Album of the Day

In an era of Strawberry Alarm Clocks and Chocolate Watchbands, Vanilla Fudge stood out as one of the heaviest rock bands, paving the way for such groups as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Deriving their name from an earlier affinity for white soul, Vanilla Fudge made their self-titled 1967 debut on Atco Records, serving up psychedelicized covers of recent songs by the likes of The Beatles (“Eleanor Rigby”) and The Supremes (“You Keep Me Hangin' On”), the latter reaching the Top Ten. If the stretched out tempos, thundering rhythms and Hammond organ work make this set seem a bit like an oldies station on acid, the musicianship is top-notch throughout (bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice both went on to play with Jeff Beck). The gold-certified VANILLA FUDGE is a piece of rock history that still sounds sweet, and we'll play it again to wish Bogert a happy 75th birthday.