Customer Reviews

Fat

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was so glad to finally get a copy of this on CD. So good to hear my dear friends again. They were local favorites in western Mass in the late 60's, often playing for free in the park and at anti war rallies. They were so incredibly tight, heavy at times and sublte when they need to be. On stage they were like a group of warlocks around a cauldron of music, they absolutly COOKED! Their shows would be packed when 'national (and international) acts' playing across town would be near empty. Too bad they never got the fame they deserved. This CD is a 'must have', it is truly a timeless piece of great blues rock.

Over the past 30 years of collecting obscure underground rock, psych, and hard rock, I have learned that a lot of these "unknown" bands were unknown for good reason....they were just not very good. I really feel this way about a lot of the stuff that Radioactive has released over the years, so I approached Fat with caution. Well, I have to say that I was presently surprised. This band is really good. They play 60's style hard rock with strong West Coast/Bay Area influences. The excellent guitar work as well as some of the arrangements reminds me of mid-period Quicksilver in a lot of ways (no piano here though). There is also the occasional progressive passage as well. All in all, Fat were a very professional sounding band with strong songs, creative arrangements, excellent guitar, and great vocals. I would recommend them to any underground rock collector. Keep in mind though that this release is on Radioactive, so the mastering sounds really flat, and the packaging is minimal.

I bought this as an LP back in the 70's by accident. It was in a deleted bin. I thought I would check it out because the members of the band had long hair. What a great surprise. The first Pearl Jam album actually reminded me of Fat. I think it was mostly because of Eddie's vocals. If you like rock you will fully enjoy Fat. You have to get it! Not an easy item to find.

"Fat" are another unsung soldiers of hard rock, which emerged from Massachusetts at the end of the 60s, and turned out too good not to be spotted by one of the major labels - RCA. To my humble opinion, they played pretty genuine blend of hard rock mixed with psychedelia, reminding the softer side of Steppenwolf, although the voice of Peter Newland is as powerful (and melodic) as Johnny Kay, but without being menacing. The band members were misicians p a r e x c e l l e n c e, and do deserve to be mentioned: Peter Newland (vocals, harp, keyboards & flute), William "Benji"Benjamin on drums & percussion, Michael Benson & James Kaminski - lead guitars, Guy DeVito - bass. All band members were on backing vocals. The debut album (1970) was a self-sufficient, mature and talented masterpiece, a true musical tapestry - that's why it didn't have a commercial success. The major achievement of "Fat" (apart from average air-play) was to act as an opening act for headliners Allman Brothers (whom they were able - and still are - to blow away in many aspects).The band had misfortune to become victims of drug bust (when working on the second album), which put an end to their co-operation with RCA (the self-tiled first album remained underestimated by the label executives) and their career.
"Fat" tried to re-emerge in 1976 ("Footloose" - I've seen it as vinyl only), but it was ininspiring drift towards commercial AOR (similar to "Runner" of ex-Rare Bird), which failed to attract significant attention.
However, the first album is a true gem

This is a decent album with decent songs for the most part. It just doesn't appeal as strongly to me as it obviously does the other reviewers. Maybe it's just a matter of taste, but after the high praise given this record, I was a bit disappointed, in particular to the "acid" and "underground" labels. I just don't hear it. Don't get me wrong, this isn't bad, I just listen to so much music from 1970 there was nothing that made this stand out from the pack to my ears. I enjoy Country Girl a lot, and this has it's moments, but for me there are so many better albums out there. Fat's attempts at blues and jazz aren't bad but just fall short of many of their peers. So much good music came out that year it makes for some stiff competition. If you enjoy Fat, I strongly recommend tracking down Welcome, the 1970 release from fellow Massachusetts band Bead Game. There are many similarities in the style of music but Bead Game is a much better band.

I was so pleased to find this CD on your site. I grew up in Western Massachusetts in the 60's and 70's and heard this band several times. They absolutely rocked the place - I'll never forget seeing them play. I had this album on vinyl and was thrilled to find it on CD. House on the Corner, Black Sunday and Lonely Lady still blow me away. You won't go wrong with this one!

Is this their only album?
I couldn't believe my ears.
Some of the best music I ever heard in my life.
I believe it's an insult to compare this excellent band to Quicksilver. They don't sound alike and plus these guys were 100 times better than boring Quicksilver during any period.
This is not hard rock either. This is just incredibly good rock,blues,jazz,country...music.
Thank you Fat!