Two Scoops of Vanilla Fudge Posted by Junior

Vanilla Fudge: You Keep Me Hangin' On and Bang Bang From: Vanilla Fudge [Atco, 1967] If, like me, you have an incredibly short patience and concentration threshold, you'll find yourself constantly reaching out for new musical experiences and changes of tone. Therefore, while my love for funk soul and hip hop will never end I like to mix it up to ensure freshness is maintained in my musical garden. One area of music that I've come to explore more and more over the recent months is the world of Psych/Prog Rock. Luckily for me, there is plenty of funky rock out there so, while I still can't find it in myself to embrace the image of Rick Wakefield in a wizard's outfit, my appetite is regularly fed. One of my favourites from this expanding collection is Vanilla Fudge. A band who, on paper read more like some kind of parody, taking popular songs from the late sixties and reworking them into grand epic sets. While their success rate was not 100% any doubts about their intentions and the validity of the project are quickly washed aside when you put needle to record and hear something like this.... Stra (Illusions Of My Childhood-Part One) - You Keep Me Hangin'On - Wber (Illusions Of My Childhood Part Two) is actually a far more focused piece than it's elongated name suggests. While it's something of a cliche to note that Vanilla Fudge took a song and slowed it down that is essentially what they do. However, and I can't emphasise this enough, this is a MONSTEROUS song. Beginning in characteristically slap dash style the groove of the song slowly embeds itself in the track and when it comes together and takes off with harmonies and guitars over the rolling organ its sheer excess ends up bowling you over. Put this on rotation, turn the speakers right up, and play it again and again and again and again. Vanilla Fudge were great believers that more is more, why layer one level of instrumentation when you can layer five? Bang Bang is more of an acquired taste than You Keep Me Hangin' On but I can't resist the playfulness of the track as it fluctuates all over the place incorporating everything up to and including nursery rhymes before finally focusing on the actual song halfway through the track. Organ heavy funky rock is the order of the day as the band once again display their own version of the wall of sound. Amazing to think this is thirty forty years old and still sounds as fresh today as it ever did. Apparently according to their official website the band are reformed and currently touring, I can only pray that they make it across the Atlantic soon.