rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...
. It was recorded at
Wally Heider Studios
Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio founded in San Francisco in 1969 by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider. Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, J ...
in San Francisco and released in December 1969 by
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...
. Gary Lee Yoder contributed songwriting for the opening and closing tracks and would later join the group as guitarist on their next album ''
The Original Human Being
''The Original Human Being'' is Blue Cheer's fifth album. It was released in 1970 and shows Blue Cheer exploring a more psychedelic and laid‑back rock and roll with horn sections on a few of the songs. This album features a very unusual, and d ...
''.
Release and reception
According to
Lillian Roxon
Lillian Roxon (8 February 1932 – 10 August 1973) was an Australian music journalist and author, best known for ''Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia'' (1969).
Early life
Roxon was born Lillian Ropschitz in Alassio, Province of Savona, Italy. ...
's ''Rock Encyclopedia'', the album was released in December 1969. Reviewing for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'' the following June,
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
gave the album a "B" grade and wrote: "There ought to be hundreds of groups like this one—hard, competent, slightly commercial—but there probably aren't more than 20. This is not especially original, but it's good, and I'll bet they're a stone happy gas live."
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Mark Deming later gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and appraised it in comparison to the band's harder previous records, calling it "a fun album that generates an impressive groove ... a more laid-back and relaxed effort, but it still rocks with a strong and steady roll."
Track listing
;Side one
# "Fool" (Gary R. Grelecki, Gary Lee Yoder) – 3:26
# "You're Gonna Need Someone" (Norman Mayell, Bruce Stephens) – 3:31
# "Hello LA, Bye Bye Birmingham" (
Delaney Bramlett
Delaine Alvin "Delaney" Bramlett (July 1, 1939 – December 27, 2008) was an American singer and guitarist. He was best known for his musical partnership with his wife Bonnie Bramlett in the band Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, which included a ...
,
Mac Davis
Morris Mac Davis (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020) was an American songwriter, singer, performer, and actor. A native of Lubbock, Texas, he enjoyed success as a crossover artist and writing for Elvis Presley during his early career, pro ...
) – 3:29
# "Saturday Freedom" (Stephens) – 5:47
# "Ain't That the Way (Love's Supposed to Be)" ( Ralph Burns Kellogg,
Dickie Peterson
Richard Allan Peterson (September 12, 1946 – October 12, 2009)(Kellogg, Peterson) – 2:44
# "Better When We Try" (Kellogg) – 2:48
# "Natural Man" (Kellogg, Peterson) – 3:36
# "Lovin' You's Easy" (Stephens) – 3:50
# "The Same Old Story" (Grelecki, Yoder) – 3:53
The 2007 Japanese mini-LP sleeve reissue of ''Blue Cheer'' contains the mono non-LP single "All Night Long" (Kellogg) b/w "Fortunes" (Peterson) along with the single versions of "Fool" and "Ain't That the Way" as bonus tracks.
Personnel
;Blue Cheer
* Bruce Stephens –
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
(2, 4, 7, 9) vocals
*
Dickie Peterson
Richard Allan Peterson (September 12, 1946 – October 12, 2009)bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
s
;Production
* Michael Sunday – producerAllMusic credits /ref>
*
Eric Albronda
Eric Albronda (November 18, 1945 - July 7, 2024) was an American musician and was the first drummer for Blue Cheer, briefly, prior to being replaced by Paul Whaley. He also co-produced (with Leigh Stephens) ''Red Weather'', the first solo album ...
– assistant producer, backing vocals
* John Craig – cover design
* Russ Gary – engineering
* Richard Germinaro – liner note art
* Baron Wolman – photography