Thunder and Roses ● King of the Black Sunrise

First released in 1969 on United Artists Records, Philadelphia-based Thunder and Roses' biggest claim to fame is oddly tied to the grunge rock movement of the early '90s. Despite its not entirely undeserved cut-out bin status, King of the Black Sunrise somehow found its way into the hands of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who convinced his bandmates to cover the song "White Lace and Strange" (the previously unreleased track appears on Nirvana's 1994 With the Lights Out box set). It turns out that Cobain had good taste; "White Lace and Strange" is the best song on the album. Not far removed from the loud, pulverizing metal Blue Cheer was exploring--a band then riding high with its almost unrecognizable version of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues"--King of the Black Sunrise shifts somewhat aimlessly between blues-based hard rock ("I Love a Woman," "Moon Child"), acoustic-flavored country pop ("Country Life") and extended psychedelic jams ("Open Your Up Your Eyes"). The band also offers up a serviceable if not particularly memorable cover Jimi Hendrix's "Red House." Thunder and Roses' career was even shorter than the grunge movement--this was the trio's only album--and is probably best left to Nirvana completists, record collectors and music bloggers (that's me and, yes, I do own a copy). King of the Black Sunrise was reissued on cd in 2011 courtesy of Kismet Records.

Notes: Here is an audio-only YouTube clip of "White Lace and Strange" by Thunder and Roses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUfrlsDeFuk.