(1970) Cactus Cactus

Four studio albums from the legendary Cactus recorded from 1970 to Plus a host of bonus tracks. A real treat for fans of blues rock, proto-stoner rock and proto-metal.

Cactus may have never amounted to anything more than a half-hearted, last-minute improvised supergroup, but that don't mean their eponymous 1970 debut didn't rock like a mofo. The already quasi-legendary Vanilla Fudge rhythm section of Bogert and Appice may have provided the backbone of the band's business cards, and soulful, ex-Amboy Duke Rusty Day brought the voice, but it was arguably former Detroit Wheels guitarist Jim McCarty who was the true star in the Cactus galaxy, spraying notes and shredding solos all over album highlights such as "You Can't Judge a Book By the Cover," "Let Me Swim," and, most notably, a manic, turbocharged version of "Parchman Farm."…

The plan was for the Vanilla Fudge rhythm section of bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice to join with guitar god Jeff Beck and his singer Rod Stewart in a supergroup of sorts. The plan was derailed when Beck had a motorcycle accident that incapacitated him for 18 months. Stewart then joined pal Ron Wood in the revamped Faces (and pursued a somewhat lucrative solo career), leaving Bogert and Appice to find alternates for their dream band. They recruited guitarist Jim McCarty from Mitch Ryder's disassembling Detroit Wheels, and singer Rusty Day from Ted Nugent's Amboy Dukes. One can only wonder what might have been…

With the exception of a few numbers on assorted multi-artist collections and the trio of tunes included on 'Ot 'N' Sweaty (1972), American blues-rockers Cactus were poorly represented as a performing act until this release. Fully Unleashed: The Live Gigs is the companion volume to the similarly thorough Barely Contained: The Studio Sessions (2004). Each double-disc package is filled with not only the combo's respective four long-players, but also plenty of remarkable and previously vaulted sides…