Vincebus Eruptum
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Vincebus Eruptum (/vɪŋˈkeɪbəs ɪˈrʌptəm/ Latin: Blue Cheer) is the debut studio album by American rock band Blue Cheer. Released on January 16, 1968,[1][2] the album features a heavy-thunderous blues sound, which would later be known as heavy metal. It also contains elements of acid rock, grunge,[3] experimental rock, blues rock, stoner rock,[4] and garage rock. A commercial and critical success, Vincebus Eruptum peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and spawned the top-20 hit cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues". Being an example of hard rock,[5] it is also lauded as one of the first heavy metal albums.[6]
Background and history
Blue Cheer's debut album was recorded in 1967 at Amigo Studios in North Hollywood, California.[7] In an interview with StonerRock.com, frontman Dickie Peterson explained that "Some songs I wrote have taken 20 years to really complete. And there are other songs like 'Doctor Please' or 'Out of Focus' that I wrote in ten minutes."[8] On "Doctor Please" in particular, Peterson explained that "when I wrote the song (in 1967), it was a glorification of drugs. I was going through a lot of 'Should I take this drug or should I not take this drug? Blah, blah, blah.' There was a lot of soul searching at the time when I wrote that song, and I actually decided to take it. That’s what that song was about and that’s what I sang it about, sort of a drug anthem for me."[8] On the band's cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues", Peterson noted that "We kept changing it around and adding/taking bits away. It also has to do with large doses of LSD."[9]
Reception and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[11] |
| Rolling Stone | negative[12] |
Blue Cheer's debut album has widely been held in high regard by critics. Writing for music website AllMusic, Mark Deming described Vincebus Eruptum as "a glorious celebration of rock & roll primitivism run through enough Marshall amps to deafen an army", praising the band's "sound and fury" as one of the founding movements of heavy metal.[10] Pitchfork reviewer Alexander Linhardt gave the album nine out of a maximum ten points, noting that the album was less structured than its successor, Outsideinside.[11] It has also been described by Billboard as "the epitome of psychedelic rock".[13]
Online music service Rhapsody included Vincebus Eruptum in its list of the "10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums", suggesting that the band "not only inspired the term 'power trio,' they practically invented heavy metal."[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Summertime Blues" | Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Rock Me Baby" | B.B. King, Joe Josea | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Doctor Please" | Dickie Peterson | 7:53 |
| 4. | "Out of Focus" | Peterson | 3:58 |
| 5. | "Parchment Farm" | Mose Allison | 5:49 |
| 6. | "Second Time Around" | Peterson | 6:17 |
| Total length: | 31:54 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "All Night Long" | Ralph Kellogg | 2:06 |
| Total length: | 34:00 | ||
Personnel
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References
- ^ "JAN. 16, 1968: THE RELEASE OF BLUE CHEER'S 'VINCEBUS ERUPTUM'". Arthur Magazine. Joshua Tree. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "Celebrating the 45th birthday of Blue Cheer's mighty Vincebus Eruptum…". Classic Rock Magazine Facebook Fanpage. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "SPIN Magazine - Page 90". Google Books. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "Blue Cheer - Live Bootleg: London - Hamburg review". Allmusic. Greg Prato. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ Various Mojo Magazine (1 November 2007). The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition. Canongate Books. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-84767-643-6.
- ^ Chris Smith (2009). One Hundred and One Albums that Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-19-537371-4.
- ^ "Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ a b "Blue Cheer interview, Dickie Peterson". StonerRock.com. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ "Interview with Dickie Peterson of heavy metal hard rock band Blue Cheer". Get Ready to ROCK!. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ a b Mark Deming. "Vincebus Eruptum > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ a b Alexander Linhardt (October 7, 2003). "Blue Cheer: Vincebus Eruptum / Outsideinside". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ Michael Geary. "Vincebus Eruptum > Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (2 March 1968). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 52. ISSN 0006-2510.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Justin Farrar (June 22, 2010). "Classic Rock Crate Digger: 10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums". Rhapsody. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2010.