Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier; February 4, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spans over fifty years. With his distinctive raspy voice and a stage show that features guillotines, electric chairs, fake blood, deadly snakes, baby dolls, and dueling swords, Cooper is considered by music journalists and peers alike to be "The Godfather of Shock Rock". He has drawn equally from horror films, vaudeville, and garage rock to pioneer a macabre and theatrical brand of rock designed to shock people…
Sadly, the most distinctive thing about Spooky Tooth's sixth album is its title. While the band became a well-oiled ensemble of talented musicians (especially with the addition of future Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones), it wasn't especially groundbreaking or original, relying too much on generic early-'70s blues-rock, with pedestrian, humorless lyrics. The gospel choir in "Holy Water" and the funky guitars in "Wildfire" are ties to the older, less heavy Spooky Tooth, but the rest, even the ballad "Self Seeking Man," are standard-issue Led Zeppelin/Bad Company-style hard rock. The playing is impressive (especially Jones' guitar leads and Gary Wright's keyboards), but without much in the way of memorable songs, it's mostly wasted…
This full-length debut from British blues-rockers Spooky Tooth has a tone similar to Traffic with its psychedelic take on the influential pop and soul music of the '60s. A few cover tunes including Janis Ian's "Society's Child" and the Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road" are included, but original songs like the soulful ballad "It Hurts You So" and "Bubbles" (with its Beach Boys sensibility) are the real standouts. The cheery, psychedelic "It's All About a Roundabout" is the catchiest number by far. On this dreamy cut, vocalist/keyboardist Gary Wright demonstrates some sharp melodic and compositional instincts. Although Spooky Tooth eventually became better-known for their straightforward blues-rock, the trippy pop of It's All About counts as a career highlight for the group. Fans of late-'60s British rock are definitely advised to check out this impressive release.
Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century…
If anything, CCR's third album Green River represents the full flower of their classic sound initially essayed on its predecessor, Bayou Country. One of the differences between the two albums is that Green River is tighter, with none of the five-minute-plus jams that filled out both their debut and Bayou Country, but the true key to its success is a peak in John Fogerty's creativity. Although CCR had at least one cover on each album, they relied on Fogerty to crank out new material every month. He was writing so frequently that the craft became second-nature and he laid his emotions and fears bare, perhaps unintentionally.