock, blues and gospel with exciting Hammond waves, powerful electric guitar, distinctive vocal harmonies and excellent lead vocals, an extra dimension on this cover.

Take Me For A Little While (Jackie Ross) : A slow rhythm with soul inspired vocals and vocal harmonies, the Hammond gives a special flavour.

Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles): In the original version of The Beatles they don't play instruments, Paul MaCartney did the double-tracked lead vocals and Harrison and Lennon the vocal harmonies, George Martin arranged the string quartet. Vanilla Fudge replaced the strings by Hammond and electric guitar, creating a huge tension between the slow and bluesy parts and the bombastic outbursts, topped by strong vocals and a propulsive rhythm-section. To me this sounds as a very good rendition (superior to The Beatles but that is personal, I am more a Stones fan). And it showcased the inventive composing and exciting musical potential of Vanilla Fudge.

A band to discover, if you are up to the soul and gospel inspired vocals, that will not be everybody's cup of tea. But the work on the Hammond B3 is a Big Plus for the Hammond aficionados!

 Out Through the In Door by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.02 | 17 ratings

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Out Through the In Door
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by TenYearsAfter

4 stars The name of this album is a funny reference to the album In Through The Out Door by Led Zeppelin (1979), all 11 tracks on Out Through The In Door are Led Zeppelin covers. This appreciation from Vanilla Fudge for Led Zeppelin started in 1968 when the virtuosic and innovative hardrockers Led Zeppelin did their first USA tour '. as a support act for USA formation Vanilla Fudge. In those days this four piece band was highly praised and got worldwide recognition, due to their international chart topping single You Keep Me Hangin' On. So when in 1968 Vanilla Fudge was already a famous band that had released a serie of pivotal albums, Led Zeppelin was working on a debut studio album and touring around the world to make fans. A year later Vanilla Fudge call it a day while Led Zeppelin stunned the world with their eponymous debut album. And within a few years Led Zeppelin became one of the most famous and pivotal rock bands of all time. In order to tribute their former support-act Led Zeppelin, Vanilla Fudge (reunited since 1984) made this album, released in 2007.

After a few listening sessions my conclusion is that Vanilla Fudge have succeeded to incorporate their distinctive late Sixties sound (vocal harmonies, Hammond organ and blending rock with soul and gospel) into the covers, without doing harm to the essential Led Zeppelin sound. I notice lots of inventive ideas: a short and surprising keyboard intro in the propulsive Immigrant Song, wonderful keyboard arrangements (on the Korg Triton synthesizer) and fiery electric guitar leads in the dynamic Dazed And Confused and a funky clavinet sound, wah-wah guitar and swirling Hammond organ in the swinging Trampled Under Foot. The typical, omnipresent Vanilla Fudge Hammond B3 organ sound can be traced in Fool In The Rain, Dancing Days, Moby Dick (excellent job by drummer Carmine Appice who later worked with Jeff Beck) and Rock And Roll (thunderous drums, powerful vocals and biting electric guitar). These elements give the songs a very special flavour. The most Vanilla Fudge sounding Led Zeppelin cover is the final song Your Time Is Gonna Come: it starts with 'churchy' Hammond organ and then a thrilling blend of blues and psychedelia featuring inspired, pretty melancholical vocals.

In my opinion Vanilla Fudge have delivered a strong and interesting tribute to Led Zeppelin (one of my favorite bands), with lots of creative ideas and with respect to the mighty Led Zep sound!

 Near the Beginning by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 1969
3.23 | 66 ratings

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Near the Beginning
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

2 stars Vanilla Fudge hit on something special with Renaissance, especially with their haunting take on Donovan's Season of the Witch which closed out the album and could almost be seen as a precursor of Black Sabbath's early doom style.

Unfortunately, with this album they lost all the character and atmosphere and presented a rather generic psychedelic rock record crammed to the gills with somewhat aimless noodling. Break Song, in particular, is a side-length live jam that just consists of wanky solos of a type we've all heard before dozens of times (including an absurdly overlong drum solo) which more or less encapsulates all the worst aspects of that particular performance format.

This is an album which time has not treated well; it's dated extremely badly, particularly now that if you wanted you could get similar live jams from better performers in massive quantities at a very reasonable price. Thanks, guys, but no thanks.

 The Beat Goes On by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 1968
1.79 | 59 ratings

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The Beat Goes On
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by Progfan97402
Prog Reviewer

3 stars This should have been a career suicide for Vanilla Fudge, their much maligned sophomore effort, coming on the heels of their critically acclaimed and commercially successful debut. Yet the label let them continue on. If an album like The Beat Goes On was done any other time, they'd likely get the boot. This is the most ridiculous, over-the-top, pretentious album I own, and that coming from someone who has tons of prog in his collection. But this album really deserves it, moreso than Tales From Topographic Ocean. What on Earth were Mark Stein, Tim Bogert, Carmine Appice, and Vince Martel thinking? OK, so you can easily blame drugs. They must have taken so much drugs to even think of an album this ridiculous. But the real blame was on Shadow Morton, apparently. They take on the Sonny & Cher song by the same name, really, just mainly doing the theme of it done in bewildering different styles (from dirge to acoustic guitar, to even an actual Vanilla Fudge rendition of the song in question). In between all that you get treated with ragtime, swing, political speeches from various political figures, Beatles, Elvis, and references to the band itself. There are actually flashes of brilliance, I won't deny it, I do enjoy their take on Beethoven, but for the most part it sounded like they were simply messing about trying to bring that BIG MESSAGE. That message showing how music and mankind changes as "The Beat Goes On", obviously nothing that you'd hear from the Sonny & Cher original.

Strangely I don't hate the album. I am one of the rare ones to have listened to it more than once and not be totally disgusted at it. In fact, in my perverted ways I sorta enjoy the album. But of course, they really rebounded BIG TIME (a vast understatement) with the wonderful Renaissance in just a few months. I own the original LP, but I didn't spend much. Three stars for me, but I don't blame you if you feel it deserves less than one star.

 The Beat Goes On by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 1968
1.79 | 59 ratings

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The Beat Goes On
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by KingCrInuYasha

2 stars Oh boy, what did I get myself into?

Around the same time Vanilla Fudge was tinkering with the material that would end up becoming Renaissance, producer George "Shadow" Morton got the bright idea to create an avant-garde album that would detail the history of modern music as well as some other philosophical mumbo jumbo that was all the rage at the time. The Fudge was to provide the musical backdrop, as well as having their name stuck to the project. Not surprising, the band was not too thrilled with the project, but, for whatever reason, be it record company pressure or overall inexperience on the Fudge's part, Mark, Tim, Carmine and Vinnie went along for the ride. The result is widely considered by fans, critics, and even the band members themselves as the worst album of their classic period and, for those who know it exists, one of the most infamous records of 1968.

The bulk of the blame has to go to Morton. This is pure conjecture on my part, but this is probably another case of someone listening to the weirdest of the weird of Frank Zappa's material and thinking they could start a revolution by indulging in the same genre, when in reality, neither Morton nor the Fudge had even a tenth of the familiarity that Zappa had with avant-garde. As a result, instead of creating freaky masterpieces that musically pushed the envelope (e.g., the last third of Freak Out! and the whole of We're Only In It For The Money and Uncle Meat), they ended up with the aural equivalent of an Ed Wood film.

If you hadn't already guessed, the title of the album and the overall concept refers to the Sonny and Cher hit released the previous year, with the song serving as the leitmotif throughout the album. The opening number - which include clips from the title song - is your typical dramatic affair from the Fudge, sounding like something Emerson, Lake & Palmer would eventually do on their first album, before concluding with a clip of Thomas Edison and his famous "Mary had a little lamb" speech from his phonograph demonstration in 1877. We then enter Phase One of the concept, which is the aforementioned musical history lesson. The piece runs through Mozart, parlor music of the 19th and early 20th centuries, rag time, big bands, Elvis and finally the Beatles. On the one hand, the concept is nowhere as deep as it claims to be, being something Disney probably would have done had they managed to get the rights to use the songs. On the other hand, the idea of a musical history lesson presented by a over the top psychedelic band sounds kind of quirky to my ears, with the potential to delight both pop music deconstructionists and kids who want to get into music. Yes, I know it's cheesy, but I like it.

The overall problem with this phase is that the execution kind of leaves a lot to be desired. The popping up of the dramatic "Beat Goes On" theme throughout the suite, played in the exact same way, is too distracting for me. The Moody Blues' "House Of Four Doors" sequence did something similar, but at least that was better integrated, with its theme having a similar vibe as the interludes in that piece. Hearing a dramatic, Hammond organ drenched fanfare right between two ragtime pieces throws me out of the experience. Probably the biggest distraction is when they uses the theme in between "In The Mood" and "Hound Dog" , when they should have played those songs back to back uninterrupted to show the similarities between the songs, which would have fit the theme that "the beat goes on" perfectly. I also wish they added some more songs to the suite in order to flesh out the concept. As it is, I put the suite in the "could have been worse, could have been better" pile; and that's not getting into how The Residents managed to do the concept better when they made Third Reich 'N Roll.

Phase Two involves the Fudge covering Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Fur Elsie and is the best moment on the album, if only because it's the only phase that isn't based on a really bad idea and it's also the only one where it's fully fleshed out to its potential. It's nothing special, just the boys covering Beethoven in a cheesy, late 1960s fashion, but this type of arrangement was what Fudge did best and they pull it off with aplomb. The tune ends with a chord sequence that sounds a lot like the one near the start of their cover of "Eleanor Rigby" and I wouldn't be surprised if they put the two together in their live shows at the time.

If the first side was a pretentious, yet harmless, affair, then the second half is where the whole concept goes completely off the deep end. Phase Three consists of voice clips of historical figures between the onset of World War Two and John F. Kennedy being inaugurated as president of the United States, with Fudge providing some sparse, average sounding, musical background. I assume this was another piece that protested the Vietnam War, given the war and peace themes, and said cycle of war and peace being another beat that goes on. Some call it art, I call it self-indulgent. This is Vanilla Fudge's equivalent of The Beatles' "Revolution 9", but has nowhere near the amount of unintentional comedy that made it entertaining to listen to. I don't care if it's an anti-war message; there are plenty of (actual) songs out there that make the point better than this mess.

The fourth and final Phase does little to stop this train wreck in progress. The main theme, The Game Is Over, is yet another cover, this time taken from the soundtrack of a 1966 film starring Jane Fonda, IIRC. The music is actually pretty good and quite possibly the saddest sounding piece in the Fudge's output. At least it would be if they hadn't butchered it by a) splitting the piece with some Indian flavored music that would become badly outdated two years later and b) having the band members speak over the music itself, with Vinnie reciting some poetry, Mark quoting Bible verses about the death of Moses, Tim bluntly answering questions in an interview and Carmine just telling the audience to just listen to the music.

And there's your record. I give Morton an A for effort in wanting to tackle a genre he had no experience in as well as dragging Vanilla Fudge, kicking and screaming, into this mess, but I still give it 2/5, and a very, very weak 2/5 at that. The second half is every bit as pointless as its detractors make it out to be and if it wasn't for the novelty and somewhat wasted potential of the first half, it would have gotten a 1/5. If you want to hear what the fuss is all about or have a thing for postmodernism, I suggest either borrowing from a friend or buying the record cheap.

Final rating: 2/5

Personal favorites: "Sketch", the music suite and the Beethoven covers

Personal dislikes: Everything from side two

P.S.: In writing this review, I almost forgot the two bonus tracks attached to some CD versions. Their straightforward cover of The Beatles' " You Can't Do That" isn't too impressive, but it's pleasant when on. The pile driving ballad, "Come By Day, Come By Night", on the other hand, is a nice surprise. It's one of the first songs penned by the Fudge themselves and manages to successfully incorporate their sound in an original setting. The vocals are sublime and I like the cricket chirps Mark gets out of his organ at the beginning. The bonus tracks' presence on this version of the album is enough to make this rating a solid 2/5 instead of a shaky one.

 Renaissance by VANILLA FUDGE album cover Studio Album, 1968
4.09 | 115 ratings

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Renaissance
Vanilla Fudge Proto-Prog

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Surely ranking alongside the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple when it comes to setting the standards for prog-leaning heavy psych, Vanilla Fudge's second album is a true tour de force, with a range of decent songs building up to the absolutely incredible album closer, Season of the Witch. Devastatngly doomy, if you swapped out Mark Stein's organ performance for a Tony Iommi guitar solo you'd basically arrive at early Black Sabbath - but you wouldn't want to, because the organ-focused proto-doom of the track offers a truly hair-raising and unique trip which must surely be one of the most underrated songs of all time.
Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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