Tuesday 19 December 2017

Renaissance – VANILLA FUDGE***

The Sky Cried-When I Was A Boy/Thoughts/Paradise/That’s What Makes A Man/The Spell That Comes After/ Faceless People/Season Of The Witch

After the fiasco of the previous release heavy rock group Vanilla Fudge get their act together and produce their most mainstream and consistent album, Renaissance. (US:20)

"It has a consistency of style throughout, always intense and often at the point of mental and physical breakdown. Blistering guitar, drenched in Hammond organ, pumped through a wall of Leslie speakers, backed by one of the best rhythm sections ever, not to mention Mark Stein's powerful emotional vocals. No other record sounds like this, it is truly unique."

"Vanilla Fudge are known - if they're known at all - for turgid, lumbering covers of songs other people made famous. I heard the eerie, spacey cover of Donovan's Season Of The Witch and immediately went out and bought the album. Most of the rest of this fascinating period piece are originals. This album might sound pretty silly, but it has an emotional intensity and truth that I never got from the Fudge's other efforts. A jewel unappreciated even by its maker."

"Best known for their ability to take other artist's songs and make them into something entirely their own, this album had them doing, mostly, their own material. Great harmony arrangements, along with their instrumental prowess, made this one of my favourite Vanilla Fudge records."

"Every song on Renaissance is worth the price of admission with an exceptional rhythm section, heavy Hammond organ, nasty guitar work, not to mention their trademark ethereal vocal harmonies. This was released when the Fudge were at their peak and all the elements - life, beauty, acid, love and doom - came together and manifested in this masterpiece."

"What I always loved about this greatest of all Fudge sets were the heartfelt emotions openly expressed in it, the sheer power of the music, and the beauty that lay within songs like Paradise. For anyone who remembers those days, or for acid rock connoisseurs of all ages, Renaissance is one of the finest examples of this musical genre you will ever encounter."

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