Ranking the Studio Albums: Blue Cheer
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- Опубліковано 30 лис 2020
- Join Pete Pardo as he ranks the albums of San Francisco proto-metal/psychedelic legends Blue Cheer. #bluecheer
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RIP Dickie Peterson, Paul Whaley.
Hi, Pete. I was a personal friend of Dickie Petersen’s brother Jerre. I’m happy to see and hear your review of their albums. 👍🙂
I have the second Group "B" single from March of 1966. The band had Dickie and Jerri in the band for that 45. Jerri was the drummer. The song they wrote together was " I Never Really Knew". Dickie was kicked out of the band after a short time. Kicked out for playing Chuck Berry stuff at rehersals....Is what I read.
Me too
Jerre, name sounds very frisian to me..
My two favorite albums by Blue Cheer are Vincebus Eruptum and Outsideinside.
I have a CD with both on one disc - it's one of the best things to pop on and just drive.
@@gwts1171 this band wasn't fucking around
TOTALLY AGREE!!
The first time I heard Blue Cheer as a kid (that I can recall) was the famous Summertime Blues clip on MTV's "Closet Classics", back when that channel was worth anything.
Love Leigh Stevens work. He was in a band in 1970 called Silver Metre. Great album and band!
Thanks for the post. Vincebus was my first album ever, at age 15. FYI- B. B. didn’t write Rock Me Baby, he was just one of many interpreters.
I'm always love when some old and veteran bands still and keep doing new albums. Good or bad albums, at least as time passes when you revisited again. It can shining brightly :)
Thank you for reviewing all of Blue Cheer albums. Would love to dig and listen more of their lesser-known stuff :)
Yes... I was an impressionable young lad when a friend played Vincibus for me. I was into Cream and Steppenwolf at the time. Thus began my journey into musical nihilism. My top BC album is Outside/Inside. The Sundazed issues of the first two albums are superb. The first album is mono. I think it is mandatory to hear this mix. Set up the mono outputs and you get the whole band as a unit rather than the pan-y separation of instruments. Just like a pile driver. Get a copy! 😉
I nominate Sun Cycle as the most psychedelic song ever recorded. There isn’t even concern for tonality in the guitar; there’s just a furtive growl stalking around. The echo on Dickie’s voice here and there is not easy to hear on the Phillips releases, but Sundazed really cleaned it up without altering the nature.
My rankings are, excepting the first two, are down with each new release. Loved New Improved, was good with 4, as I think Dickie’s vocals finally get a showcase, but from there... blah.
I only have the vinyl releases, so can’t comment on the others.
Some called Janis Joplin the female Dickie Peterson. Curious similarity in early recordings. A real ‘Frisco affectation. Thought I’d put a bug in your bonnet over that.
Thanks! ✌️
"Summertime Blues" was one of the songs that taught me the benefits of the volume knob on my radio! 😆 LOUDER!!! I saw their appearance on The Steve Allen Show in 1968. They played "Summertime Blues" first and I remember Steve Allen yelling after the song ended about why did it have to be so loud! Apparently video of this performance has all but vanished, but audio remains. It was definitely a significant moment in my early (12 years old) rock n roll development as I never forgot that performance on that show.
As their former roadie, that incident caused ALL bands to lypsynch T.V. performances for the next 10 years or more.
I appreciate your one shot style. It shows you actually have the knowledge and you aren't reading between cuts like so many others.
I remember a music magazine that featured Blue Cheer being promoted by MAGNATONE Amps. These things were about 8 feet tall and had at least 6 or 8 speakers in the cabinets. The sponsorship did not last long !! And we went to see them in 1968 but it was sold out
Couldn't get close so we listened from a restaurant parking lot about 3 or 4 hundred feet away. Needless to say , WE HEARD THEM !
They definitely went a bit more in a psychedelic, eclectic Steppenwolf type direction by the end of the '60s into the early '70s.
They did a bunch of almost country stuff, too! They were everywhere musically.
Great show, Pete! Those of us becoming teenagers in the late 60s know of the MC5 if for no other reason than "Kick Out The Jams" which is the title of their live album released in 1968/1969. Highly recommended to those investigating or starting to listen to this band.
Always good to be presented with a devotee's labor-of-love retrospective of a band's body of work! There was also (which I found in a store's USED bin) a 2005 "Blue Cheer Bootleg Live" CD Album, from London & Hamburg performances, with the line up of Dickie Peterson, Paul Whaley, & Andrew "Duck" MacDonald. It was labeled as produced by Blue Cheer.
Hello, Pete. Your reviews and numerical order mirrors my tastes exactly like. Damn good episode, man. It was a shame that Blue Cheer disappeared into the world of mundane songs and bad production after the first two records. I was fourteen when Summertime Blues hit the airwaves in Southern California, and it was easily the heaviest song I was aware of at that point. Vincebus Eruptum is still in my top ten after 55 years of listening, with Outside Inside not far behind, just as you stated. Thank you so much for this video! Merry Christmas.
Funny, I just re-listened to their whole catalog in the last couple of weeks! Other than my #10, I think these are all pretty good. Hearing "Vincebus..." was a game-changer for me and my friends back in the day.
10) The Beast Is Back (The remakes of the old stuff just aren't as good.)
9) Dining with the Sharks (The production has always seemed off to me.)
8) Highlights and Lowlives (Produced by Jack Endino who was doing all the Sub Pop bands at the time. There are some really good songs here. It could easily jump up a couple of spots.)
7) What Doesn't Kill You...
6) Oh! Pleasant Hope
5) Blue Cheer
4) The Original Human Being
3) New! Improved! (I really enjoy this. Kind of country rock in spots.)
2) Vincebus Eruptum
1) Outsideinside (A bit more varied and better song writing than Vincebus, IMO.)
Thanks, Pete!
Holden’s Peace of Mind off of ‘New and Improved’ on side two is epic
It almost sounds like something off of The Grateful Dead's "Anthem Of The Sun". That's a good thing!!
Excellent rundown, thank you!
I'm always amazed at the immense amount of bands out there I have never heard. And more amazing how much knowledge you have Mr. Pardo, as I said before, you are superhero and your super powers are unlimited music knowledge, being able to prolong time to at least 25 hours a day to listen and talk about music nonstop and being on UA-cam "all the damn time"! Hey Pete, great show last night with the Squares, would be great to know which lyrics are all of the Squares' favorites and which songs you can listen on repeat all the time, like no matter where you are or what you're doing, that song will stop you right on your tracks no matter if you have heard it a million times.
❤ it awesome review pete !!!
We dig Crazy Horse. We jammed out Hey Hey My My to great affect at the Rainbow upstairs.(!) The Whaler in Venice too. Huge Riff! Cheers! Ha.
Had the pleasure of meeting of meeting Dickie in 1993. He even stayed at my flat with his wife Ilka when they visited London. A couple of years ago Dr Richard Peddicord allowed me to use his two tracks on my Magnolia Promotions Facebook and let me include them on one of many cd’s I did a few years ago.
My favorite is Oh! Pleasant Hope, mainly because of its psychedelic masterwork, "I'm the Light."' Never gets old. Norman Mayell!
While not a studio album but their live album Hello Tokyo, Bye Bye Osaka - Live in Japan 1999. is great. Actually for me 3rd best behind the first two
Great reviews, as always. Not a band I ever investigated. Leaning more toward the budgie or Krautrock scene. But I enjoy reading and hearing about bands that I haven’t looked into. Thank you.
Man, Blue Cheer kicks ass! No one was louder than these guys back in 1968! Here’s my ranking:
1. Outsideinside (1968)
2. Vincebus Eruptum (1968)
3. What Doesn’t Kill You… (2007)
4. Highlights And Lowlives (1990)
5. Dining With The Sharks (1991)
6. The Original Human Being (1970)
7. Blue Cheer (1969)
8. New! Improved! (1969) - side 2 of this album is awesome, thanks to Randy Holden, but side 1 is far too tame.
9. The Beast Is Back (1984) - the new songs on here are good, but the remakes are unnecessary.
10. Oh! Pleasant Hope (1971) - not a bad album by any means, but the weakest overall in my opinion.
Here’s my top 10 Blue Cheer songs also:
1. Sun Cycle
2. Parchment Farm
3. Feathers From Your Tree
4. Peace Of Mind
5. Fruit & Icebergs
6. Nightmares
7. Summertime Blues
8. Babaji (Twilight Raga)
9. Gypsy Rider
10. Babylon
Great review of an extremely LOUD bands discography. "Feathers from my tree" was the first number I ever heard by Blue Cheer and I was hooked. It's a toss up for me between number one and two but those are CERTAINLY the 2 best of the bunch. Outside Inside has one of the best album covers I've ever seen. Just looking at it made me have flash backs...
One of the very first heavy metal bands.
Dickie was awesome. Great band and I like that shirt Pete.
LOVE THIS! I missed this band ENTIRELY!! ha ha ha ha. Funny story.
A UA-camr (whose channel name escapes me) who talks about KISS all the time. A band dude, UA-camr bitching about lip synching then says: Blue Cheer NOT Ozzy /Sabbath were the VERY first heavy metal LP 1st HM
I thought whoa!! who is that?! Checked it out. Played it loud.
Reminds me a bit of Cream and super early Rush. Cheers! ha ha ha ha
Some fans stopped supporting them after Leigh Stephens either quit due to hearing loss or he was asked to leave because he was complaining about their drug abuse
I've heard Leigh quit because he didn't do drugs and got sick of the band's drug lifestyle. Randy Holden also quit because of the same reasons.
@@coryfusting9294 Totally understandable. One can only be around that for so long. Were they on "just" weed and LSD or harder drugs?
@@Nick-qf7vt definitely into the harder stuff i guess
@@coryfusting9294 seen that, picked up our guitarist drunk to a gig-i'm thinking "maybe i should play guitar tonight... oh wait, he can't play bass either".i don't know why anybody wouldn't love playing music with their friends at the best of their abilities...it's sad to see people throwing their talent away...
Excellent job Pete
Blue Cheer acid was a great trip, and 1st album was a trip. Good combo back in the days :-)
Great shirt Pete. I have heard the name Blue Cheer, but haven’t checked out the music. Awesome video and very informative.
There first album is a masterpiece!!!
Probably the only band that can make a reasonable claim of founding heavy metal before sabbath (although my money is still on sabbath)
No idea they had so many albums. I just have a best of that I enjoy quite a bit. Certainly one of the forerunners of metal very quickly left in the shadows by Purple , Sabbath and Zeppelin. But still an enjoyable listen.
As a kid like most of a certain age I knew "Summertime Blues". Then I saw "OutsideInside" in my friend's older brother's collection. I borrowed it and just loved it. Shortly after I ran into "Oh Pleasant Hope!" as a cassette cutout at the local Drug Fair store. I was like "What the f$%& is "this" ?" lol ( I was a kid). So all those years later I bought all the reissues on disc, I've grown to take that eras albums on their own merit. Really just Blue Cheer albums in name only. Out of the three from that time the S/T album holds up nice. I play it quite often actually.
New Improved: side two! Best: Outside Inside (best cover too)
Was just listening to them, this’ll be good!
Such a great band.
i was born in 1968. summertime blues when i saw the beat club video i was like wow. had a lot of great songs.
They missed my radar the first time around but I recently heard What Doesn't Kill You and it's great!
Thanks for that, I didn't know that they had so many albums. I only really know Vincebus Eruptum which I have. I will look the others up.
Always loved outsideinside that album was a sonic assault of psych bliss and my favorite of theirs
Also side two of new improved was epic always wished that lineup would have continued
Leigh Stephens solo record red weather was a really cool and unique
Dig the shirt by the way 👍✌
Nice job. Love reviewers who know their shit!
Love their first two albums. Especially like the first 2/3rds of Outside Inside. Would love to hear a little different production on that one. Live when recording this, it must have sounded huge and spacious.
I dig that shirt, Pete.
Best to date . haha
Side two of New Improved! is great. Just drips LSD. I gotta check out that solo LP Holden released at that time
Check out everything with Holden...
A vast array of sounds and musical genres that are all great in their own way
1963-1965 incredible proto-shred heavy surf with The Fender IV
1965-1966 The Sons of Adam who were all killer musicians (drummer Michael Stuart left to join LOVE) that was a versatile band that was very popular in the LA scene and who made a number of fine 7" recordings...but, they were not at all very representative of their amazing live shows where Randy played LOUD and, much like the 1966 era Jeff Beck imho
1967 - The Other Half. Best known for the excellent snot-nosed garage rocker "Mr Pharmacist" but, I am a fan of the entire album. Randy has always been critical of the shitty studio and lousy engineers and producers as well as the ridiculously brief amount of time they were alloted to record the album and, how his phenomenally loud and heavy live sound was "neutered" throughout the album. I think that it is pretty good...I can only imagine how fucking LOUD he played during live gigs...
He has a reputation for being the loudest and among the best guitar players of his time from 1963-1971-ish
Cheers
Holden captured the LSD experience with Piece of Mind and...he didn't do drugs and, was quite choked about his bandmates indulged
I’m not familiar with Blue Cheer, but will give them a listen.🎼🎤🎸🎵🥁
GREAT RANKING! I must check the 1991's album out for sure!
It is great.
Those stacks of Marshall amps turned up to eleven on the first two LPs ! Quite the history here... Much like other SF bands, they "mellowed out" by '69. "H" took it's toll on Dickie until he cleaned up. Will have to say that "Oh! Pleasant Hope" rates higher than 10 in my book. IMHO: that record "deal" they signed when they were teens had them putting out some of the "laid back" stuff and attributed to the turn over of players. "Outside Inside" is still #1 for me...that side two was so stunning sitting listening to it in the dorm room in 1972 between two huge speakers with the volume cranked up ...and all of us on some "recreational drugs"... The LP cover had no equal in design (re: the gatefold) until the recent Hendrix in Maui release. Abe "Voco" Kesh did a great production job on this as did engineer Eddie Kramer on some of the tracks.
Jethro Tull's Stand Up LP cover was great!
@@philr5497 For sure! That "pop up" of the band was a bit of a shock at first opening!
I listened to their first lp at top volume at 12 years old. It was a classic.
Alice Cooper's first gig AS Alice Cooper was with Blue Cheer in 1968
O Pleasant Hope (from 1971) and New Improved may not be great overall but have my 4 favorite Blue Cheer songs: Peace of Mind, Fruits and Icebergs, Hiway Man and my absolute favorite I'm the Light.
Doctor Please....best Blue Cheer song ever!!!!
I’m gonna have to agree with you there. Second Time Around seriously rocks too.
I have Blue Cheer’s Vincebus Eruptum,Great classic. I first heard Blue Cheer back in 1986 on KBER 106.5,Their was this heavy metal radio program called the “Rock Clinic” That is where I first heard Summertime Blues. KBER in Salt Lake City,Utah.
I remember seeing the video for Summertime Blues on VH1 around 90', I would have been around 14. Kinda blew my mind.
i heard them as a 16 yr in 1968- blew my mind too!.they were like no other, if they didn't start metal, they sure were copied to death by Zep,OZ,Purple & others...!
I was one of those who couldn't get past those first 2 albums...will go back and have a listen see what I think :)
I was just listening to Dinning with The Sharks and then I was lead to this channel.
“Oh Pleasant Hope” was actually from ‘71, not ‘69. My personal favorite is “New! improved”.
Blue Cheer is my main go-to Band. 19667, '67 hooked me for life.
After putting up with the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, and even Hendrix on the living room stereo, my father finally freaked on VE when I brought it home in 1968. Seeing the album cover, he said disdainfully, "Are those women?" then for the first time ever physically went over to the stereo and removed the needle from the LP.
I'd have to put "Dining" second.
My dad hit me and busted my C J Fish album when he heard the 'Fish cheer'.
1) Vincebus Eruptum
2) Outsideinside
3) What Doesn’t’ Kill You
4) Dining with the Sharks
5) The Beast is Back
6) Highlights and Lowlives
7) Blue Cheer
8) New! Improved!
9) The Original Human Being
10) Oh! Pleasant Hope
Joe Hasselvander and the late Paul Whaley remain two of my influences. Joe also played for Pentagram, Death Row, Raven, Black Manta, and The Hounds of Hasselvander.
Vincebus Eruptum.
Outsideinside.
What Doesn't Kill You...
The Original Human Being.
Highlights and Lowlives.
New! Improved!
The Beast Is Back.
Blue Cheer.
Dining with the Sharks.
Oh! Pleasant Hope.
I really love Outsideinside.
Great show Pete! Blue Cheer are a very underrated band in my honest opinion, as well as being a very influential one. Like a lot of bands, I have about half their albums, so can't give you my 'Ranking The Albums'. Going right off the subject of classic rock bands Pete, have you come across the great English prog rock band 'The Enid'? If so, how about a 'Ranking The Albums', by the band?
Heard of them of course for decades, but own nothing by them. I have heard an album or two...good stuff.
Best review I ever read of Blue Cheer
Was:
Blue Cheer 2.5 albums of metal brilliance.
Country Joe And Fish...band ...i lough every time i saw them .
Oh Pleasant Hope...was released in1971. Good reviews, man.
i think i first heard of them on an episode of Metal Evolution
Even on those first 2 albums, they were, for all that volume and distortion, steeped in the blues.
If the band was named after a type of LSD, then the LSD was named after a brand of laundry soap.
Really. Do a search for 'Blue Cheer laundry detergent'
Outsideinside was the best album. I wore that album out. Killer inside album cover.
I've been listening and loving 'New Improved Blue Cheer' which is why I'm checking out this vid. Astonished its no 9 and considered one of their weakest! Really enjoying it. I'd only previously heard their first two albums.
Hello Pete in Poland is still popular band, my friend has 10 cd this group
What was this other recording that Randy Holden did about the time of New & Improved?
Doctor please, wow!!!!!!!
I LOVED BLUE CHEER. Saw them a bunch of times. From Hawaii to S.F. and L.A.
BLUE CHEER. THE MEN WHO INVENTED HEAVY METAL. LONG LIVE BLUE CHEER.
I wish Leigh has stuck with them and they had gotten moor famous and heavier.
VINCEBUS ERUPTUM was the best.
Outside Inside 2nd
And the rest all 3rd
And I wish a great sound engineer could clean up the live recording by members of the audience.
I love the SEA OF TRANQUILITY "T"S but got any with Dragons on Mars?
WHERE did you get that BLUE CHEER T Shirt. I want one.
Oh Pleasant Hope (1971)
For me it's mostly all about Outsideinside but I also like the mono version of the debut album.
Thanks - enjoyable - I stopped collecting after the original band broke up, so was unfamiliar with the 80s+ albums. When I was a kid I had all the BC LPs as well as albums by anyone in the band, so had albums by Randy Holden, Pilot with Leigh Stephens & Bruce Stephens, Mint Tattoo with Bruce Stephens & Burns Kellogg, Gary Yoder's bands Oxford Circle & Kak, probably a bunch more
Fruit and Icebergs......enough said awesome Blue Cheer Tune IMO
Nice overview. Though you came close to od’ing on the prefix ‘proto’
I thought I had them all but did not know about the Unofficial Seventh LP. I must find it. Don't forget Dickie had solo Lp's also that were good. I rank "New Improved" much higher. It is their third Lp from 1968 (not 1970). I rank their 4th Lp the worst though I'll still play it for "Better when we try" (not heavy at all though).
Summertime Blues is the only song I ever heard from this band. I had no idea that they have done 10 albums.
Oh! Pleasant Hope is from 1971 and their final album from their original run.
The song I’m the light is great, has sitar sounds.
It should’ve been a radio hit but I think their record company didn’t promote it because it was their last album on their original contract so their contract was not renewed
Blue cheer’s cover of ( I can’t get no) satisfaction is great
It's sublime.
*Outsideinside.*
Nuff' said.
This man likes his labels
i play 'What dosent kill you" in the car
very cool
Oh pleasant hope was released in 1971. I think it's a good album.
I’m having a Johnny Winter month. How about a ranking the Johnny Winter albums some day. Sorry to crash the Blue Cheer show, I had to get in a vote Johnny 😂
Been listening to the man lately myself.
I wish I knew why Dickie took a back seat to the rest of the guys after the first two albums. Was it drugs? Those later albums with Gary Yoder are kinda like later KAK albums. KAK was Yoder's band before he joined BC. KAK's only album from '69 is rare and killer! Have to disagree on your ranking of "New Improved", Side two is pretty amazing. "The Beast is Back" is quite good! I bought that when it first came out. That BC 7 is an odd mix, with Rainer's power pop songs added to the track list. I'm really proud of and happy for the band that they could release such a fine final album like "What Doesn't Kill You". Just love it! Blue Cheer: In 1967, the heaviest band on the planet!
Fruits and Icebergs, the best Blue Cheer song of all.
Rough Trade were a big deal over in the UK. Stiff Little Fingers named a song about them who were their label. They were the distributor for 'Dining With The Sharks'. It is the dark horse album here. I've heard a lot of bands who carry a sound like this and I'll say hey you got that Blue Cheer vibe, they'll say cool then I'll continue about it being from the 'Dining With The Sharks' album and they'll have to go look it up.
Maybe all these Jack Asses telling everyone they can about their time spent in the Blue Cheer band aren't lying after all. Always been a fan of the first 2 albums. I always assumed that they quit playing music in 1968 then reformed in1984 to cash in on the popularity of Heavy Metal at the time . I thought the Beast is Back was a pretty contemporary sounding Metal album for 1985 . Didn't really find it that Blues based , I thought it sounded a lot more Twisted Sister ( especially the Vocals) than BB King . Never knew about their other albums, but it doesn't sound like I was really missing out on much
I remember reading (I think in Derogatis' book) that Owsley named a particularly potent batch of his acid after this band in '66 not the other way around.
Well, that's not what I heard, but who knows. Keep in mind, the band were basically just starting out in 1966, their first album did come till 2 years later.
@@seaoftranquilityprog The name Blue Cheer originated in the 60s as laundry detergent. See google images. Owsley probably named his LSD after the detergent ,so says the bands Wiki. Then Blue Cheer named themselves after the LSD. But like Pete said, "Who knows?"
I learned about then thanks to Bobby from pentagram
Vincebus Eruptum is classic, but never got into anything else from Blue Cheer. I think it's time to give the other albums a another spin.
Pure ancient raw rock.