Cactus?
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Topic: Cactus?
Posted By: The Lost Chord
Subject: Cactus?
Date Posted: January 16 2007 at 12:28
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Has anyone heard of this band? Any opinions?
I am considering getting some albums, but before I do id like to hear if anyone cares for em  -------------  "Only the sun knew why"
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Replies:
Posted By: akin
Date Posted: January 16 2007 at 12:34
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They are great hard rock, rooted in Blues, with the Vanilla Fudge's rhythm section, Bogert and Appice. I think they are great. Son of Cactus is very good also, though most of the original members had already left. |
Posted By: cuncuna
Date Posted: January 16 2007 at 12:42
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I think I heard one many years ago. It sounded like standard rock/blues to me, if I remember correctly. The only thing I truly remember about them is not wanting to have them in my colection. ------------- ĦBeware of the Bee! |
Posted By: Bastille Dude
Date Posted: January 16 2007 at 12:45
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Well I actually do care for them, And have been a fan since the mid-70's. If you end up getting any Cactus, Start with "One Way Or Another".
------------- DEATH TO FALSE PROG! |
Posted By: The Lost Chord
Date Posted: January 16 2007 at 13:31
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thanks! ------------- "Only the sun knew why"
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Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: January 16 2007 at 13:49
Thought they were so-so until 'Ot 'N' Sweaty came out which I really like (great guitar player on that one).
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Posted By: Chicapah
Date Posted: January 16 2007 at 14:22
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I saw them way, way back when they opened for the Who on their "Tommy" tour and thought they were fantastic. I reccommend their first album because its a barnburner from end to end and the lead guitarist is on fire. Incredible energy and some interesting songs like "Brother Bill" and "Can't Judge a Book..." Their version of "Parchman Farm" is a scorcher. Just no-holds-barred rock and roll. ------------- "Literature is well enough, as a time-passer, and for the improvement and general elevation and purification of mankind, but it has no practical value" - Mark Twain |
Posted By: ClemofNazareth
Date Posted: January 16 2007 at 20:52
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I have the only New Cactus Band album ("Son of Cactus"). Not sure where they got the name though, since there's no members from Cactus in it.
Duane Hitchings plays keyboards, and he's pretty good, but not really prog (but he had a bitching 'fro for a white guy!). Mike Pinera plays guitar (Ramatam, Thee Image, Blues Image, Iron Butterfly, Pinera Band, Classic Rock All-Stars), and Roland Robinson, who was an old blues session musician, played bass. It's basically kind of heavy blues rock with some mild psych influences, not unlike Vanilla Fudge or Iron Butterfly. ------------- "Peace is the only battle worth waging." Albert Camus |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: January 17 2007 at 04:21
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I owned two albums in the 70's , the yellow and the dark red artworks.
noisy hard rock that has been recently brought to attention by Classic Rock medias >> thru remasters as is with other hard rock Stray and Edgar Broughton Band.
Alml three rather over-rated, Cactus and Stray often being compared to Zep. But I find this comparison grotesque.
I much preferred B&A in Fudge than in Cactus.
BTW, the Jim mcCarthy in this band has no link to the one in the first Renaissance and The Yardbirds. ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
Posted By: salmacis
Date Posted: January 17 2007 at 07:51
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Heavy/blues rock band. Great in small doses (that's why I only have a best of) but relentless in mass exposure to it. Not a lot of variation- they make Vanilla Fudge look like a model of subtlety and decorum.
I personally much prefer Stray, Hugues, to Cactus. There's more adventure in their stuff than Cactus' sledgehammer subtle blues rock. But even then, there's simply NO WAY they are comparable to Led Zeppelin. For a start, as far as I can see they 'jumped the shark' after their first few albums- I had an album of Stray's called 'Stand Up And Be Counted' (which mystifyingly has been given a remaster just this week) and it was horrifying pub rock, one of the tracks had a chorus like 'we'll have pint with 'Arry and the boys'. And Edgar Broughton Band are more in the same mould as Cactus with a sort of garage rock approach to blues rock, perhaps because they couldn't really play too well, methinks. But I like their first two albums. |
Posted By: Chicapah
Date Posted: January 17 2007 at 09:45
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As I recall Jim McCarthy came from Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels. ------------- "Literature is well enough, as a time-passer, and for the improvement and general elevation and purification of mankind, but it has no practical value" - Mark Twain |
Posted By: glass house
Date Posted: January 17 2007 at 10:41
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I love Cactus . In this thread they are getting a bit of stick. I don't agree with that.
A great band with loads of blues/rock elements. So they are not subtle, so what!!
All of their albums are good, but yes One Way or Another is their best one.
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Posted By: salmacis
Date Posted: January 17 2007 at 13:50
| I have a best of which has most of the debut and the follow up (I think) and I like playing it from time to time, certainly. I might have been a bit harsh but that was perhaps only in deference to Sean's point that the band are compared to Led Zeppelin by some. |
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: January 18 2007 at 13:05
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Read the liner notes of the twoforone CD Jeff Beck Truth/Beckola, from the many bits of info available there the following two may provide some answers: 1. Jeff Beck wanted the feel of the heavy rhythm section he had heard in Vanilla Fudge (i.e. generated by B&A) on his recordings. Tony Newman with Rod Wood provided - Tony Newman went on to form May Blitz, who played the odd early heavy rock tune. (Occasionally feel May Blitz are closer to Stray, but thought Edgar Broughton Band might be called a proto-goth band with Wasa Wasa, quickly becoming a rather agi-prop/pop band with subsequent recordings (as such, some vague connection with New Model Army).
2. Jimmy Page was in the production booth for Beck's earlier recording, then disappeared for 4 weeks and coming back with the demos of the first Led Zep album - on hearing Jeff Beck blow his top, thinking his mate Jimmy Page had pinched his idea. Ergo: there is connection between B&A and LZ.
Never quite fathomed with Beck Bogert & Appice was a belated answer to LZ or Cream with added soul overtones. ------------- The best eclectic music on the Web,8-11pm BST/GMT THURS. CLICK ON: http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php - http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php Host by PA's Dick Heath. |
Posted By: salmacis
Date Posted: January 18 2007 at 15:23
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Jeff Beck has seemingly belly ached about Led Zeppelin 'ripping him off' ever since!!
BBA I didn't take to that much- like you say, I think 'belated' summed it up as that power trio format but more the music they played, was really a bit out of date by then, imho. Liked Beck's fusion albums like 'Blow By Blow' and 'Wired' far more. May Blitz are a band well worth checking out, too. |