Rock & Roll

by

Vanilla Fudge

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This album was my first experience with Vanilla Fudge. When I was younger (in the late 80s) I would check this record out from the public library all the time when visiting my Grandmother. I was attracted not only to the drumming of Appice but also to the soulful/"heavy" sound of the band. This is their final album but it sounds great and definitely does not sound like they "wore out" at the end. In fact, it sounds fresh and hard to me. It's funny how older music sounds more vibrant and original than the new things we are subjected to. I recommend listening to this album if for no other reason than to hear a band who made a mark on music. Rock and Roll will never die but it is fading away. It's hard to believe that at one time you could turn on MTV and see videos of groups like Black Sabbath and Fudge on Closet Classics and the sorely missed Headbangers Ball. The same channel, now mostly directed toward teenage girls, has turned into a repetitive, sloppy mess of so called pop music that suffers from such a lack of variety and originality that it sounds like every artist went to the same producer for their beats. Any way get Vanilla Fudge or something with some stature and introduce it to someone with a brain that hasn't been washed yet by MTV.

ROCK & ROLL was ORIGINALLY a typical Vanilla Fudge album. Their extended length covers ("Windmills Of Your Mind" and "If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody") had representation, as did painful introspection ("I Can't Make It Alone" and "Church Bells Of St. Martin's"). There were also heavy rockers ("Street Walking Woman" and "Need Love") and spirituality ("Lord In The Country").

The original LP of ROCK & ROLL was a fine way for the band to bow out. This CD release however, is quite flawed, due to tampering. The "original mix" of both "Windmills..." and "...Woman" are simply awful-- particularly the latter. The snap and fire of this song is just not there. Sometimes a band has REAL reasons to choose later takes for their albums.

Finally-- the bonus track ("Break Song") really doesn't belong on this set. For these reasons, rate the Vanilla Fudge's farewell album/reconstituted CD 3½ stars, and try to find the original record or cassette tape.