ROCK & ROLL

My knowledge on this American band is too narrow considering its importance in prog's developing years. I'm told it should be in the same level with The Nice, but personally I strongly doubt it. I know this final studio album is not VF at their best, so it's definitely not a good introduction, to me or anyone. It's now re-released by Esoteric Recordings. The liner notes tell about the very hard circumstances of the recording: the group was practically divided in two camps unable to communicate to each other. Since this is my first VF album I can't evaluate how much that can be heard in music (the playing itself is OK), or how much more would I have liked their best works. But this one was as uninteresting to me as the red'n'white cover.

Two - or was it three - of the songs are covers. 'I Can't Make It Alone' is from the Carol King songbook, and not the best part of it. The only track I found worth repeated listenings was the Michel Legrand composition 'The Windmills of Your Mind' because the song is dear to me, mostly due to Dusty Springfield's version. Also Noel Harrison's original performance in the film The Thomas Crown Affair is worth hearing. I can't say I was charmed by Fudge's version, but it's listenable enough. On the whole this feels quite uninspired album of organ-dominated rock'n'roll.