''Devil's Answer'' is a song by British rock band

Atomic Rooster Atomic Rooster are a British rock band originally formed by members of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, organist Vincent Crane and drummer Carl Palmer. Their history is defined by two periods: the early-mid-1970s and the early 1980s. The band ...

from their album, '' In Hearing of Atomic Rooster'' (1971). It is also a compilation of their live recordings, released in 1998 by Hux Records. The compilation includes every extant in-studio session the band recorded for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

, as well as three live in-concert tracks. All of its contents, except for the three tracks recorded for the Friday Rock Show in 1981, have since been included on

Castle Communications Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...

' 2004 reissues of Atomic Rooster's first four studio albums. The 1981 tracks remain exclusive to this disc. The mastering of all in-studio tracks on this disc renders them slower-sounding. The same problem exists on the selections that were used on the 2004 Castle Communications reissues. In addition, the original lineup of the band, with Nick Graham on bass guitar and vocals, recorded their first BBC session on

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major i ...

World Service The BBC World Service is a British public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcasts radio news, speec ...

''Rhythm & Blues'' show in December 1969. They performed three tracks from their upcoming first album: "Friday the 13th", "S.L.Y." and "Decline and Fall". Unfortunately, this session is now lost.

Track listing

# "Friday the 13th" (Crane) 4:28 –

Mike Harding Mike Harding (born 23 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter, comedian, writer, broadcaster and musician. Early life and education Harding's father, Louis Arthur "Curly" Harding, a navigator in the RAF, was killed in the Second Worl ...

Show 26.5.70, 1st tx 2.6.70 # "Seven Lonely Streets" (Du Cann) 6:15 – as above # "Tomorrow Night" (Crane) 5:27 –

Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

14.1.71 # "Shabooloo" aka "Before Tomorrow" (Crane) 6:10 – Mike Harding Show 22.3.71, 1st tx 30.3.71 # "Death Walks Behind You" (Du Cann, Crane) 6:04 – as above # "Stand by Me" (Crane) 3:23 –

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

Show 12.6.72, 1st tx 26.6.72 # "Breakthrough" (Crane, Pat Darnell) 3:06 – as above # "Save Me" (Crane) 3:40 – retitled, rearranged "Friday the 13th; "Johnnie Walker Show 7.12.72 # "Close Your Eyes" (Crane) 2:48 – as above # "Play it Again" (Du Cann, Crane) 4:04 – Friday Rock Show 16.10.81, tx 6.11.81 # "In the Shadows" (Du Cann) 10:01 – as above # "Devil's Answer" (Du Cann) 3:46 – as above # "People You Can't Trust" (Crane) 4.41 – Live in Concert 27.7.72 # "A Spoonful of Bromide Helps the Pulse Rate Go Down" (Crane) 4:46 – as above # "All in Satan's Name" (Parnell) 4:03 – as above

Personnel

;Atomic Rooster *

Vincent Crane Vincent Rodney Cheesman (21 May 194314 February 1989), known professionally as Vincent Crane, was an English keyboardist, best known as the organist for the Crazy World of Arthur Brown (he was a co-writer of that group's 1968 hit single "Fire") ...

–

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, piano, backing vocals – all tracks *

Carl Palmer Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer (born 20 March 1950) is an English drummer. He was a founding member of the supergroups Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Asia, a touring drummer for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and a founding member of Atomic Roost ...

– drums, percussion – No. 1, 2 *

John Du Cann John William Cann (2 June 1946 – 21 September 2011), later known by his stage name John Du Cann, was an English guitarist primarily known through his work in the 1970s band Atomic Rooster. Life and career His early bands included the Wil ...

– guitars, vocals – #1–5, 10–12 * Paul Hammond – drums, percussion – #3–5, 10–12 *

Chris Farlowe Chris Farlowe (born John Henry Deighton, 13 October 1940) is an English rock music, rock, blues and blue-eyed soul singer. He is best known for his hit single "Out of Time (Rolling Stones song), Out of Time" written by Mick Jagger and Keith Ric ...

– vocals – #6–9, 13–15 *

Steve Bolton Steve Bolton (born 8 November 1949), also known as Boltz, is an English rock musician who, since the start of his career in the 1960s, has played guitar on video, film and television and recorded as well as toured with a number of well-known a ...

– guitars – #6–9, 13–15 *

Ric Parnell Ric Parnell (14 August 1951 – 1 May 2022) was an English rock music, rock drummer. Notable for his work in the band Atomic Rooster, he is probably best known for his role as the ill-fated drummer Spinal Tap (band), Mick Shrimpton in the film ...

– drums, percussion – #6–9, 13–15

References

Atomic Rooster compilation albums 1998 compilation albums {{1990s-compilation-album-stub