ROCK & ROLL

As the cover and title of this album painfully point out, the inspiration is gone (I don't think they were trying to make that particular point with this album or they missed altogether the mark) . A few numbers could have filled up the previous album (replacing the jam) and would have made ithat one another excellent one but instead we end up with two lacklustre LP. Do listen to Windmill of Your Mind as this is still a classic from them but there is not much else in here. Maybe Need Love but don't we all?

A fulfilling first finale

"Rock'n'roll" was the final album recorded by Vanilla Fudge during their creative days in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Further albums would be released in the name of Vanilla Fudge, but it is to their first incarnation we must look for their significance in the prog timeline.

The band went out on something of a high with an album of largely original material. Thankfully, there are a couple of the band's trademark covers, "Windmills of your mind" being a particularly excellent choice. Uriah Heep must have been impressed as they would use a very similar melody on their song "Dreams" a few years later. Another cover, Carole King and Geoff Goffin's "I can't make it alone" is a wonderfully soulful rendition with one of Mark Stein's best vocal performances on any of their albums.

Of the original songs, "Need love" is arguably the most striking, being a brash out and out rock song with screaming guitars and distorted vocals. The song has an almost punk like live feel. The band composition "Street walking woman" is for me the weakest track. It has a decent arrangement, but the basic song is uninteresting.

In all, an excellent final album which showed that the band were still well endowed when it came to originality and endeavour. Recommended.

The bonus tracks are single A and b sides, some of which also appeared as album tracks here or elsewhere.

This last Fudge album from their classic period isn't really good, unfortunately. The band is out of steam and Bogert and Appice are thinking more to their trio project with Beck than to the Fudge.

It seems that they were rather keen on releasing as many albums as they could in a short period of time (five albums in just over two years).

"Need Love" although sounding very raw is one of the very few bearable songs from "Rock And Roll". A true rock song with an incredible beat. Good but not brilliant. The gospel oriented "Lord In The Country" is absolutely dreadful. To press next is by far the best thing you can do. Probably the worst Fudge experience although "I Can't Make It Alone" is pretty poor as well. This time, the soul influence is dominant. Difficult to pick up which one is the poorest. A draw I guess. Keep on pressing next.

"Church Bells Of St. Martins" reminds me at times of the "Paul Butterfield Blues Band" (especially their great Woodstock appearance. But this song is pompous and chaotic. Still, I guess that 10CC must have listened to it because some of their crazy and complex arrangements have such a flavour. But in a very much harmonic pattern.

There is ONE very good song on this album : "The Windmills Of Your Mind". A great cover version of this soundtrack piece ("The Thomas Crown Affair"). But one song (even excellent) can't save an album. OK, let('s add "Need Love" to the list.

A pitiful effort, I'm afraid. Mostly influenced by rhythm & blues and soul which are absolutely not my cup of tea.

Two stars for this uninspired album.

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.