Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Atomic Rooster
Label: Sanctuary Records
Released: 1972
Runtime: 44:23
Rating: 3.5/5
By the time they put out their fourth studio album »Made in England«, the legendary British heavy prog-rock innovators had thoroughly reworked their sound. After the commercial success of the single »Devil’s Answer«, legendary keyboardist Vincent Crane (1943-1989) was hell-bent on steering his band in a more commercial direction, with an eye on conquering the American charts as well. That drove away guitarist/vocalist John Du Cann and drummer Paul Hammond, who weren’t on board with the plans of an organist and pianist weighed down by an insidious mental illness.
The lineup that recorded »Made in England« was, apart from Crane, completely different from the one on its predecessor »In Hearing of Atomic Rooster« (1971). First to accept Crane’s invitation was cult vocalist Chris Farlowe (Colosseum), whose distinctive thunderous, stretchy vocal approach, not short on eroticism, aired out the band’s sound completely and pulled it into soul, funk and blues waters. Of the hard-hitting progressive rock that marked the previous three Atomic Rooster albums, almost nothing is left apart from a few stray ‘flashes’.
Steve Bolton (who later worked as a session musician with Paul Young and The Who), who replaced Du Cann on guitar, and Ric Parnell, Hammond’s replacement behind the kit (he later joined the Italian prog rock/jazz fusion band Nova and, as the hapless Mick Shrimpton, appeared in the film and on both Spinal Tap records), also blended perfectly into Crane’s vision of a new, ‘American’ sound for the ‘atomic roosters’, with the emphasis on funk and soul. A curious and slightly ironic tidbit: Parnell had first joined Atomic Rooster back in 1970 as a replacement for original drummer Carl Palmer (ELP, Asia), but lasted just two months in the band before Paul Hammond took over.
Early LP pressings of »Made in England« came wrapped in a special blue leather sleeve, while later ones came out with the standard cover showing a mechanical rooster. Somewhat unusually, especially given the more commercial direction, Crane didn’t entirely give up on occult lyrics, as you can hear on »All In Satan’s Name« and »Satan’s Wheel«. The opener »Time Take My Life«, with its roaring horn arrangements and inventive use of the ARP synthesizer, gives a good glimpse of the new funk- and soul-minded Atomic Rooster. With his outstanding vocal range, Farlowe proves from the very first second that he was always a fantastic singer. Alongside Crane’s usual phenomenal Hammond organ work, sadly not exactly plentiful this time around, it’s Crane himself who saves the album from coming off as thoroughly average. In Parnell’s dynamic cymbal crashes you can tell you’re dealing with a drummer with a jazz pedigree.
On another soul-funk hybrid, »Stand By Me«, which was also released as a single, backing vocalists Doris Troy (1937-2004) and Liza Strike join Farlowe on harmonies and, over spirited piano and synth-made saxophone arrangements, help him conjure up a pretty erotic atmosphere, the kind you usually get with this sort of vocal experiment. »Little Bit Of Inner Air« is a funk standard set to a slowed-down groove, where the lead vocal duties fall to none other than drummer Parnell, who handles his unusual assignment surprisingly decently thanks to his irritated, smoke-roughened voice. Sprawling percussion helps build a funky rhythmic jigsaw, while the piano arrangements are, surprisingly, pushed into the background this time.
»Don’t Know What Went Wrong« is yet another ‘Americanized’ number with playful guitar lines and ‘barroom’ piano, where Farlowe’s untamed ‘soul’ vocals shine once again. It’s downright incredible how the organ grandmaster Crane holds back his Hammond organ masterpieces on most of »Made in England« and would rather ‘hide’ safely behind the piano, getting overshadowed more than once by both Farlowe’s vocals and Bolton’s bluesy guitar passages. »Never To Lose« is a slow-tempo hybrid of funk and blues that only avoids sinking into gray mediocrity thanks to a superb performance from the singer, whose every heart-wrenching wail is slathered in feeling.
»Breathless«, a fairly complex funk collage, couldn’t be further from Atomic Rooster’s heavy prog-rock sound up to that point either, even though it’s right here that the individual players finally show, for the first time on the album, just what priceless (you could say squandered) talents they were. Bolton again pulls off a few energetic bluesy guitar passages, while Crane keeps proving he was no less skilled on piano than on organ. Sadly, the whole thing sounds more like the soundtrack to the cult film Shaft than Atomic Rooster from the first three albums. »Space Cowboy« is, as its title suggests, a playful number with a rowdy blues rock rhythm and fired-up guitar passages, on which Farlowe throws himself heart and soul into the role of a ‘space cowboy’, while Crane’s ‘barroom’ piano successfully builds a saloon atmosphere ‘in the middle of the space Wild West’.
»People You Can’t Trust« is an average funk rocker with a slow groove and a commercial ‘soul’ chorus, once again with help from the two female singers. After a long while, Crane finds himself back at the Hammond organ, but when it comes to soloing, he still prefers to give the piano priority. On the classic »All In Satan’s Name«, written by drummer Parnell, the average Atomic Rooster fan would expect, going by the title and lyrics alone, that the band members would finally wake up from the ‘American dream’, and that’s exactly what happens: it’s a hard-hitting, ambient and darker piece than most of the stuff on »Made in England«, and the closest thing to the heavy rock experiments of the past. Crane finally plucks up the courage and lets loose on the Hammond with a gastronomic solo feast, while Bolton successfully shows off his guitar versatility. It goes without saying that Farlowe is once again excellent at tearing out his own heart with his voice. The closer »Close Your Eyes«, leaning on a playful piano melody and more female backing lines, marks a solid return to funk rock ground.
Some CD editions include »Goodbye Planet Earth« and »Satan’s Wheel« as bonus tracks. »Goodbye Planet Earth« is an almost stereotypical funk rocker, and the most interesting thing about it is the socially satirical lyrics, delivered through Farlowe’s mighty vocal interpretation. »Satan’s Wheel«, which calls back to this legendary band’s past lyrical occultism, is Farlowe’s songwriting effort and is funk-tinted accordingly, but it’s still an interesting composition with an energetic chorus and plenty of piano improvisation.
»Made in England« is anything but a classic Atomic Rooster album: thanks above all to Farlowe’s untamed, ‘erotomaniac’ vocals, it’s a total swerve into funk and soul and a farewell to the hard-hitting progressive rock that made the band famous on their first three studio outings. Despite that fact, which still doesn’t delight their traditional fans today, it’s an entirely solid studio document where plenty of often-overlooked musical talents shine. With a bit better promotional machinery behind it, it would surely have given the Western, Northern and Central European charts of the day a proper shake-up, but Crane, as for most of his short life, had bad luck, and the album flopped commercially before it ever reached the much-coveted waves of American radio stations.
Lineup
Vincent Crane – Hammond organ, piano, ARP synthesizer
Chris Farlowe – vocals
Steve Bolton – guitar
Ric Parnell – drums, percussion, vocals on “Little Bit of Inner Air”
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Bill Smith – bass guitar on “Stand by Me”
Doris Troy and Liza Strike – backing vocals on “Stand by Me” and “People You Can’t Trust”
Production
Vincent Crane
Tracklist
1. Time Take My Life
2. Stand by Me
3. Little Bit of Inner Air
4. Don’t Know What Went Wrong
5. Never to Lose
6. Breathless
7. Space Cowboy
8. People You Can’t Trust
9. All in Satan’s Name
10. Close Your Eyes
