13.01.2008.
Atomic Rooster - Atomic Roooster (1970) (@256)
(Review from progarchives.com)
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown having disintegrated after their sole album and their worldwide hit Fire, Vincent Crane (responsible for the music of that album) and Carl Palmer founded Atomic Rooster with Nick Graham on bass and vocals. 'Atomic Roooster' (no typo, that was a deliberately awkward attempt to subvert eponymous/debut syndrome) is a very fine debut.
Atomic Rooster typify a sub genre of progressive rock - 'heavy prog'. Some deny its existence, but there were a multitude of similar bands with (more often than not) an accent on heavy, Hammond organ workouts with lots of bludgeoning guitar riffs. This album does a great job of mixing jazzy improvisations with the psychedelia taken from the ashes of Crazyy World of Arthur Brown, and a hard rock attack. There are also glimpses of folk on Winter, and a bluesy side to BrokenWings.
Still it has its flaws, as mostly any first album is supposed to have. It shows where the band would go, and if Palmer and lead singer Nick Graham had stayed in the band, what were the possibilities. Vincent Crane is no Keith Emerson, much more like a Jon Lord (Deep Purple) in the Machine Head days, but with more drive to his sound. Quality-wise, there are mostly no filler, but no track stands out either.
Line-up :
- Vincent Crane / Hammond organ, piano, vocals
- Nick Graham / lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, flute
- Carl Palmer / drums, percussion
Track List :
01. Friday The Thirteenth (3:33)
02. And So To Bed (4:13)
03. Broken Wings (5:48)
04. Before Tomorrow (instrumental) (5:53)
05. Banstead (3:36)
06. S.L.Y. (4:39)
07. Winter (7:01)
08. Decline And Fall (5:50)
09. Play The Game (4:48) (Bonus)
Link in comments.
Original Post Date : 22 Feb 2007 | 2:36 AM
