Vincebus Eruptum

Vincebus Eruptum
Studio album by Blue Cheer
Released January 16, 1968 (1968-01-16)
Recorded 1967
Studio Amigo Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length 32:08
Label Philips
Producer Abe "Voco" Kesh
Blue Cheer chronology
Vincebus Eruptum
(1968)		 Outsideinside
(1968)

Vincebus Eruptum (/vɪŋˈkeɪbəs ɪˈrʌptəm/ (pseudo latin) 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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Pitchfork9.0/10[11]
Rolling Stonenegative[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.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Summertime Blues"  Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart3:47
2."Rock Me Baby"  B.B. King, Joe Josea4:22
3."Doctor Please"  Dickie Peterson7:53
4."Out of Focus"  Peterson3:58
5."Parchment Farm"  Mose Allison5:49
6."Second Time Around"  Peterson6:17
Total length:31:54

Personnel

Blue Cheer
Additional personnel
Remastered version
  • Bill Levenson – production
  • Ellen Fitton – remastering

References

  1. ↑ "JAN. 16, 1968: THE RELEASE OF BLUE CHEER'S 'VINCEBUS ERUPTUM'". Arthur Magazine. Joshua Tree. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Celebrating the 45th birthday of Blue Cheer's mighty Vincebus Eruptum…". Classic Rock Magazine Facebook Fanpage. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  3. ↑ SPIN Magazine - Page 90. Google Books. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Blue Cheer - Live Bootleg: London - Hamburg review". Allmusic. Greg Prato. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Various Mojo Magazine (1 November 2007). The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition. Canongate Books. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-84767-643-6.
  6. ↑ Chris Smith (2009). One Hundred and One Albums that Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-19-537371-4.
  7. ↑ "Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  8. 1 2 "Blue Cheer interview, Dickie Peterson". StonerRock.com. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Interview with Dickie Peterson of heavy metal hard rock band Blue Cheer". Get Ready to ROCK!. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  10. 1 2 Mark Deming. "Vincebus Eruptum > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  11. 1 2 Alexander Linhardt (October 7, 2003). "Blue Cheer: Vincebus Eruptum / Outsideinside". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  12. ↑ Michael Geary. "Vincebus Eruptum > Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (2 March 1968). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 52. ISSN 0006-2510.
  14. ↑ 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.
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