- Vincebus Eruptum
-
Vincebus Eruptum Studio album by Blue Cheer Released January 1968 Recorded 1967 at Amigo Studios, Hollywood, California Genre Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock, psychedelic rock, acid rock Length 31:54 Label Philips Producer Abe "Voco" Kesh Blue Cheer chronology Vincebus Eruptum
(1968)Outsideinside
(1968)Vincebus Eruptum is the debut studio album by American blues-rock band Blue Cheer. Released in January 1968, the album was the first to feature the band's classic lineup of vocalist and bassist Dickie Peterson, guitarist Leigh Stephens and drummer Paul Whaley. A commercial and critical success, Vincebus Eruptum peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and spawned the top-20 hit cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues". It is lauded as one of the first heavy metal albums.
Contents
Background and history
Blue Cheer's debut album was recorded in 1967 at Amigo Studios in North Hollywood, California.[1] In an interview with StonerRock.com, frontman Dickie Peterson explained that "Some songs I wrote have taken 20 years to really complete. And there are other songs like “Doctor Please” or “Out of Focus” that I wrote in ten minutes."[2] On "Doctor Please" in particular, Peterson explained that "when I wrote the song (in 1967), it was a glorification of drugs. I was going through a lot of “Should I take this drug or should I not take this drug? Blah, blah, blah.” There was a lot of soul searching at the time when I wrote that song, and I actually decided to take it. That’s what that song was about and that’s what I sang it about, sort of a drug anthem for me."[2] On the band's cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues", Peterson noted that "We kept changing it around and adding/taking bits away. It also has to do with large doses of LSD."[3]
Since its original release in 1968 the album has been remastered and reissued a number of times, notably in 1993[4] and 2007.[5][6] A 2003 reissue by Akarma featured the bonus track "All Night Long", written by and featuring later guitarist Ralph Kellogg.[7]
Reception and legacy
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating allmusic[8] Pitchfork[9] (9.0/10) Sputnikmusic[10] Trash-Writers Russia Blue Cheer's debut album has widely been held in high regard by critics. Writing for music website allmusic, Mark Deming described Vincebus Eruptum as "a glorious celebration of rock & roll primitivism run through enough Marshall amps to deafen an army", praising the band's "sound and fury" as one of the founding movements of heavy metal.[8] The album has also been identified as an "All Music Guide Album Pick", denoting that it is one of the top albums recommended by the allmusic critics.[8] Pitchfork reviewer Alexander Linhardt gave the album nine out of a maximum ten points, although noted that the album was less structured and more experimental than its successor Outsideinside.[9] Sputnikmusic offered the song an "Excellent" rating of four out of five, with reviewer Joe Katz praising the album as "one of the heaviest blues albums in existence", noting the "Raw production and quality [which] keep it fresh in the world of squeaky clean classic rock sounds."[10]
Online music service Rhapsody included Vincebus Eruptum in its list of the "10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums", suggesting that the band "not only inspired the term "power trio," they practically invented heavy metal."[11]
Track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Summertime Blues" Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart 3:47 2. "Rock Me Baby" B.B. King, Joe Josea 4:22 3. "Doctor Please" Dickie Peterson 7:53 4. "Out of Focus" Peterson 3:58 5. "Parchment Farm" Mose Allison 5:49 6. "Second Time Around" Peterson 6:17 Total length:31:54 2003 remastered reissue No. Title Writer(s) Length 7. "All Night Long" Ralph Kellogg 2:06 Total length:34:00 Personnel
- Blue Cheer
- Dickie Peterson – vocals, bass
- Leigh Stephens – guitar
- Paul Whaley – drums
- Additional personnel
- Abe "Voco" Kesh – production
- John MacQuarrie – engineering
- John Van Hamersveld – photography
- Remastered version
- Bill Levenson – production
- Ellen Fitton – remastering
References
- ^ "Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/Blue-Cheer-Vincebus-Eruptum/release/450184. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ a b "Blue Cheer interview, Dickie Peterson". StonerRock.com. http://www.stonerrock.com/interviews/index.asp?InterviewId=143. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ "Interview with Dickie Peterson of heavy metal hard rock band Blue Cheer". Get Ready to ROCK!. http://www.getreadytorock.com/rock_stars/dickie_peterson.htm. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ "Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (CD, Album)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/Blue-Cheer-Vincebus-Eruptum/release/986813. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ "Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (CD, Album)". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/Blue-Cheer-Vincebus-Eruptum/release/1156831. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ "Vincebus Eruptum > Overview". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r2129. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ "Vincebus Eruptum (Bonus Track) > Overview". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r650253. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ a b c Mark Deming. "Vincebus Eruptum > Review". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r2129/review. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ a b Alexander Linhardt (October 7, 2003). "Blue Cheer: Vincebus Eruptum / Outsideinside". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11691-vincebus-eruptum-outsideinside/. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ a b The Katz Brothers (June 23, 2006). "Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/7836/Blue-Cheer-Vincebus-Eruptum/. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ Justin Farrar (June 22, 2010). "Classic Rock Crate Digger: 10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums". Rhapsody. http://blog.rhapsody.com/2010/06/protometal.html. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
Blue Cheer Dickie Peterson · Paul Whaley · Leigh Stephens · Randy Holden · Ralph Burns Kellogg · Norman Mayell · Bruce Stephens · Gary Lee Yoder · Eric Albronda · Jerre Peterson · Vale Hamanaka · Jerry Whiting · Ruben De Fuentes · Terry Rae · Tony Rainier · Mike Fleck · Brent Harknett · Billy Carmassi · Eric Davis · David Salce · Dieter Saller · Gary Holland · Duck MacDonaldStudio albums Vincebus Eruptum · Outsideinside · New! Improved! Blue Cheer · Blue Cheer · The Original Human Being · Oh! Pleasant Hope · The Beast Is Back · Highlights and Lowlives · Dining With the Sharks · What Doesn't Kill You...Live albums Blitzkrieg Over Nüremberg · Live and Unreleased Vol. 1: '68/'74 · Live and Unreleased Vol. 2: Live At San Jose Civic Centre & More · Hello Tokyo, Bye Bye Osaka - Live In Japan 1999 · Live in Japan · Bootleg: Live - Hamburg - London · Rocks EuropeCompilation
albumsMotive - Blue Cheer · Louder than God: The Best of Blue Cheer · Good Times are so Hard to Find: The History of Blue Cheer · The Best of YesteryearTribute
albumsBlue Explosion - A Tribute to Blue CheerCharted singles "Summertime Blues" · "Just a Little Bit"Related bands The Oxford Circle · The Other Half · Sopwith Camel · Silver Metre · The Flamin' Groovies · Monsters · Dokken · Raven · Pentagram · Mother OceanCategories:- 1968 debut albums
- Philips Records albums
- Blue Cheer albums
- English-language albums
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.