Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 04/06/1993
Run Time: 31:54
Had
"Summertime Blues" not gone Top 15 in the spring of 1968,
Blue Cheer might not have had the opportunity to unleash their expression over numerous albums through multiple personnel changes.
Vincebus Eruptum sports a serious silver/off-purple cover wrapped around the
punk-metal fury.
Leigh Stephens is nowhere near
Hendrix,
Beck,
Clapton, or
Jimmy Page, the skill of a
Yardbirds replaced by a thud of bass/drums/low-end guitar. Vocalist
Dickie Peterson takes almost six minutes on
Allison's
"Parchment Farm" [sic] to talk about shooting his arm, shooting his wife, picking cotton, and having sex. Definitely more risqué than
Grand Funk Railroad's
"T.N.U.C.," Abe "Voco" Kesh's production is almost nonexistent. They certainly influenced the way
Grand Funk would take the power trio; you can hear in
Peterson's voice that tonal quality
Mark Farner had to employ as well to get the lyrics over the morass of sound. It's interesting that the
Velvet Underground's classic
White Light/White Heat took this attitude up a notch at this exact point in time, going in to the studio and unleashing
"Sister Ray," the almost 20-minute scream that was the result of
Lou Reed's shock treatment therapy as a teen. Both bands were influenced heavily by drugs, heroin appearing to be the culprit, and while
"Second Time Around," which closes this album, came in from the West Coast,
the Velvet Underground blasted with even higher intensity from the East. Also interesting that
"Doctor Please" on
Vincebus Eruptum doesn't have the crunch
West/
Bruce and
Laing would insert into their own
"The Doctor" four years later on
Why Dontcha. That power trio showed off their chops while
Blue Cheer was looking for their chops on this record.
Vincebus Eruptum is a dark power trio recording with
punk attitude exploring
blues through
heavy metal. That a later version of the band would go on to produce
"I'm the Light," a spacy cosmic anthem as delicate as
Grand Funk's
"Closer to Home," says a lot about the musical journey initiated by
Vincebus Eruptum. The album is an underappreciated classic with
"Rock Me Baby" leaning more toward
Ten Years After than
Steppenwolf, without
Alvin Lee's technical expertise. Guitar that quivers and roars with a heavy dependence on rhythm à la
the Who,
Blue Cheer knows that attitude is as important as musicianship in
rock, and they exploit that virtue for all it is worth here.
~Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
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