Customer Reviews

Made in England

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

 

 

A great album by a relatively obscure band that needs more attention from critics and the general public. This disc contains fantastic progressive, r&b based rock. Highly recommended for fans of experimental or progressive rock.

I found this album to be a variable mix of three genres of music. First progressive, second hard rock (leaning to heavy metal early in the bands existence), and thridly avant garde jazz. This is one of the better incarnations of Atomic Rooster (the one heard on 'in the hearing of..' a close second). For any one interested in hearing music that is different, very powerful, yet atmospheric I sincerly recomend this album.

CD reissue of Rooster's fourth lp,that was originally released in 1972.This was their follow-up to 'In Hearing Of...'(see my review).Even though 'Made...' is a bit too funky for my taste,I thought tracks like "Time Take My Life","Breathless" and the somewhat indepth "Close Yor Eyes" were decent tunes.Notice,however that once AGAIN they changed line-ups on us.Which is:Vincent Crane-organ,Steve Bolton-guitar,Chris Farlowe-vocals and Ric Parnell-percussion.In my humble opinion,Farlowe appeared on TOO many Atomic Rooster albums.For Rooster die-hards only.

Now I've owned a couple of vinyl versions of this album (one near-mint)since it's release in '72, I think....So this particular reissue on CD had quite a bit to live up to; and Boy, it does not disappoint! First off, for anyone not familiar with Atomic Rooster: BUY THIS ALBUM!!! I have almost everything The 'Rooster ever committed to vinyl, and this one is still (IMHO) far and away the best, ya know? From the opening cut of "Time take My Life", between Vincent Crane's very spooky bass notes on electric piano to the horns and the creepy guitars from Steve Bolton and Oh Yeah; the thing that glues it all together (cut by cut): Chris Farlowe's harrowing, chilling, Blue-Eyed soul vocals (Mick Jagger called him the BEST blues singer in the UK, at one point...), this is the one to beat! I never thought they would top "Death Walks Behind You" for sheer VIBE, but the reason the band started to disintegrate (for real...) after this release is very simple: Vincent Crane knew, deep down, that he could never top it! Buy this: Then send your wife, girlfriend, lover significant other (or whatever) away for a few hours; crank this up as loud as possible, and in a few moments you'll be hooked for life...You'll find yourself always grabbing this as one of your "must-haves for the car...
Rdart

Well, ever since I wrote reviews for the previous three Atomic Rooster albums, I've been wondering whether Made In England is capable of standing in the same league, and...

It is! It is capable of standing in the same league! I can breathe a sign of relief, haha.

Though I was already well aware the band headed towards a significantly funkier direction for this outing, I'm by no means disappointed by the majority of the songwriting. Made In England proves that Atomic Rooster is honestly very very good at the funk genre.

"Time Is My Life" has an orchestration during the intro (or at least, it definitely sounds like one even though it probably wasn't necessary) and shortly after that, the vocal melody comes in. This song sets the pace for the rest of the album- one catchy vocal melody after another. In this particular track, the vocals remind me of Jack Bruce from Cream fame. "Stand By Me" features vocals that instantly remind me of John Lawton from Lucifer's Friend. This is where the actual funkiness begins, and it doesn't let up for a good portion of the album. As for the song... I love it. Perhaps the chorus repeats a tad too much, but when it's memorable I don't really care.

For those out there who admire the Tommy Bolin period of the James Gang (and especially their Bang classic) "Little Bit of Inner Air" might remind some of a Tommy Bolin-type, slow-moving and eerily quiet blues track. It's highly memorable too, though it took a few close listens to really win me over. "Don't Know What Went Wrong" takes us back to the John Lawton similarities, and I'm thoroughly impressed once again. The piano jam at the end is pretty tasty too. "Never To Lose" is the albums underrated soul ballad I guess you could call it. A VERY effective vocal melody. Honestly, I don't notice Atomic Rooster losing any steam whatsoever, so the lack of popularity concerning this album is sort of mysterious to me.

Brace yourself for the second side. WOW!! "Breathless" in an *extremely* exciting piano-based funk jam with the adrenaline level pushed up dramatically, and "Space Cowboy" continues the theme with a really good vocal melody to boot. No, in case you're wondering, it's not related to the Steve Miller Band song of the same name. This is actually MUCH better. "People You Can't Trust" is probably a Sly & the Family Stone interpretation, and it's a good one. It definitely stands out from the rest of the album. "All In Satan's Name" is... I honestly don't know WHAT this is. It's funky, it's very very heavy, and the vocals are good enough. "Close Your Eyes" is a soulful ballad with piano playing and vocals reminiscent of either the Guess Who or Lee Michaels. Not sure which one exactly. I love it though.

Overall, Atomic Rooster delivers once again. I fail to understand the lack of popularity for this minor masterpiece.

Down to earth, blue-collar, blues-inflected progressive rock band made things a little funkier this time around and were none the worse for it, presenting a charming, if somewhat familiar stew of smokin' oldies.

By this time, Atomic Rooster had ceased being a prog/hard rock band and settled for being a band with ever-changing personnel and a much weaker sound...sort of a blues/r&b meets...I dunno...rock, I guess. The perpetually useless Chris Farlowe stepped in on lead vocals supplemented by a faceless guitarist and drummer assisting keyboardist Vincent Crane, who would be the only original member to last the entirety of this band. In fact, I'm not sure this band *ever* had the same lineup on any two albums during their first go-round in the 70's. It's pretty bad when your longest-serving lead vocalist is Chris Farlowe.

I give this one 2 1/2 stars for containing a couple of decent songs. The Rooster made us suffer through one more album (NICE & GREASY....Atomic Rooster IV in the U.S.) before calling it a day.

Stick to DEATH WALKS BEHIND YOU, or the slightly weaker IN HEARING OF, if you want to give these guys a listen. At least those two albums almost had the same lineup....