Velvet Night, first released in 1970 on Metromedia Records, is a terrifyingly odd collection of early ‘70s psychedelic hard rock. Borrowing a page from the Vanilla Fudge playbook, this New York City-based sextet combines eerie, acid-drenched original compositions with freaky, fuzz-soaked cover songs. Armed with multiple vocalists—none of whom qualifies as a lead singer—the band lays waste to a handful of classics, including Donovan’s “Season of the Witch,” The Band’s “The Weight,” Tim Hardin’s “If I Were a Carpenter” and a four-song tribute to Cream: “I Feel Free,” “Sunshine of Your Love,” “White Room” (complete with saxophone solo) and “I’m So Glad.” The unusual vocal approach and strange choice of instrumentation isn’t as problematic in the group’s self-written material—the title track and “Edge of the Woods” are decent slices of raucous psychedelia, for example—but the album as a whole is severely dated. The Velvet Night experience is probably best described in the lyrics to “Freak Show.” “Come to the Freak Show,” the band beckons. “Come to the Freak Show.” It’s an ominous invitation at best.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Velvet Night
Velvet Night, first released in 1970 on Metromedia Records, is a terrifyingly odd collection of early ‘70s psychedelic hard rock. Borrowing a page from the Vanilla Fudge playbook, this New York City-based sextet combines eerie, acid-drenched original compositions with freaky, fuzz-soaked cover songs. Armed with multiple vocalists—none of whom qualifies as a lead singer—the band lays waste to a handful of classics, including Donovan’s “Season of the Witch,” The Band’s “The Weight,” Tim Hardin’s “If I Were a Carpenter” and a four-song tribute to Cream: “I Feel Free,” “Sunshine of Your Love,” “White Room” (complete with saxophone solo) and “I’m So Glad.” The unusual vocal approach and strange choice of instrumentation isn’t as problematic in the group’s self-written material—the title track and “Edge of the Woods” are decent slices of raucous psychedelia, for example—but the album as a whole is severely dated. The Velvet Night experience is probably best described in the lyrics to “Freak Show.” “Come to the Freak Show,” the band beckons. “Come to the Freak Show.” It’s an ominous invitation at best.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
How do you find out about these obscure albums? And do you buy them in vinyl format or CD format?
Well, nancysnotecards, I'm glad you asked. There are a handful of mostly European companies that specialize in reissuing all of this great (and not-so-great) music. And, yes, all of the albums reviewed on this site are available in cd format. Thanks for visiting!
Follow-up, now I'm wondering how you even found this handful of European companies? It's amazing what you have unearthed. There are tons of 70s bands who owe you a big "thank you!"
Post a Comment