by Mott the Dog
re-mastered by Ella Crew
5
Stars *****
Just the name alone conjures up thoughts of Demonic Early
Seventies Heavy Metal Progressive Rock. You almost feel by natural instinct that
if that is your kettle of fish then Atomic Rooster is going to be your bag.
Before anyone gets confused by the name we are talking about Atomic Rooster
here, not Atomic Kitten.
Atomic Rooster came out with a couple of very powerful early
seventies albums. They sounded great, but unless denim, leather, Afghan coats,
long lanky hair, mutton chop sideburns, and droopy moustaches are your thing,
they probably aren’t the best looking band in the world. Not when compared to
the three little girls in Atomic Kitten. However, the music... well, it probably
will not stand the test of time as well as this incredible collection of songs
do. The music, not the mutton chop sideburns as in the pictures of Atomic
Kitten, will still look good. In thirty years these guys now look a little
dated, but then this Dog has been waiting years for the shaggy dog look to come
back.
So who and what were “Atomic Rooster”? They were formed
in mid 1969 by keyboard wizard Vincent Crane and Carl Palmer, one of the most
bombastic drummers on the planet, after the collapse of “The Crazy World of
Arthur Brown” and in the middle of an American tour. (Arthur Brown had one hit
which was a number one “Fire”, but that was it. Brown went on to lead
Kingdom Come and released three very weird albums in the mid-seventies. He still
makes a living to this day as a celebrity, hosting parties and festivals whilst
singing the odd verse of “Fire”.)
Adding Nick Greenwood on bass, an album was recorded and
released with the confusing title of “Atomic Ro-O-oster”. After a period on
the road they had built a strong cult following, but then started a revolving
door of musicians coming and going. (Mostly going in the early days. John Paul
Jones was asked to join, but wisely took the offer of Jimmy Page’s to join
‘Led Zeppelin’. Jack Bruce decided to stick with his solo career, although
fellow Cream band mate Ginger Baker turned up in “Atomic Rooster” in the
eighties. Rick Grech was also asked, but he had just joined Ginger Baker along
with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood in “Blind Faith”. Most bizarrely a
meeting was set up between the Rooster boys and Brian Jones, who had just left
the Rolling Stones. He was found drowned in his swimming pool the day before the
meeting was set for.)
First to abandon ship was bass player Nick Greenwood. He was
replaced by guitarist Paul Ducann, whilst Crane took up bass duties using the
bass pedals of his trusty Hammond organ. Then prior to going into the studio to
record the all important second album, Carl Palmer was lured away from the
Rooster to be the “P” in E.L.P. Are we talking Spinal Tap here or what? To
any other band this would have been the death knell, but not to the Rooster.
Vincent Crane simply recruited gangly powerhouse drummer Paul Hammond (possibly
influenced by his surname), dived into the studio, and came out with this
classic slab of awe-inspiring music. One of the forerunners to form the music
that is now called Heavy Metal. Although it was really Crane’s band and the
sound of the keyboards is dominant in the same way as, say, Jon Lord was in Deep
Purple or Ken Hensley in Uriah Heep, there was still room for the other two to
shine. In fact, Ducann wrote three songs on the album as well as getting a
credit for the title song. Paul Hammond got to show his spurs on final track “Gershatzer”,
a number written specially for him by Crane with a fine three minute drum solo,
still today probably one of the best drum solos recorded specifically in the
studio by a Rock ‘n’ Roll drummer.
Opener and title track “Death Walks Behind You” has a
haunting spaced out piano intro before breaking into its sledgehammer riff and
demonic vocals. It also features the first of musical jousting between guitar
and keyboards, again drawing comparisons to Deep Purple. Second in is “Vug”,
a studio jam that was fortunate to be played whilst the tapes were rolling, so
caught in all its fresh excitement. Next up was the much desired hit single
“Tomorrow Night”, a catchy little number played here to its frantic climax,
whereas for the single the record company had faded out to make it a round
little three minutes for radio play. The three Ducann songs follow, giving
beautiful light and shade to the album whilst retaining Rooster’s hard edge,
before returning for two more Crane numbers with “Nobody Else” being as
close to a ballad as Rooster were ever likely to get. Then “Gershatzer”
brings us to a rousing conclusion.
“Death Walks Behind You” reached the top twenty in
England, putting the Rooster alongside Black Sabbath and the Rolling Stones.
Peter French was then recruited as vocalist for the next album, “In The
Hearing Of”, which also charted “Tomorrow Night” peeking at no 11 and
follow up single “Devils Answer”, charging past that to reach no 4. The
table seemed laid for world domination, but no, in true Strange Fruit style,
they even managed to bodge it up from there. Within twelve months of recording
this classic, French, Ducann, and Hammond left claiming Crane’s impossibly
high standards as impossible to live up to. In the eighties Crane was quoted as,
“I always demand a band that’s got a pretty A-plus standard every night”.
Crane recruited new guys and carried on, but the magic was gone. They reformed
in the mid eighties, but the timing was wrong and they ended up being little
more than a nostalgia act with Ducann and Crane being the only stable part of
the line-up.
Tragically Vincent Crane, who had always suffered from bouts
of manic depression, took his own life on Valentine’s Day in 1989. A sad story
of “If Only”...
But when the Roosters strutted their stuff, they were
magnificent. Enjoy a bit of Atomic energy, but leave the Kittens alone.
Musicians
Vincent Crane - Keyboards
John Ducann - Guitar and Vocals
Paul Hammond - Drums
Songs
Death Walks Behind You
Vug
Tomorrow Night
Seven Streets
Sleeping for Years
I can’t Take No More
Nobody Else
Gershatzer
To contact Mott the Dog email: mottthedog@chiangmai-mail.com
Another
‘local’ Thai yarn on the bookshelves this week. Smiles of Deceit (ISBN
974-272-692-2) is written by Jim Cornick and published this year by Bangkok
Book House.