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MADE IN ENGLAND

Atomic Rooster

Heavy Prog


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Atomic Rooster Made In England album cover
3.62 | 161 ratings | 12 reviews | 14% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 1972

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Time Take My Life (6:02)
2. Stand By Me (3:45)
3. Little Bit Of Inner Air (2:39)
4. Don't Know What Went Wrong (3:59)
5. Never To Lose (3:16)
6. Introduction (0:26)
7. Breathless (instrumental) (4:49)
8. Space Cowboy (3:20)
9. People You Can't Trust (3:52)
10. All In Satan's Name (4:43)
11. Close Your Eyes (3:48)

Total Time: 44:23

Bonus tracks on 1991 CD:
12. Goodbye Planet Earth (4:12)
13. Satan's Wheel (6:44)

Bonus tracks on 2004 reissue:
- BBC 1972 Sessions :
12. Stand By Me (3:24)
13. Breakthrough (3:07)
14. Save Me Aka Friday The 13th (3:42)
15. Close Your Eyes (2:41)
- BBC In Concert (Paris Theatre, 27.7.72) :
16. Stand By Me (5:00)
17. People You Can't Trust (4:40)
18. All In Satan's Name (4:01)
19. Devil's Answer (7:12)

Line-up / Musicians

- Chris Farlowe / vocals
- Steve Bolton / electric & 12-string guitars
- Vincent Crane / Hammond organ, piano, electric piano, A.R.P. synthesizer, arrangements & orchestration, producer
- Rick Parnell / drums, congas, timbales, percussion, vocals (3)

With:
- Bill Smith / electric bass (2)
- Doris Troy / backing vocals (2,9)
- Liza Strike / backing vocals (2,9)

Releases information

Artwork: Abe Gurvin

LP Dawn ‎- DNLS 3038 (1972, UK)
LP Brain - 2001 Brain (1977, Germany) Diferent cover an retitled "This Is Atomic Rooster"

CD Repertoire Records ‎- REP 4165-WZ (1991, Germany) With 2 bonus tracks, different cover
CD Sequel Records ‎- NEM CD 610 (1991, UK) Remastered by Gary Moore
CD Castle Music ‎- CMQCD927 (2004, UK) With 8 bonus tracks

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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ATOMIC ROOSTER Made In England ratings distribution


3.62
(161 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(14%)
14%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(43%)
43%
Good, but non-essential (32%)
32%
Collectors/fans only (9%)
9%
Poor. Only for completionists (2%)
2%

ATOMIC ROOSTER Made In England reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by loserboy
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Swirling, twirling Hammond Organ backed by the Classic rock sounds of the '70's. ATOMIC ROOSTER may not be everyones cup of tea, but this is classic 70's prog rock probably fitting also in the Classic Rock category. Vincent Crane layers on some classic hammond keys which should make all lovers of this instrument drool in their sleep. "Made In England" represents in my opinion the most complete work for ATOMIC ROOSTER who seem to always be excluded from the prog circle for some reason.
Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk
5 stars 4.99999 stars really. Another killer album although somewhat different than what they had done previously. As the MK II line-up had dissolved, everything had to be re-started from scratch (these constant break-ups will undermine Vincent Crane's health as he was already depressive and will remain so until his death (suicide?) in the late eighties. For this album, he managed to convince the immense voice of Chris Farlowe (fresh off the break-up of Colosseum) to join up along with a bunch of lesser known musos (and still no bassist). This album again came with a different cover (represented here is the American one) as the British cover was made out denim tissue (and is now very expensive in the collector's world) but aside from that curiosity, the Pythonesque cover you see here is quite apt at describing the great music on here.

Of course the music will take a new twist with such a powerful (soulful) vocalist but will remains truthful to Rooster standards. Shall we say that the music was slightly more funky hard rock and this album will make frequent calls to an excellent horn section for about a third of the tracks on here. They will even use strings on the killer Stand By Me. This album will however be less constant than previous as some number are poorer than others but are greatly outnumbered by the gems ( Time Take MY Life , Satan's Name , Breathless , People you can trust). A real must for anyone that enjoys this band, and those that don't like it are advised to LISTEN to it, before making quick judgments

Review by Philrod
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Another album, another change of personnel for Atomic Rooster. Vincent Crane still leads the band, but this time around it is with Chris Farlowe, the soul and r & b singer tranformed and revitalized here. Rick Parnell on drums and Steve Bolton on guitars are rounding the third incarnation of the roost. Crane builds on the funk groove of the precedent album, In Hearing Of to a more concise and effective sound ( one song over five minutes, the album opener ''Time Take my Life''). As on the first album, the orchestration is a flaw, not working vey well with the sound of the band, especially on the opener. What is worth noting is that every memeber except Farlowe has written at least 2 songs, wich brings to the variety of styles: Parnell with his hard southern rock approach and Bolton with more melodic moments( see Nothing to lose). Mostly Roost's last good album, and maybe their best. It is also the one wich is the closest to a progressive album, but still close to a hard rock one.
Review by Easy Livin
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Ball of confusion

"Made in England" was the first of two albums recorded in the name of Atomic Rooster for Dawn records, the progressive arm of Pye Records. I say "in the name of" since the line up and style of these albums is very different to that of the band's generally favoured classic era. The only band member to remain as we entered 1972 was founder and leader Vincent Crane. Crane put his (significant) personal issues aside, and recruited three new members. The most notable of these is singer Chris Farlowe who had recently worked with Colosseum, but was best known for his solo hit single "Out of time", written by Jagger and Richards of the Rolling Stones.

The opening "Time take my life" (note do not misread the title as "Time to take my life"!) is a fine 6 minute piece of prog influenced drama. The arrangement includes dominant brass and strings in addition to some competent organ playing by Crane. This is very much a case of putting your best foot forward first though and the album soon settles into a series of soul and funk dominated tracks.

It is easy to blame Farlowe for the radical change in direction, but as Crane once said, it was he who wrote the songs. By way of mitigation, he said that the songs he wrote were designed to work with the talents of the new line up. Thus we have numbers such as "Stand by me" (not the Ben E King classic) and "People you can't trust" which sound more than ever like something the Temptations might have recorded around the same time. "Stand by me" was released as a single in the UK and the US, but failed to impress on either side of the Atlantic.

Overall, there is an eclectic mixture of songs here, some of which hark back to the band's earlier albums (such as "Little bit of inner air" and "All in Satan's name"). Others are overtly funky, white soul songs, such as the James Brown inspired "Don't know what went wrong".

"Never to lose" is a heavy plodder but it features a fine wah wah guitar solo by Steve Bolton. After a strange preacher like intro which is turned off, "Breathless" is piano driven improvisation, Crane doing his best to sound like Keith Emerson on the keyboards. The track is quite at odds with the rest of the album.

In all, a pretty enjoyable album which offers a diverse collection of songs. There are occasional hints of the prog influences of former days, but the soul and funk emphasis of some of the tracks may not appeal to those who seek the Atomic Rooster which recorded Atomic Rooster's early albums.

The reissued version on CD has 2 bonus tracks, both of which were originally on the following album "Nice'n'greasy".

Review by Queen By-Tor
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Space cowboys and church hymns make for an interesting mix

By their fourth album heavy prog leaders Atomic Rooster had already changed considerably in sound and lineup. With this album they strayed more into their tertiary genre (soul) while still maintaining strong footholds in heavy metal and prog. For this album the songs are shorter - sometimes heavier and sometime catchier - than ever before. This makes for both a good and bad thing as one of the big strengths about Rooster up to this point was the fact that they were always heavy and catchy with a fine mix of both, one nor the other disturbing the balance. But with a large section of soul coming more to the front of the mix this album starts to become a little bit scary for prog fans.

A couple of songs on this album really don't fit with the Atomic Rooster convention. Stand By Me is a heavy and quick pop rock tune that really does feel more soul than prog, the album's finisher as well, Close Your Eyes sounds like it could be coming from the local chapel (albeit a lot more upbeat). Some of the songs are simply far too short to develop like Rooster has done with songs on previous albums like the all too short Little Bit Of Inner Air, which has some very pleasant vocals and a nice guitar line to accompany it. People You Can't Trust is a good and cynical song, but for some reason the piano line sounds a little to close to Tomorrow Night (from Death Walks Behind You) for comfort. The backing vocalists on this one are also hit and miss, adding to the soul feel and taking away from the more heavy aspects.

Still, where would we be without a few killer Rooster tunes? This album still has many. A couple songs on here that make for a more than satisfying meal are all the ones that lean more towards their heavy prog roots while borrowing from that soul feel. The opening song from the album Time Take My Life is an instant Rooster classic with it's sharp chorus and masterful guitar riffs. Do Not Know What Went Wrong does nothing wrong in how it mixes the soul influences more heavily than some of the more rock songs, perhaps it's the fun piano, vocals and guitars that do the trick. This is an upbeat song (somewhat ironically perhaps) that really makes for a good listen.

More good music as we come into side two. Opening with a clip of some very gospel moments, the record seems to slow to a stop (that song still gets played out later in the record, whether that's good or bad is up to you) and the menacing pianos come in to start the instrumental Breathless. This track has a mind of it's own! It's a destructive powerhouse that could easily hold it's own with previous instrumental works of beauty from the band such as Gershatzer or Vug. Some excellent piano hooks and some excellent guitars make for a great tune here. Following that is another powerhouse (this one with a sense of humor) as Space Cowboy kicks in with a 'heavier 'n hell' riff. ''Yee-haw''ing can be overlooked if your sense of humor is not the same as the bands because that riff is just too mighty to pass up on. Finally, another excellent piece with All In Satan's Name, which is a bit less heavy than one may expect, even if there's some malevolent drums to kick it off. Another excellent riff comes in and we're into an almost Deep Purple kind of song with this one. Evil, heavy and with a rapid pace - this is just how I like my Roosters cooked.

So while it's kind of a mixed bag with some very good and very 'meh' tracks this one still makes for a good addition to any prog record collection. One of the more recent cd remasters of this album also features 8 BBC session tracks which include a lot from this album (including Stand By Me twice) and some from their previous record, In Hearing Of. If that's the record you're looking at picking up then you can add another half star to this rating. All in all this gets 3 space cowboys out of 5, very good in parts and very ignorable in others. Still recommended to everyone, since when this record is good, it is good!

Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Lots of line-up changes for this album, amongst which Chris Farlowe from "Colosseum". I was expecting a return to a more heavy rock sound (like in their debut and "Death Walks.") and I hoped that the bluesy feeling of "In Hearing" was a forgotten aspect.

I have to say that it is not quite true with this album. After a strongly jazz-oriented intro ("Time Is My Life"), the Rooster offers one of their worst song IMO: a kind of Motown anthem. The same dull mood is repeated during "Little Bit Of Inner Air".

This album is unfortunately dominated with alien rock influences. The soul-oriented "Don't Know." can't captivate me either. But soul, jazz and blues don't belong to my standards.

I am deeply missing their great hard-rock and heavy music of the early days. So much better than the one featured on this record. I would point out the funky/heavy instrumental "Breathless" as a highlight out of this work, but far to reach the intensity of "Spoonful" for instance. But due to little competition, it has to be regarded as an outstanding track from "Made In England".

There is even a true rock song (would you believe!) : "Space Cowboy". It is indeed a strange title and one could expect the worse out of it, but it is actually a solid heavy track featuring some bombastic and scary vocals. One of my fave from the album, just because it is the most linked with the period of the band I prefer.

After this one, "People You Can Trust" is a type of "press next" song.

"All In Satan's Name" is an excellent model of what Purple will do later on under the Hughes umbrella. Heavy blues-rock and excellent rhythm. Another good song from this album, which IMO is seriously lacking more tracks as this one. The poor closing won't save the deal, I'm afraid

The two bonus tracks available on the CD edition won't raise the average level of this album, even if a great and heavy psychedelic intro for "Satan's Wheel" is more than welcome. Unfortunately, it is followed by some other bluesy/funky savours which I can't bear.

Two stars.

Review by AtomicCrimsonRush
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Made in England is the last great album from Atomic Rooster before they ventured into more commercial territory that ended their short reign as early 70s heavy prog pioneers.

The album begins brilliantly with the killer riff in 'Time Take My Life'. Violins back up the atmospheric intro and then the groove kicks in. This is one of Atomic Rooster's famous tracks and it's got a great hook.

This is followed by other great standouts such as 'Stand By Me' and 'Little Bit of Inner Air'.

Other highlights on this classic album are 'Never To Lose', 'People You can't Trust' and 'All In Satan's Name'. Also the spacey 'Space Cowboy' is quite original in structure and has a sinister feel throughout.

The bonus tracks are a pleasant addition featuring 4 tracks from BBC Sessions and 4 tracks from a 1972 BBC Concert. In conclusion, this is another essential purpose for all prog fans who like their prog heavy with killer guitar riffs, vibrant keyboards, excellent percussion, and scintillating vocals. It is yet another tribute to the legendary Vincent Crane who committed suicide in 1989 due to a deepening depression and heavy panic attacks that drove him over the edge. Another Syd Barrett case.

The booklet is very informative and well produced giving an insight into the band's chequered history. Atomic Rooster were one of the most intriguing and darkest prog bands of the 1970s. After this release the albums became more commercialized but 'Made In England' remains their last great classic.

Review by snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars I believe that your opinion on this Atomic Rooster album depends on your taste to blues-rock/soul-funk/prog-rock mixture music. Because this album is different from what the band had recorded before.

Main album engine is band's founder Vincent Craine Hammond organ passages and strong ( I can say -great, whenever I really like it) Chris Farlow vocals. Music is different, wide range of styles are mostly based on Hammond based r'n'b/white soul/blues rock and funky beats. But all arrangements and songs structures ( as well as musicianship in total) are all proggy.

If you like that musical mix (as I do), you will enjoy this album for sure.

Review by Tom Ozric
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars Nice to see this album is still being listened to and appreciated by some folks. 'Made In England' offers a fusion of blues based funky white-soul progressive hard-rock with symphonic touches - such against-the-grain stylings have surprisingly gelled perfectly to form a very cohesive run of songs. I've never been a big fan of vocalist Chris Farlowe's bellowing blues, but it just seems to fit amazingly well in these compositons - even his falsetto singing doesn't annoy me. Call it an acquired taste, but what maestro Vincent Crane has concocted here is pretty entertaining. For keyboard boffins, Crane mainly associates himself with some fine Piano and E-Piano, but does insert some killer Hammond solos on certain tracks (Time Take My Life, Breathless, All In Satan's Name) and even the odd Synth experiment can be heard (Space Cowboy). In fact, Drummer Ric Parnell sets up some stately grooves and Guitarist Steve Bolton performs suitably searing licks. Even the brass and orchestral arrangements add a special dimension to most songs here. Granted, it's quite a different approach than they took on the previous 3 superb albums, but a welcome and fresh change for many. Embrace it, accept it and most of all, ENJOY it !! 4 fine stars for this interesting record.

Latest members reviews

2 stars After fellow band members chose to leave the group, keyboard player Vincent Crane made an attempt to keep the molten fire of the last three albums burning. Reforming a new band around ex-Colosseum vocalist Chris Farlowe they were able to offer a solid Atomic Rooster album which was released in ... (read more)

Report this review (#126378) | Posted by Wishbone Ash | Wednesday, June 20, 2007 | Review Permanlink

4 stars This was the first Rooster album to feature mr. Chris Farlowe on lead vocals. He's surely a great singer with an outstanding voice, but his vocal style sometimes bothers me, but this is a matter of taste, and I can stand him very well - although I can't listen to two albums with his singing in ... (read more)

Report this review (#95566) | Posted by M. B. Zapelini | Tuesday, October 24, 2006 | Review Permanlink

5 stars "Made In England" is my favorite Atomic Rooster album. It is fantastic! It is a kind of heavy metal/soul fusion. Yes, soul! "Made In England" is the first Atomic Rooster album to feature the amazing soul- singer Chris Farlowe (previously Colosseum) and he sounds just like an 'atomic rooster' I ... (read more)

Report this review (#39349) | Posted by | Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | Review Permanlink

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