VANILLA FUDGE [AKA: YOU KEEP ME HANGING ON]

Vanilla Fudge are a pioneering psychedelic band with a superb lineup and are famous for psyching up well known cover versions. Their debut albums features some of their best and most popular material such as the stunning' You Keep Me Hanging On', 'Eleanor Rigby' and 'She's Not There'.

It begins with 'Ticket to ride', a slow organ grinder with very strong vocals, harmonies and constant guitar lead work. The lyrics are basically the same as The Beatles but this is psyched up to the max. It is a great version and especially the organ work of Mark Stein is phenomenal.

'People get ready' is a lengthy song, with gentle intro and some outlandish drumming from Carmine Appice. The shimmering Hammond suddenly stops as harmonies a capella come in. It sounds like a church service for a while. It is painfully slow but soon the wonderful 'She's not there' will start. The ominous organ is amazing, and it has a wonderful bassline from Tim Bogert. It is a different version but one that typifies the counter culture late 60s. This ends with a very slowed down psychedelic finale.

'Bang bang' has an extended freak out jam and then a weird chilling nursery rhyme of ring around the rosies, and a tisket a tasket. The organ gains volume and fades as a fade up of Vince Martell's guitar is heard. Stein's falsetto vocals are now the tune of the original 'Bang bang' but very slow and brooding. The rumbling Hammond is gloomy and so effective. The Hammond becomes more aggressive as the song picks up intensity.

'Illusions of my childhood - Part 1' intros the astonishing psychedelic 'You keep me hanging on' that begins with quavering organ and sitar like Indian guitar tones. A pummelling drum beat begins and then the quiet sustained organ. The vocals are passionate and wonderful harmonies augment the emotion. This was a soundtrack to the Vietnam War and the protest era. It is an important landmark of the psychedelic 60s and most people would remember this over any other Vanilla Fudge songs. It has many twists and turns. After the opening melodic verses and choruses there is a freak out of organ, guitar, percussion, and bass.

'Take me for a little while' follows an organ transition and this song is a moderate paced ballad. Stein's organ drones beneath as a pad. It is a nice peaceful love song to prepare for the mayhem to follow. Three Blind Mice plays as part of 'Illusions of my childhood - Part 3' and this is followed by a classic. 'Eleanor Rigby' is the final track and another Beatles cover done exceptionally well. It has a duration of 8:24 and really is full of inventive musicality. The rat-a-tat percussion signifies the war time, and low groaning music has an air of ominous fate about it. It builds to an intense rhythm, faster and faster until it breaks with a swishing organ sweep. Silence then until the gorgeous organ tones begin and join a very measured pace with Bogert's bass embellishments. The vocals begin well harmonised but still melancholy, slow verses with the same Beatles lyrics begin but the atmosphere is very downbeat and sad. At the end it seems to crash and burn but it is still wonderful music. This is an essential album as it ushered in progressive music styles and showed how to do covers, keeping the essence of the original but adding new flavours, altering its time signature, adding new passages of music, to enhance its beauty, and all with a psychedelic flair.