Oh Boy, where Jimi Hendrix had technique, flair and pure genius, Blue Cheer, with this debut album Vincebus Eruptum, have just attitude and noise. Having said that, I quite like this. Heavy guitar based blues with a hint of trippy randomness, this is fun, and you can see where John Bonham (not to mention Jimmy Page) may have had his (their) inspiration from. I’ve listened to this a few times and you can see what the idea is, west coast psychedelic blues with groaning feedback. There is less finesse than the Stones or Hendrix but the premise here apparently is ‘as loud as possible’ and their epithet became ‘louder than God’! It is hard to think, in these days of audiophile grade systems that this could have sounded any good, resolution wise, in any given apartment in San Francisco. Their cover of Eddie Cochran’s ‘Summertime Blues’ is a bit of a cheek really and is not so impressive but the four original songs presented give each member of the band, including Dickie Peterson who seems to the creative drive behind this band, the chance to shine. In summary, well worth a listen and definitely preferred to Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane and the like (Not Cream or Jimi, of course).
Album – Vincebus Eruptum
Artist – Blue Cheer
Favourite Track – Second Time Around, for the Ginger Baker style drum solo
Released – 1968
Rating – 7.8
Time – 32:08
Tracks – 6
Source – Tidal
Player/Streamers – iMAC and NAC-N 272
Amplifier/DAC – Audio Pro LV33 and NAP 250 DR
Output – Audio Pro LV33 and KEF R700
Next Album – 123 – The Notorious Byrd Brothers, The Byrds