Artist: Blue Cheer
Album: Vincebus Eruptum
Year: 1968
LOUD. If I had to describe Vincebus Eruptum in one word, that's the one it would be. This is where heavy metal begins.
So basically Blue Cheer takes the blues-rock that bands like Cream and the Yardbirds were cranking out, filters it through Jimi Hendrix' most experimental psych-rock cuts, turns the amps up to 11, and lets its torrent of furious guitar freakouts run rampant. I don't know if guitarist Leigh Stephens was a genius or an absolute idiot, but this music is what Hendrix would've played if he hated his guitar. See the guitar solo in the middle of "Doctor Please" for a prime example.
But there's something about this album that's really cool. It's such a big, dumb sounding album but it's weirdly melodic with huge, even dumber sounding riffs all over the place. If anything this is a harder, bluesier cousin to The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat. The ethic might be similar, but Blue Cheer's version of noise-rock is decidedly lowbrow compared with the more esoteric stylings of the VU.
Rock on, Blue Cheer. Rock. On.
Rating: Worth a listen
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