RENAISSANCE

THE fudge album . The critics came down heavy on them after their debut but this the third album as they came off an extremely bad BeatGoes On. Obviously they were not willing to give them a second chance AND THEY WERE WRONG !!!! This is mind boggling psych and Stein is tearing the guts off his Hammond organ in a way that Bands like Front 242 will do with their synth some twenty years on . This is so HEAVY ! The rest of the band is not faring bad either as Bogert and Appice will be considered as master of heavies . Stupendous Season Of the Witch.

This band started its career by doing artistic cover versions from tunes composed by other people, and this third album presents their own matured composing skills. Earlier "The Beat Goes On" was more like an abstract artsy tryout when compared to this masterpiece in my opinion. The most dominant elements are still the strong organ chord layers, powerful vocal harmonies and very strong emotional load, resembling a state of religious pathos.

A crash of gong opens the album, and introduces a dualistic song "The Sky Cried - When I was A Boy". This beginning holds a mysterious haze of psychedelic sounds seeking their form, concreting as an aggressive storm blasting furious fuzz guitar sounds, stormy drums thunderbolts, wild raw keyboards and preaching vocal sermon. The verse brings a calm eye to this storm with some sound effects, contrasting the song's drive effectively. The duo song shifts to its second phase via short graveyard soundscape, section with full of true anxiety. Following "Thoughts" is a shorter song culminating to a chorus sections, having also a calmer verses and bursting with exploding emotions. "Paradise" starts with eerie organ solo painting very raw and interesting visions; This is another longer track running for over six minutes, and it takes it time to build up. The rest of the band creeps in with multi vocal harmonies. The main part of the composition is another wonderful melancholic keyboard driven calm sequence, paused by heavenly voids of contemplation.

Then there's a batch of two shorter songs; "That's What Makes a Man" has a dynamic theme, which is followed by another poetic composition shifting from calm verse growing in power for the strong chorus. "The Spell That Comes After" begins with abstract rhythmic process of voices creating a magical feeling. These melt as another powerful melodic tune following the stylistic line of previous the songs. There's a cool short jazzy quotation arranged in the middle of it, and the available space is used for the aural description of magical events, making this one of the most impressionistic numbers here. "Faceless People" continues to flow nicely after it, bringing a calm vision of space, slowly starting to move and making room for the aggressive iconoclastic purge carving out the more conventional composition out of the chaos. This process was first introduced in their debut album, and it's a cool way to enrich basic rock tunes. Some may of course find such as unnecessary artsy overdoing, but I like it, as it brings more atavistic elements to the music, and fits to the song naturally. There's also very interesting raw guitar solo on this tune.

The last song is the long "Season of the Witch" running nearly nine minutes. It also begins very calmly, taking its time, and allowing quiet drops to fall over a distant humming of the organs. The vocal melodies start to drive the composition, which rolls as slow and frightful tides. This song relies much on the vocals, there's even some kind of narrated part in it, and the final ending of it is very grim. My copy didn't have the bonus tracks, but I have heard two of them from the "Psychedelic Sundae" compilation. 7' Version of "You Keep Me Hanging On" cuts out the long starting rituals of the original album version, which I maybe prefer a bit more, and "Come By Day Come By Night" is beautiful and dreamy melodic 1960's song colored with psychedelic tones.

If you liked this album, hunt down Arcadium's "Breathe Awhile", it holds quite similar powerful music sounding pretty much this album. I have also heard that this band was an influence for Uriah Heep, and though their music is more happier and not as trippy as this, I believe this innovation can yet be heard in tunes like "July Morning". Recommended warmly if you like serious and emotional music from late 1960's, and if you do not shun depressive music.

Songs for all seasons

"Renaissance" is for me where Vanilla Fudge came closest to sounding like their fellow travellers Grand Funk Railroad. Here we have an album of deliciously heavy, original material and covers which demonstrates clearly how the band had matured and developed their sound.

Longer tracks such as "Seasons of the witch" (a Donovan song) and "Faceless people" are wonderfully arranged songs which are performed with confidence and style. The former is a slower, slightly understated (for Vanilla Fudge!) number, while "Faceless people" builds from a soft start through some all-guns-blazing organ and relatively rare lead guitar soloing before the vocals even start. The song has a passing resemblance to Mountain's classic cover of "Theme from an imaginary western" (probably just in my imagination!).

There are of course strong similarities with the likes of Uriah Heep in the swirling Hammond organ, the multi-part harmonies, and the oh-so-heavy rhythm section. There is a sense of adventure throughout this album which makes it noticeably different to other Vanilla Fudge releases, while simultaneously retaining all that is familiar about them.

In summary, another fine release by these under-appreciated pioneers. Worth investigating.

After a good debut album full of covers and a poor follow-up, the Fudge is back with an extraordinary album.

If ever there is one album that the fans of the early Purple or Heep needs to listen to it is this one. Those heavy keys are so evocative and precursory of Jon and Ken's ones. From the very first gong sound of the sumptuous opening track "The Sky Cried when I Was a Boy", one knows that something special is going on.

In the land of heavy, this is one of the heaviest ones. It seems that the keyboards are vomited through my loud speakers while I listen to it. These vocals so superb and such a great source of inspiration for David (Byron). The birth of heavy rock, maybe?

"Thoughts" is another hymn to wild harmony. Heep has learned its lessons from this number, for sure! Short, apocalyptic, stunning. Give me more of that kind, please.

Almost each single number from this album is pure, wild and heavy psychedelia. To release such a frenetic album in .1968 was a great challenge. It shows that this band was more creative than what some might have thought. They are definitely much, much more than a great cover band (even if they remained one of the greatest of that kind).

The power that radiates from "Paradise" is just fabulous. Technique, virtuosity, melody are on the rendez-vous. But more than anything a very, very heavy sound throughout this album. These organ sounds combined with such a brilliant rhythmic section are just amazing.

The first cover song from this great album is "The Spell that Comes After". Somewhat weaker, I must say. This highlights their song writing capabilities. In a year's time they evolved dramatically and all on the good side.

The next track "Faceless People" is another jewel. I can reassure Easy Livin' : this song has definitely inspired Jack Bruce while he was writing the great "Theme From An Imaginary Western". It is one of my fave from this album (and the link to "Theme" is probably not alien to this). After the initial part, these organ and guitar are just so great. Orgasmic ?

The second cover brings us back to their debut while they were almost re-writing the original songs they were interpreting. Airplane also did some great work with a Donovan song ("Fat Angel"). This one completely transform it as well, but I am not fully seduced by "Season of the Witch".

This album deserves your full attention. It was really innovative for its time, and even if it might sound outdated for young prog freaks, just bear in mind that this album was released almost forty years ago...

The CD version features three bonus tracks which are different that the ones listed here. But none of "All In Your Mind" or "The Look of Love" are really worth. But "Where Is My Mind" is on par with the other pieces of the original album.

Four stars.

Back to what they do best after the disastrous experimental excess of 'The Beat Goes On', the third album from very heavy-rock exponents Vanilla Fudge finds the four-piece trying their hand at original compositions that don't involve plundering the vaults of old radio stations(thank the gods). Coupled with a couple of trademark covers, Donovan's oft-repeated 'Season Of The Witch' prime among them, 'Renaissance' proves a thankful return-to-form. Obviously, and unlike the previous album, there was someone lurking in the studio with the balls to say 'no' to the musicians when it really counted, and as a result we get another punishing blend of meaty guitars, rumbling basses and juicy psychedelic organs, the dazzling seven-and-a-half minute opener 'The Sky Cried When I Was A Boy' leading the way. They may not be the most subtle of groups, yet there is something wonderfully raw about Vanilla Fudge's style, and 'Renaissance' is no exception. Bruising, fuzzy rock, this should more than satisfy hard-psych aficianados.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

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.

With its surprise hit self-titled debut release VANILLA FUDGE demonstrated its uncanny ability to carve up overexposed pop songs of the past and reconstruct them into a completely new coalescence of steaming hot late 1960s psychedelic rock. The band was riding high after the debut shot into the top 20 followed by a top 10 hit of The Supremes' #1 chart topper "You Keep Me On" only a year after its heavy radio exposure. VANILLA FUDGE probably should have followed up the album with another reinterpretation of classic pop songs or then ventured into self-penned tracks that kept the growing fanbase's attention but instead rocketed helter skelter into the world of avant-garde experimentalism with "The Beat Goes On." While still maintaining enough momentum to sustain a top 20 album, the abstract songless nature of the album's sound collage effect may have prognosticated the wonderful world of rock and roll moving on into a new intrepid era of complete freedom and unthinkable exploration but as a business move in the world of 60s pop music, not exactly a brilliant move.

The band shrugged it off and moved on quickly and in 1968 released not one but two albums. "The Beat Goes On" emerged early in February 1968 and although catching fans and critics off guard did give the quartet of Vince Martelli (vocals, guitar), Mark Stein (organ), Tim Bogert (bass) and Carmine Appice (drums) a new lease on life that propelled them beyond the status of being a mere cover band. By summer, VANILLA FUDGE released what many deem should've been their proper second album. On June 14, 1968 the band unleashed its third album RENAISSANCE, the first of which featured all original tracks and although two covers were employed, their choices were more suitable with the psychedelic acid rock that the band had developed as its primary expressive mode. Yes, the sound that VANILLA FUDGE made famous with clever reinterpretations of classic pop hits such as The Beatles' "Eleanor RIgby" and Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" was back only this time with completely original self-penned cuts that propelled the band into the next arena of competency. VANILLA FUDGE was now a bonafide force of musical creativity to that the likes that the band had become a pioneering force in developing the earliest sounds of both progressive rock and the harder rock and heavy metal sounds that would dominate in the 1970s.

Opening with "The Sky Cried - When I Was a Boy," RENAISSANCE reacquaints its listener with its innovative mix of fuzzy organ ponderosity along with the emphasis on heavier guitar, bass and drum playing. Also making a much needed reprise are all those intricately designed vocal harmonies that propelled VANILLA FUDGE's music to a magical 60s psychedelic universe that had been gestating all throughout the previous two years. It becomes immediately clear that RENAISSANCE really does reflect its titular definition and signifies a rebirth in the band's development. With all aspirations of pop hit stardom extinguished, VANILLA FUDGE instead evolved its distinct style into something much more - that being a veritable art rock band that embodied all the contemporary developments that were steeped in psychedelia, mystique and complexity. The album featured only seven tracks with the opening "The Sky Cried" and the closing cover of Donovan's "The Season Of The Witch" both exceeding the seven-minute mark. RENAISSANCE also was a concept album thus showcasing on the rock's paradigm of focusing on album long listening experience rather than the banality of short catchy singles to lure audiences in. The involvement of producer Shadow Martin helped sculpt the band's new aspirations into a captivating adventurous musical performance.

While the tracks may have been unfamiliar, VANILLA FUDGE's sound was back and firing on full pistons. The band retained its slow and steady pace of developing strong melodic constructs before unleashing its heavier display of instrumental virtuosity. RENAISSANCE also introduced a more cosmic feel to the band's style which allowed brooding keyboard-induced atmospheres to seep into every motif and cadence like a leaky bottle of pancake syrup. The band was essentially carving out an early prototype of keyboard dominant rock that would become popularized by Deep Purple and Uriah Heep just a few years down the road. As the album continues with "Thoughts" and "Paradise," the album delivers a mesmerizing display of ritualistic organ performances, fuzz guitar and rhythmic ingenuity of the bass and drums. Vocal harmonies are accompanied by varying variations including short spoken word narrations and more emotive outbursts.

RENAISSANCE is an amazingly adept and consistent album with the perfect 60s sounds that emerged from the very opening of the album to the excellent cover of Donovan's "Seasons Of The Witch" which takes a rather straightforward pop song and transmogrifies it into a magical display of excess, a trait that would become the hallmark of all that progressive rock to come. The track also wove in interpolations of Essra Mowhawk's "We Never Learn." Mohawk was the first female member of Frank Zappa's Mother of Invention" and was the writer of the track "The Spell That Comes After" thus displaying VANILLA FUDGE's true intent of taking music into the true world of innovation and leaving behind their pop hit origins without hesitation. While stylistically perfect at this point and a totally satisfying display of acid rock, VANILLA FUDGE unknowingly created some of the most accomplished mix of proto-metal that would lead to bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple all the while crafting a proto-progressive sound that would quickly find its way around the world and reemerging as the explosive wellspring of creativity that would erupt the following year in 1969. Wow these guys came a long way from a mere cover band the year before! RENAISSANCE is a true classic of the 1960s.