Vanilla Fudge-Rock & Roll (1969)

Vanilla Fudge's fifth and final album before reuniting many years later with the 1984 release of "Mystery". In this last work of their first incarnation, this unique American band comprised of Vince Martell on guitar, Carmine Appice on drums, Tim Bogert on bass, and Mark Stein on keyboards and vocals struck again with another psychedelic album featuring original songs alongside covers treated with the band's signature psychedelic sound. The opening track, "Need Love", takes us on a journey through early hard rock blues with Martell's tremendous riffs and a roguish organ. In the poignant "Lord of the Country", the quartet leaves their mark with another great song that blends rock and gospel. Their cover of Carole King's "I Can't Make It Alone" is reinterpreted here in a psychedelic heavy rock style, showcasing precise vocal harmonies and the skillful rhythm section of Bogert and Appice. The folk rock with its great vocal harmonies, "Church Bells of St Martins" leaves us with a certain Beatles-esque aftertaste, while the visceral "The Windmills Of Your Mind", another cover, this time a song from the film "The Thomas Crown Affair", composed by Alan Bergman, and the hard rock "If You Gotta Make A Fool of Somebody", close the perfect epitaph to this fifth album from this essential band.