Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Atomic Rooster
Label: Sanctuary Records
Released: 1973
Running time: 42:20
Rating: 3/5
By 1973, when the British punchy prog rock legends Atomic Rooster put out their fifth studio album »Nice ‘n’ Greasy’, there was nothing left of the unmistakable organ and piano finesse of cult keyboardist and band chieftain Vincent Crane (1943-1989) to remind you of the group that started out as one of the loudest and moodiest bridge-builders between prog rock and hard rock. On the previous album »Made in England« (1972), Crane had already steered his fellow sufferers toward a soul and funk sonic direction, with the splendid singer Chris Farlowe (Colosseum) giving him a big hand in the ‘Americanization’ of the sound.
Even though the new direction cost them a ton of old fans, and the commercial success they were after was nowhere to be seen, Crane was still determined to conquer British and above all American radio stations. The constant lineup changes didn’t exactly help either. This time guitarist Steve Upton left before the album was recorded, replaced by John Goodsall (later of Brand X). The cult prog rock/jazz rock guitarist Goodsal, who was technically without a doubt the best guitarist in the story of this legendary group, presented himself to the public under the name Johnny Mandala for reasons unknown.
On »Nice ‘n’ Greasy« Atomic Rooster wade even deeper into funk waters, with blues and hard rock flashes thrown in, which in itself wouldn’t be bad if Crane and the gang had been at least a little more inspired when writing the songs. Granted, not one of the compositions is bad, but none of them, with the possible exception of »Can’t Find a Reason«, leaves any deeper emotional mark on the listener beyond admiration for the virtuoso skills of the outstanding players and Farlowe’s mighty, layered ‘soul’ vocals.
The opener »All Across The Country« is a slightly sleepy blues rocker in the middle of which Farlowe’s vocal approach feels right at home, while Goodsall, with lightning-fast guitar runs, neatly demonstrates why he’s one of the most unjustly overlooked guitar gems of all time. Crane shines in between with tasteful variations on the Hammond organ and, helped by Ric Parnell’s dynamic drumming, successfully adds rhythmic variety to an otherwise thoroughly average creation. On »Save Me«, a completely rearranged version of the Atomic Rooster classic »Friday the 13th«, which appears in its original form on their 1970 debut, the legendary keyboardist uses an ARP synthesizer to imitate the sound of a saxophone. He’s backed by funky guitar runs, a choppy rhythm and a dramatic vocal performance. When a band suddenly starts covering itself, that’s never a good sign, of course.
The hybrid of hard rock and funk »Voodoo in You«, a good seven minutes long and a cover of the original by Jackie Avery, is one of the more interesting achievements on the album, with Farlowe’s heart-wrenching and extraordinarily elastic voice shining once again, even though the tempo of the song is slow most of the time. The complex and varied instrumental seasoning comes from masterful guitar, piano and organ solos, which, thanks to Goodsall, bring even a touch of jazz into the composition. The firm bass lines came courtesy of Crane’s clever use of a bass pedal. »Goodbye Planet Earth« is pure funk rock, with Farlowe shining once more as an irritated cowboy who has just woken up in front of an empty whiskey glass, while repetitive rhythmic motifs accompany him in the background.
»Take One Toke« is a somewhat more interesting funk number, as it contains intelligently worked-out guitar, piano and drum variations that nicely testify to the greatness of all three virtuosos. As expected, Farlowe delivers yet another thoroughly emotional showcase of his outstanding vocal abilities. »Can’t Find a Reason« is a lovely love ballad with gorgeous orchestral arrangements produced by Crane and a charismatic Farlowe in the role of the lead ‘star’. It’s the place on the whole album where you can best hear why some people loved comparing him to Tom Jones throughout his career. Thanks to its successful fusion of funk, blues and jazz elements, the dynamic instrumental »Ear in the Snow« is the closest thing to progressive rock among all the album’s offerings. Besides the standardly excellent organ grandmaster Crane, who dazzles with solo attacks on the Hammond, the two ‘jazzers’ Goodsall and Parnell impress most with their witty improvisations here.
The classic »Satan’s Wheel«, which closes the original British version of the album, is the only track on it with a slightly occultist lyric, as Crane humorously remembers his old ‘horned friend’. This time it’s an energetic hard rocker with plenty of r’n’b finesse and a fast tempo, where the complex time changes impress, and of course Farlowe’s thunderous vocal performance. On what may even be the best track on the album, there’s once again no shortage of witty improvisations, which are a wonderful showcase of the boundless virtuoso talent of this short-lived lineup.
On the German and American versions of the album (the latter was released under the title »Atomic Rooster IV« and with a different cover), »Goodbye Planet Earth« and »Satan’s Wheel« are replaced by the solid, piano-based instrumental »Moods«, where the ‘drama’ only kicks in during the second half, and the thoroughly average blues rocker »What You Gonna Do?«.
»Nice ‘n’ Greasy« is, even though it’s far from a bad album on the technical side, with the virtuosity of the individual players at an outstanding level throughout and Farlowe reigning supreme with a brilliant vocal performance, anything but an inspired effort, and you can clearly hear that the chemistry between the members wasn’t (or was no longer) convincing, while Crane was chronically running short of fresh songwriting ideas. The album reached the American market late and under a different name, and the commercial response was so lukewarm that the label of the time, Dawn Records, dissolved its deal with the band. Farlowe, Goodsall and Parnell left the unlucky Crane right after the tour, and for two more years, under the name Vincent Crane’s Atomic Rooster and with the help of the blues rock backing band Sam Apple Pie, he tried to keep the ‘atomic rooster’ alive on artificial respiration. In 1975 he gave up too and officially disbanded the group. In the second half of the seventies he worked with Peter Green and his old buddy Arthur Brown. Then in 1980, with the help of returnee John Du Cann and Preston Heyman, he briefly and entirely unexpectedly revived the ‘atomic rooster’ as a trio, but that’s another story.
Lineup
Vincent Crane – Hammond organ, electric piano, piano, ARP synthesizer
Chris Farlowe – vocals
Johnny Mandala – guitar (John Goodsall, under the name Johnny Mandala)
Ric Parnell – drums, percussion
Production
Vincent Crane
Track list
1. All Across the Country
2. Save Me – re-recorded version of “Friday the 13th”
3. Voodoo in You
4. Goodbye Planet Earth
5. Take One Toke
6. Can’t Find a Reason
7. Ear in the Snow
8. Satan’s Wheel
