While this formula certainly allowed lots of creativity and solid musicianship to shine through, I don't think that Vanilla Fudge stands as a particularly bold artistic statement or ageless classic. Consisting solely of cover tunes and a few short interludes thrown in for good measure, Vanilla Fudge did not captivate listeners with original works of their own, but instead showed what they could do within the limits of famous pop songs from years past. The heavy, jam-oriented atmosphere combined with Mark Stein's prominent organs were rather unique given the time period, and the group's original twist on well-known compositions grabbed the attention of fans and critics alike. Released during the famous 'summer of love' in 1967, Vanilla Fudge's debut offering was undoubtedly one of the more seminal psychedelic albums coming from America during the late sixties'. This is only recommended to the most die-hard of psychedelic collectors - all others should proceed with extreme caution. A directionless and confusing album, The Beat Goes On is a failed experiment in my book, and a disappointing followup to Vanilla Fudge's 1967 debut.
The Beat Goes On aims to transport the listener through history, musical and otherwise, and although this is a great concept, the execution is baffling. It's actually a shame that the band never decided to flesh out any of the tunes here, as I think a heavy psychedelic version of "Fur Elise" or "Hound Dog" could have made for an entertaining listen. Instead, they briefly touch on numerous compositions, and the result is an incoherent mess. The Beat Goes On does have some cool musical ideas from time to time, but they rarely expand beyond interesting fragments although Vanilla Fudge sticks to cover tracks once again, they never actually recreate any of the tracks they pay homage to. As cool as a sound collage of twentieth century political figures can be if done right, it seems out of place and overly long when it takes up eight minutes on a rock album. There are flirtations with conventional music, like the piano intro "Sketch" and a few Beatles covers in rapid succession, but a majority of the music seems to have very little direction at all - a good portion of side two can hardly be called music, if truth be told.
The Beat Goes On has a few interesting things going on, but the band's total disregard for musical structure and composition makes for a tough pill to swallow, even when looked at from a historical perspective.Īlthough the music on 1967's Vanilla Fudge was primarily straightforward organ-led psychedelic rock, the same can not be said for The Beat Goes On. The success of that album only increases the confusion generated by The Beat Goes On, the American outfit's controversial sophomore observation - this experimental album is a 'head scratcher' for sure, and though some have hailed it as a misunderstood masterpiece, I will join the choir of folks that just don't get it. The text in all uppercase letters in the CD reissue track listing spells out " STRAWBERRYFIELDS".Vanilla Fudge's debut may not have moved me a whole lot as a listener, but I certainly understand the album's place as a seminal album in the development of psychedelic and heavy rock music. "RYFI (Illusions of My Childhood-Part Three)" "WBER (Illusions of My Childhood-Part Two)" "STRA (Illusions of My Childhood-Part One)"
#VANILLA FUDGE ALBUM COVERS SERIES#
Side 1 of the album ends with: "The following is a series of high-frequency tones." Side two No.īrian Holland-Lamont Dozier-Eddie HollandĬD reissues have a modified track listing for the tracks on side 2 of the LP: He stated that "nobody could accuse Vanilla Fudge of bad taste in their repertoire" and that most of the tracks "share a common structure of a disjointed warm-up jam, a Hammond-heavy dirge of harmonized vocals at the center, and a final flat-out jam." However, he also said that "each song still works as a time capsule of American psychedelia." Track listing Side one No.
#VANILLA FUDGE ALBUM COVERS PROFESSIONAL#
Reception Professional ratings Review scoresĪllmusic's Paul Collins retrospectively rated Vanilla Fudge four out of five stars. An edited version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was released as a single and also charted. Parts of the original stereo LP were actually mixed in mono, including the entire track "You Keep Me Hangin' On". The album was Vanilla Fudge's most successful, peaking at #6 on the Billboard album charts in November 1967. Released in summer 1967, it consists entirely of half-speed covers and three short original instrumental compositions. Vanilla Fudge (Atco 33-224/mono, SD 33-224/stereo) is the first album by the American psychedelic rock band Vanilla Fudge.
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