I went down a rabbit hole a few weeks back at the gym with the band Cactus, so when I found their eponymous debut album a week or so later, I definitely decided to bring it home and since Kelly is in bed and I have a few hours to myself downstairs to work on my book project, this would be the ideal time to check it out.
Everybody wins!
Behind the Vanilla Fudge rhythm tandem of drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tim Bogart, Cactus sprouted-up in 1970. The original Cactus line-up was intended to include Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart. However, Beck was injured in a car accident, and Stewart opted to front the Faces. Appice and Bogart promptly recruited guitarist Jim McCarty and vocalist Rusty Day. With the line-up established, Cactus inked a recording contract with Atco Records, and then hit the studio to cut the tracks for the group's self titled debut LP.
The hard side of the 1970 music scene was dominated by three legendary English acts. Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath swung the hammer with authority, setting the high-times '70s into riff rollin' action. Grand Funk represented the heavy side of the American power surge, with Cactus standing in the long shadow of the onslaught of aggression.
The eight song Cactus LP leans on a U.K. influence. The loose blooze, barroom boogie and hard rock pull from the trio of Led Zep, Ten Years After and Humble Pie. Leading off with a cover of Parchman's Farm, the shortest track from the album, Detroit born McCarty cops from the Alvin Lee school of furious fretboard speed. A remake of Willie Dixon's You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover closes out the A side, with the strong flip side featuring the energized Let Me Swim, the slow blues burn of No Need to Worry, and the greased Oleo. The loose jammin' Feel So Good carries a raw vibe over six-minutes before the needle runs out of the groove.
A good start to a creative afternoon and I am absolutely not disappointed with this blind purchase.
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