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 of 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 lineup.
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.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
