VANILLA FUDGE
''SPIRIT OF '67''
MARCH 3 2015
56:59
1 I Heard It Through the Grapevine 05:26
2 The Letter 05:47
3 I Can See for Miles 04:51
4 Break on Through (To the Other Side) 05:39
5 The Tracks of My Tears 04:25
6 I'm a Believer 05:28
7 Gimme Some Lovin' 03:42
8 For What It's Worth 05:59
9 Ruby Tuesday 06:27
10 Whiter Shade of Pale 04:56
11 Let's Pray for Peace 04:14
Carmine Appice / drums, lead and backing vocals, percussion
Tim Bogert / bass, back ground vocals
Mark Stein / lead vocals, backing vocals & keyboards
Vince Martell / guitars, lead and backing vocals
ABOUT THE ALBUM
By Glenn Gamboa, www.newsday.com
This was a brilliant idea.
On "Spirit of '67" (Cleopatra), Vanilla Fudge takes on some of 1967's biggest hits and basically reworks them into songs the Long Beach band can claim as their own, a wild mix of prog-rock, metal and funk. And they pretty much go 10-for-10 on an eclectic slate ranging from The Monkees' "I'm a Believer" to Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale."
Their thrilling metallic twist on Smokey Robinson's "Tracks of My Tears" may not be as groundbreaking as their take on "You Keep Me Hangin' On," but it is certainly in the ballpark, with Mark Stein's great, soulful vocals and Carmine Appice's inventive drumming taking the spotlight. We can only hope this "Spirit" starts a series.
MORE ABOUT THE ALBUM
Vanilla Fudge is set to release a new album on March 3 they say is their heaviest work to date. The album titled Spirit of ’67 on Cleopatra Records, includes ten classic tracks that were originally recorded in a pivotal year in music 1967. Vince Martell says, “Spirit of ’67 is the continuation of the journey we began in the Summer of Love – psychedelic, rhythmically powerful arrangements of happening tunes of that era, colored by the insight and vision of who we are today.”
During the 60s-70s, Vanilla Fudge covered songs with their own arrangements and made them into super hits. “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”, “The Beat Goes On” and “People Get Ready” to name a few. Today three of the four original members, Mark Stein (lead vocals, keyboards), Carmine Appice (drums, vocals), Vince Martell (guitar, vocals), plus the addition of Peter Bremy (bass, vocals), make up the band.
Spirit of ’67 includes songs Vanilla Fudge has arranged into incredible original tracks : The Box Tops “The Letter”, The Monkees “I’m A Believer”, Spencer Davis Group “Gimme Some Lovin’”, and an original song “Let’s Pray for Peace” written by Mark Stein, which fits in nicely with the message of peace and love. Musicianship is top-notch, and that's because these guys never went away, they've been out there playing through five decades. Spirit of '67 is not just a throwback to the 60's, it's an intricately arranged and updated presentation on some of 1967s classic hits.
The album will be released March 3. Here’s what you can expect.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Steve Huey
Vanilla Fudge was one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal. While the band did record original material, they were best-known for their loud, heavy, slowed-down arrangements of contemporary pop songs, blowing them up to epic proportions and bathing them in a trippy, distorted haze. Originally, Vanilla Fudge was a blue-eyed soul cover band called the Electric Pigeons, who formed in Long Island, New York, in 1965. Organist Mark Stein, bassist Tim Bogert, and drummer Joey Brennan soon shortened their name to the Pigeons and added guitarist Vince Martell. They built a following by gigging extensively up and down the East Coast, and earned extra money by providing freelance in-concert backing for girl groups. In early 1966, the group recorded a set of eight demos that were released several years later as While the Whole World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge, credited to Mark Stein & the Pigeons.
Inspired by the Vagrants, another band on the club circuit led by future Mountain guitarist Leslie West, the Pigeons began to put more effort into reimagining the arrangements of their cover songs. They got so elaborate that by the end of the year, drummer Brennan was replaced by the more technically skilled Carmine Appice. In early 1967, their manager convinced producer George "Shadow" Morton (who'd handled the girl group the Shangri-Las and had since moved into protest folk) to catch their live act. Impressed by their heavy, hard-rocking recasting of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Morton offered to record the song as a single; the results landed the group a deal with the Atlantic subsidiary Atco, which requested a name change. The band settled on Vanilla Fudge, after a favorite ice cream flavor. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" didn't perform as well as hoped, but the band toured extensively behind its covers-heavy, jam-oriented debut album Vanilla Fudge, which gradually expanded their fan base. Things started to pick up for the band in 1968: early in the year, they headlined the Fillmore West with the Steve Miller Band, performed "You Keep Me Hangin' On" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and released their second album, The Beat Goes On. Despite its somewhat arty, indulgent qualities, the LP was a hit, climbing into the Top 20. That summer, Atco reissued "You Keep Me Hangin' On," and the second time around it climbed into the Top Ten. It was followed by Renaissance, one of Vanilla Fudge's best albums, which also hit the Top 20. The band supported it by touring with Jimi Hendrix, opening several dates on Cream's farewell tour, and late in the year touring again with the fledgling Led Zeppelin as their opening act.
In 1969, the band kept touring and released their first album without Morton, the expansive, symphonic-tinged Near the Beginning. After part of the band recorded a radio commercial with guitarist Jeff Beck, the idea was hatched to form a Cream-styled power trio with plenty of individual solo spotlights. Exhausted by the constant touring, the band decided that their late-1969 European tour would be their last. Following the release of their final album, Rock & Roll, Vanilla Fudge played a few U.S. farewell dates and disbanded in early 1970. Bogert and Appice first formed the hard rock group Cactus, then later joined up with Jeff Beck in the aptly named Beck, Bogert & Appice. Appice went on to become an active session and touring musician, working with a variety of rock and hard rock artists. Vanilla Fudge reunited in 1984 for the poorly received Mystery album, and, over the course of the next two decades, Vanilla Fudge would regroup for tours. These reunions often had differing lineups, always anchored by Carmine Appice and usually Tim Bogert, although the latter opted out of an early-'90s incarnation. At the turn of the millennium, the group -- featuring Appice, Bogert, keyboardist Bill Pascali, and guitarist Vince Martell -- launched a more serious comeback heralded by the 2002 album The Return. Several other minor switches in lineup followed in the next few years and, in 2007, they now featured Mark Stein on vocals/keyboards instead of Pascali. This is the group that released Out Through the in Door in 2007. This proved to be the group's last album. More tours followed as did the revolving membership, with the most notable departure being Bogert in 2011. He was replaced by Pete Bremy and Vanilla Fudge launched a "farewell tour" in 2011, a tour that was still ongoing in 2013.
OFFICIAL SITE
TO THE TOP
2 The Letter 05:47
3 I Can See for Miles 04:51
4 Break on Through (To the Other Side) 05:39
5 The Tracks of My Tears 04:25
6 I'm a Believer 05:28
7 Gimme Some Lovin' 03:42
8 For What It's Worth 05:59
9 Ruby Tuesday 06:27
10 Whiter Shade of Pale 04:56
11 Let's Pray for Peace 04:14
Carmine Appice / drums, lead and backing vocals, percussion
Tim Bogert / bass, back ground vocals
Mark Stein / lead vocals, backing vocals & keyboards
Vince Martell / guitars, lead and backing vocals
ABOUT THE ALBUM
By Glenn Gamboa, www.newsday.com
This was a brilliant idea.
On "Spirit of '67" (Cleopatra), Vanilla Fudge takes on some of 1967's biggest hits and basically reworks them into songs the Long Beach band can claim as their own, a wild mix of prog-rock, metal and funk. And they pretty much go 10-for-10 on an eclectic slate ranging from The Monkees' "I'm a Believer" to Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale."
Their thrilling metallic twist on Smokey Robinson's "Tracks of My Tears" may not be as groundbreaking as their take on "You Keep Me Hangin' On," but it is certainly in the ballpark, with Mark Stein's great, soulful vocals and Carmine Appice's inventive drumming taking the spotlight. We can only hope this "Spirit" starts a series.
MORE ABOUT THE ALBUM
Vanilla Fudge is set to release a new album on March 3 they say is their heaviest work to date. The album titled Spirit of ’67 on Cleopatra Records, includes ten classic tracks that were originally recorded in a pivotal year in music 1967. Vince Martell says, “Spirit of ’67 is the continuation of the journey we began in the Summer of Love – psychedelic, rhythmically powerful arrangements of happening tunes of that era, colored by the insight and vision of who we are today.”
During the 60s-70s, Vanilla Fudge covered songs with their own arrangements and made them into super hits. “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”, “The Beat Goes On” and “People Get Ready” to name a few. Today three of the four original members, Mark Stein (lead vocals, keyboards), Carmine Appice (drums, vocals), Vince Martell (guitar, vocals), plus the addition of Peter Bremy (bass, vocals), make up the band.
Spirit of ’67 includes songs Vanilla Fudge has arranged into incredible original tracks : The Box Tops “The Letter”, The Monkees “I’m A Believer”, Spencer Davis Group “Gimme Some Lovin’”, and an original song “Let’s Pray for Peace” written by Mark Stein, which fits in nicely with the message of peace and love. Musicianship is top-notch, and that's because these guys never went away, they've been out there playing through five decades. Spirit of '67 is not just a throwback to the 60's, it's an intricately arranged and updated presentation on some of 1967s classic hits.
The album will be released March 3. Here’s what you can expect.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Steve Huey
Vanilla Fudge was one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal. While the band did record original material, they were best-known for their loud, heavy, slowed-down arrangements of contemporary pop songs, blowing them up to epic proportions and bathing them in a trippy, distorted haze. Originally, Vanilla Fudge was a blue-eyed soul cover band called the Electric Pigeons, who formed in Long Island, New York, in 1965. Organist Mark Stein, bassist Tim Bogert, and drummer Joey Brennan soon shortened their name to the Pigeons and added guitarist Vince Martell. They built a following by gigging extensively up and down the East Coast, and earned extra money by providing freelance in-concert backing for girl groups. In early 1966, the group recorded a set of eight demos that were released several years later as While the Whole World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge, credited to Mark Stein & the Pigeons.
Inspired by the Vagrants, another band on the club circuit led by future Mountain guitarist Leslie West, the Pigeons began to put more effort into reimagining the arrangements of their cover songs. They got so elaborate that by the end of the year, drummer Brennan was replaced by the more technically skilled Carmine Appice. In early 1967, their manager convinced producer George "Shadow" Morton (who'd handled the girl group the Shangri-Las and had since moved into protest folk) to catch their live act. Impressed by their heavy, hard-rocking recasting of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Morton offered to record the song as a single; the results landed the group a deal with the Atlantic subsidiary Atco, which requested a name change. The band settled on Vanilla Fudge, after a favorite ice cream flavor. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" didn't perform as well as hoped, but the band toured extensively behind its covers-heavy, jam-oriented debut album Vanilla Fudge, which gradually expanded their fan base. Things started to pick up for the band in 1968: early in the year, they headlined the Fillmore West with the Steve Miller Band, performed "You Keep Me Hangin' On" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and released their second album, The Beat Goes On. Despite its somewhat arty, indulgent qualities, the LP was a hit, climbing into the Top 20. That summer, Atco reissued "You Keep Me Hangin' On," and the second time around it climbed into the Top Ten. It was followed by Renaissance, one of Vanilla Fudge's best albums, which also hit the Top 20. The band supported it by touring with Jimi Hendrix, opening several dates on Cream's farewell tour, and late in the year touring again with the fledgling Led Zeppelin as their opening act.
In 1969, the band kept touring and released their first album without Morton, the expansive, symphonic-tinged Near the Beginning. After part of the band recorded a radio commercial with guitarist Jeff Beck, the idea was hatched to form a Cream-styled power trio with plenty of individual solo spotlights. Exhausted by the constant touring, the band decided that their late-1969 European tour would be their last. Following the release of their final album, Rock & Roll, Vanilla Fudge played a few U.S. farewell dates and disbanded in early 1970. Bogert and Appice first formed the hard rock group Cactus, then later joined up with Jeff Beck in the aptly named Beck, Bogert & Appice. Appice went on to become an active session and touring musician, working with a variety of rock and hard rock artists. Vanilla Fudge reunited in 1984 for the poorly received Mystery album, and, over the course of the next two decades, Vanilla Fudge would regroup for tours. These reunions often had differing lineups, always anchored by Carmine Appice and usually Tim Bogert, although the latter opted out of an early-'90s incarnation. At the turn of the millennium, the group -- featuring Appice, Bogert, keyboardist Bill Pascali, and guitarist Vince Martell -- launched a more serious comeback heralded by the 2002 album The Return. Several other minor switches in lineup followed in the next few years and, in 2007, they now featured Mark Stein on vocals/keyboards instead of Pascali. This is the group that released Out Through the in Door in 2007. This proved to be the group's last album. More tours followed as did the revolving membership, with the most notable departure being Bogert in 2011. He was replaced by Pete Bremy and Vanilla Fudge launched a "farewell tour" in 2011, a tour that was still ongoing in 2013.
OFFICIAL SITE
TO THE TOP
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