Ian Cobain

Three CD set charting the birth and early development of American hard rock. In the late 60s, the parallel emergence of psychedelia and the blues-based power trio format saw pop evolve into rock. In America, bands became harder, heavier, rawer and louder to a backdrop of the Vietnam War, street drugs and increasingly powerful amps. Commercially successful acts like Vanilla Fudge, Steppenwolf, Blue Cheer and Iron Butterfly spearheaded a new wave of bands whose sound would later be codified as heavy metal. Over three CDs and four hours of music, 'We're An American Band' charts hard rock's evolution during the late 60s and early 70s, culminating in Grand Funk's game-changing, chart-topping late 1973 single of the same name. In addition to the aforementioned bands, we feature the likes of Alice Cooper, The Stooges, ZZ Top, MC5 and Love, hard rock dilettantes (Todd Rundgren, Kim Fowley, even Muddy Waters) and such pioneers as Kurt Cobain-endorsed satanic rockers Coven and early metalheads Sir Lord Baltimore. We include tracks from some of the most valuable vinyl LPs on the planet (Bolder Damn, Brigade), ultra-rare local singles (The Mass Confusion Rock Band, Wildwood) and vital music that went unreleased at the time (B. F. Trike, Cold Sun, etc). With accompanying 48-page booklet, 'We're An American Band' is a fascinating window on American rock's epic journey from the bowels of the late 60s underground counterculture to mainstream mid-70s acceptance.