Product Description
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Blue Cheer looms large in the annals of hard rock, laying down
the sonic foundations of heavy metal, and serving as a crucial
influence on the birth of punk, grunge and stoner rock. While the
rest of the rock world was mellowing out and embracing the spirit
of the Summer of Love, the seminal San Francisco power trio was
churning out ballsy blues-rock anthems whose fuzz-heavy,
adrenaline-charged intensity helped to alter the course of
contemporary music. Vincebus Eruptum, Blue Cheer's landmark 1968
debut, is widely regarded as Ground Zero of the heavy metal
explosion. The album, featuring the classic Blue Cheer lineup of
guitarist Leigh Stephens, bassist/vocalist Dickie Peterson and
drummer Paul Whaley, includes the trio's mind-melting reading of
Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," which became a Top 20 single,
along with such raw, overdriven originals as "Doctor Please" and
"Second Time Around" and distinctive reworkings of the blues
standards "Rock Me Baby" and "Parchment Farm." Long out of print
on vinyl, with original copies trading for steep collectors'
prices. Sundazed's vinyl MONO edition is sourced from the
original Philips reels, complete with the unique original cover
design. Also available on compact disc! "Esteemed East Coast
label Sundazed goes back to mono on this reissue of a landmark
1968 release by the screeching San Francisco hairies. The result
is fuzzier and more primal than ever. ? ? ? ?" Mojo magazine
"...The new Sundazed reissue restores the album to its glorious,
bulldozer mono mix...". Blurt magazine
Review
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"A heavy metal precursor, Blue Cheer were there at the start and
became true pioneers. Their cracking debut, Vincebus Eruptum,
sounds primordial, even by today's standards. Lord knows how it
must have gone across in 1968. Though entrenched in blues-rock,
the Cheer's sheer power broke new boundaries. On this re-issue of
the rare, mono mix of the album, the drums retain their chunky
presence alongside the thick, stodgy bass. Check out the unlikely
hit, Eddie Cochran's 'Summertime Blues.' The same year's
follow-up, Outsideinside, tried to retain the force but added
panache to the production- and it worked. Each member of the band
appeared to be better represented, with their individual talents
brought to the fore. Clarity doesn't replace power, though- the
word was that parts of Outsideinside literally had to be recorded
outside because they were so loud. Leaving the band (as some
cl, due to deafness) just two LP's in, co-founder Leigh
Stephens subsequently released his debut solo LP. Praised by
many, it was slammed by Cheer fans. Moving away from his band's
energy storm, Red Weather was more psychedelic, and both
inventive and creative enough to survive the shift in focus. As a
bonus for hardcore name-trackers, it features uber-session bloke
Nicky Hopkins, Blossom Toes' Kevin Westlake and Jeff Beck Band's
Mick Waller." -- Record Collector, April 2010
"Just as the German King Tiger outned the allied Sherman in
World War II, so California's Blue Cheer out-louded their peers
with their 1968 debut. These super-dence blues rock tunes owe
Hendrix a debt and are prone to powering off Blues Magoos-style,
but come in their own special engine oil and LSD marinade (see
the surprise Top 20 cover of Summertime Blues). A long-spurned,
now essential stop-off on the cakewalk to stoner-rock nirvana.
The reissue comes with an embossed sleeve and a poem from Owsley
Stanley." -- Mojo, April 2010
This being an audiophile 'zine one might expect that the records
appearing herein to be judged with sound quality as perhaps not
the main focus of the review, but certainly a major factor when
considering whether they should be recommended for inclusion in
one's collection. Well, here we have two albums that despite
their lack of just about any evidence of audiophile-approved
traits (other than the vinyl's modern-day pressing quality and
the excellent transfer from original master tapes to vinyl),
should be a mandatory purchase for anyone even slightly
interested in the conception and gestation of hard
rock/psychedelic blues/heavy metal that these landmark albums
brought into the world in 1968. These two Marshall-stack-laden
slabs are not just forbearers of what would become the genre that
is now considered heavy metal, but quintessential examples of
excellent rock music, period.
Blue Cheer formed in 1966 in their hometown of San Francisco, and
within a year settled into a power-trio of unequaled sonic might.
Their first album, Vincebus Eruptum was recorded late in 1967 and
released early the next year on Philips, and later in '68 their
second album Outsideinside was released. One would think that
being located in San Francisco this band would get caught in the
torrent of flower-power ideology that was flowing forth in and
around the city, but according to Blue Cheer's bassist and
vocalist Dickie Peterson, "We were the ugly stepchildren.
Everybody in San Francisco scene was all kiss babies and eat
flowers. We were sort of kiss flowers and eat babies". This less
than hippy attitude is made obvious as soon as the stylus traces
the first grooves of either of these two records.
OK, so you're not going to be able to use either of these albums
as demonstration discs. But it makes little sense depriving
oneself just because at certain points these albums sound as if
they were recorded from the next room through an open door. It's
a shame that these records don't have the sound quality of say,
Led Zeppelin's first two albums that were released during the
next two years. One might suspect that the less than
state-of-the-art facility that Blue Cheer used for the first
album in their native San Francisco might have had something to
do with the the less than reference quality sound. Yet the
follow-up Outsideinside was recorded at some top flight studios
on both coasts, and even sported some pretty famous engineering
talent including the illustrious Eddie Kramer. Yet this album's
sound quality is also second-rate. It was most likely due to the
challenges of a band with all of their amp's volume
controls set to 11 the entire time. It has been rumored that the
band had to relocate to a different studio during one of the
sessions because of noise complaints from the
neighborhood around the facility. Yet despite these sonic
limitations, and especially on the mono Vincebus Eruptum, the
term "wall-of-sound" is very, very apt. And because of these
excellent transfers performed by Sundazed Records, the best I've
ever heard from any other pressings on both vinyl and CD. An
added bonus is that the album sleeves are also top-notch, the
embossed front cover of the first and gatefold of the second are
exact reproductions of the originals.
I have the impression that I'm hearing exactly what was on the
master tapes as they were recorded. I doubt very much that the
band and the studio staff set out to make the resulting sound of
these albums anything but what they intended, and with these
slabs of wax, at least when being played on my system, it is easy
to get the impression that the air in and around the
studio during these sessions became super-saturated with sound
waves--and if you've ever experienced an overwhelmingly loud band
in a small space you'd realize that the "P" in SPLs (Sound
Pressure Levels) can be brutal.
It would be a shame to purchase one of these albums without the
other. But since the best place to start is usually the
beginning, Vincebus Eruptum should be spun first. And the fact
that it is a monaural pressing is fabulous, not just because back
in those heady days stereophonic sound was still in its infancy
with regards to rock music. This is not to say that many great
stereo rock records weren't released--of course there were. But
the the truth is that in most cases they really weren't truly
"stereophonic" as classical releases were, it was simply just
two-channel sound. This was at least partially because at most
four-track tape used in most studios, so during mix
down it was just a matter of deciding which and how much of these
tracks ended up in which of the two speakers. There are some
great rock albums from around the same period that had engineers
that realized that a nice stereo spread could be obtained by
using a pair of overhead mics for the drum set. But many didn't
get the memo, and the drums were relegated to one track--and to
add insult to injury were panned to one side. The overused
practice of pseudo-psychedelic swooping between the speakers,
especially the lead guitar hardly makes a record "stereo", so
things just ended up sounding just like plain old dual-mono.
Sundazed Records' outstanding pressing of the reissue of Vincebus
Eruptum from the original mono master tape is practically a
revaluation, especially to the ears belonging to yours truly that
has only heard the stereo pressing throughout my adult life. The
mono version is so much more of an "in your face" experience. As
it should be.
Vincebus contains six songs, half of them are cover tunes. Side
one starts with the classic Jerry Capehart/Eddie Cochran
"Summertime Blues", which was to be Blue Cheer's only "hit"
record (it peaked at #14 on Billboard's pop singles chart). Next
is the chestnut "Rock Me Baby", and the side ends with the now
classic Peterson r "Doctor Please", with his lyrics taking
an anti-recreational drug stance and at the same time procling
an unrequited love for a member of the site sex, but you have
to squint your ears to decipher the lyrics under the
guitar/bass/drums blitzkrieg. Side two begins its onslaught with
Peterson's "Out Of Focus", with its overdubbed guitar lick
madness that rightfully earned guitarist Leigh Stephens a fervent
underground following. Next up is the requisite "Parchment Farm",
but side two ends with the barnburner that is the Dickie Peterson
opus "Second Time Around". Thankfully, the concept of a "power
ballad" never entered the members of Blue Cheer's minds, so
throughout the album's brief thirty-two minute playing time one
barely gets the rtunity to come up for air.
Outsideinside's quality is a bit better than Vincebus,
but it has little to do with it being a "stereo" pressing. Like I
said, it was recorded at some noted studios by some renowned
engineers but still ends up sounding rather lo-fi. But despite
the lack of fidelity the massive sound of the band members in all
their glory are still decipherable through one's speakers. Over
the years I've met legions of fans of this album, and although
its sound quality rarely comes into question, what they do agree
upon is that it is one of the best hard rock
(electric-power-blues?) s ever committed to vinyl.
Throughout the years I've gone back and forth in regards to
whether it is a better album than Vincebus, but eventually
realized that that debate is a waste of my time--they both
deserve equal time on my turntable. But I do sometimes favor
Outsideinside for a few reasons, and major among those is the
more concise, developed songwriting made even more amazing that
the album was released such a short time since the first. The
songs are shorter, leaving less room for extended improvisation,
leading to Mr. Stevens' guitar solos being more focused
mini-explosions. And this time eight of of ten songs are original
compositions. Immediately upon playing the opening "Feathers From
Your Tree" one can hear the confidence not only in its writing,
but the massive "whomp" factor coming into play--thanks in large
part to the pounding of drummer Paul Whaley. The third song is
Peterson's bluesy, flanged, rocking "Just A Little Bit", another
of the eight originals that compose the ten masterpieces. It's
worth mentioning again that the purchase of both these albums
should be mandatory for all even slightly interested in this
period of rock 'n' roll. -Tom Lyle -- Positive Feedback Online,
Issue 49
