Beat Goes on [Original recording reissued]

Vanilla Fudge | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 1, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Sundazed Music Inc.
• ASIN: B00000GX0A
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,828 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sketch

2. Intro: The Beat Goes On

3. Medley

4. The Beat Goes On

5. Beethoven Fur Elise & Moonlight Sonata

6. The Beat Goes On

7. The Beat Goes On

8. Voices in Time

9. The Beat Goes On

10. Merchant

11. The Beat Goes On

12. You Can't Do That [#]

13. Come by Day, Come by Night

Editorial Reviews

Sundazed Music remastered reissue of their 1st album with the original cover art intact, plus updated liner notes and 2 bonus tracks added, 'Come By Day, Come By Night' and a previously unreleased cover of the Lennon/ McCartney tune 'You Can't Do That'. This heavy psychedelic group featured drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tim Bogert.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beauty is in the (dilated) eye of the beholder..., May 28, 2007

By 

Steven Haarala (Mandeville, LA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beat Goes on (Audio CD)

Recently I pulled out the classic psychedelic album "Vanilla Fudge" for a listen. I began to wonder if the band had ever made any other albums, and I found that they had. In my research I quickly saw that this one, "The Beat Goes On", was universally slammed by nearly everyone, even ardent Fudge fans. They called it pretentious, incoherent and in general worthless. So of course, this is the one that I ended up choosing to buy.

And I love it, with one major reservation, which I will get to in a minute. What we have here is an amalgamation of music, historical references, and other miscellaneous pop culture data. It's not for everyone's tastes. When you listen to it, hopefully with a wide open mind, you need to remember several things. The album is based on 4 cardinal principles of the 60's: experimentation, political involvement, adoration of The Beatles and "letting it all hang out", or, if you prefer, openness and honesty. It is not a rock album. It is not a pop album. Nor is it a cloned sequel to "Vanilla Fudge", which probably accounts for a lot of the negative reaction to it.

I'm impressed by the music in Phases One & Two (also the Intro that precedes them). It is music for music's own sake, not for forging a hit single or developing an image to sell. Just talented musicians appreciating music in the abstract, playing with it, seeing what they can create. A multitude of musical genres are called up at will and used, however briefly. There is classical, old American standards, swing, Elvis, and a Beatles medley. (There is one point in the Beethoven variations where a truly inspired, dramatic moment is reached.) And throughout the CD we hear Sonny & Cher's hit "The Beat Goes On" performed in many different ways. I admit that I wish some of the pieces could go on longer, but then a new one appears and my attention is carried away with the stream.

When we reach Phase Three, we are into territory that reminds me of "Revolution No. 9" from The Beatles' White Album, although this is a lot less subtle, to say the least. Here's the problem: while I don't mind hearing snippets of speeches made by world leaders and others (actually, they are pretty interesting), I don't like the fact that at this point, the music becomes intermittent - sometimes totally absent, sometimes faded WAY into the background. This was a mistake. The album is called "The Beat Goes On", and if I had been a part of its creation, I would have reminded them that the MUSIC must go on too. This does not ruin the album, but it causes a break in the artistic flow that could have been avoided. After this "talky" phase, Phase Four consists of more interesting, sometimes exotic, music, intertwined with recitations by the band members and then an interview in which they give their opinions on a variety of subjects, including the Black Panthers, sex, The Beatles (of course!) and ice cream. Once we arrive at the Bonus Phases, we are back to normal, with a rocking Beatles cover ("You Can't Do That") and an additional song written by Mark Stein, a surprisingly almost gentle (?!) ballad. At the very end, they sign off just as they did on "Vanilla Fudge", with The Beatles' lyrics "Nothing is real...nothing to get hung about..."

Whatever the band was trying to say with this album, I'm glad that they went out on a limb with it. It took me almost 40 years to discover it, but I am delighted to have unearthed this strange slab of 60's psychedelia.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not their best., June 17, 2004

By 

Rock God "Rock God" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beat Goes on (Audio CD)

Guys (and I'm sure anyone reviewing this album is male, just like myself), you know this is not their best. But as a huge fan, I would NEVER part with it.

1. There aren't any real "songs". It's a scattershot sound collage featuring anything and everything under the sun that would make it interesting. The voices of world leaders, the band reciting pre-written mantras and reflections, and Beatles and Sonny Bono covers. Like I said, not their best, however geniune the intention.

2. The group was at odds with Shadow Morton on this one. Shadow made his own album, apart from the group's input, and it shows. It's an anomaly in the group's catalogue, although all of the "musical" parts sound like the group, before and after. The concept, however, does not belong to the band and bears no resemblance to the group's other works, some of which were very obtuse but proved to have direction when listened to in completion (even "Break Song").

3. That's a great story that the reviewer from Framingham told, however. He must have been a big fan, and at 28 years old, I wish I had been there (or maybe not, as I would be 60 today).

Overall, not their best. Get REAL stoned and spin this one. There are a few tight passages, and when the band does jam for fifty seconds, it retains all of the charm which got this band signed and popular in the first place.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Under-rated gem from the era, March 2, 2002

By 

Ian Chadwick (Waterside in Ontario) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beat Goes on (Audio CD)

TBGO is a concept album, not fully realized perhaps, but crafted with genuine effort. It was almost anti-commercial, with nothing on it that could receive air play. It didn't get criticial acclaim in part because the band had neither the talent nor the technology to turn it into what it might have been. But it has an elemental charm for all its roughness and it still lingers with me 30+ years later. There are some interesting sound bytes and musical collages that can still evoke strong emotion when heard today. Those who were there will remember it best...