It's Atomic Not Iron And Rooster Not Kitten
Mark Champion | San Antonio, TX United States | 07/09/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A near-definitive comp covering the first four years (five albums) of this intriguing and often misunderstood band and the late Vincent Crane. Every album gets at least 5 tracks, and one (IN HEARING OF) is presented in its entirety, minus one track. That alone is amazing enough, but what's even better is that the selection is representative enough so that this is all you might ever really need of the Rooster. If you're at all curious about the band (or, more properly, bands - - the personnel wavered constantly with Crane the Fripp-like mentor and only constant) do yourself a favor and pick this up. It might pique your curiosity even further, and all of the albums are worth your time. It's also mostly chronological, which makes for an interesting listen. Also, a few non-LP tracks (the great 'Devil's Answer' single included) are thrown in to liven things up as well. The early Rooster was mostly heavy, curiously jazz-tinged riff-rock with lots of organ and piano. Tracks like the archetypically heavy 'Death Walks Behind You' and the utterly haunting 'Nobody Else' (an interesting take on isolation) are standouts. By the time Chris Farlowe took over the vocal chores on the fourth LP MADE IN ENGLAND Crane had steered the sound toward a more soulful soft-funk format (the vocals had always leaned that way anyway) to which Farlowe was perfectly suited, fresh as he was from the ashes of Colosseum. His faux-testifying introduction to the intense, piano-driven 'Breathless' is hilarious. Most fans of the early Rooster scorn the later stuff; personally I like it all and find later tracks like the sweeping 'Can't Find A Reason' and the lovely instrumental 'Moods' quite enchanting. Atomic Rooster were analogous to King Crimson in some respects, not the least of which was Crane's continually evolving musical direction. A great collection from a fondly-remembered and missed man and his bands."
Atomic Rooster - 'Anthology' (Castle)
Mike Reed | USA | 02/13/2007
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Reason I've EVEN giving this 2-CD / 25 (not 30) track anthology a two-star rating is for the low asking price. Problem is this posting's track listing is wrong, so EITHER another label released a compilation 2-CD with the SAME exact cover and / or title OR this posting's listing of the songs is a mistake. Either way, this one is strictly for the completists."
Often overlooked British prog metal band
J. Talsma | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 06/11/2006
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Warning: the songs mentioned here don't appear on the Anthology 2-CD but on "Heavy Soul", also a 2-CD compilation of Atomic Rooster but altogether another one! Being originally a progrocktrio formed at the end of the sixties by Vincent Crane (organ/vocals) and Carl Palmer (on drums) of later E.L.P. fame, this band developed several musical styles but alas not to a big degree. They had ample success with only a few songs. The bandleader was desperataly looking for a perfect band and sound, meanwhile suffering from life itself. Therefore the band was never coherent and consisted of many musicians, being a trio, quartet and even quintet. This album however was made in the beginning of the eighties and saw the return of earlier members, guitarst/songwriter John du Cann and drummer Paul Hammond, who was followed up by another P.H.: Preston Heyman, on some songs on bass assisted by Jonh McCoy. From the musical point I have to disagree with earlier viewers who gave a 1 star view, because to me this music is pretty good. Lifting on the the British rock boom they beefed up their sound, cranked up their instruments and amplifiers and came with some solid old and new songs, leaning more towards metal than progrock, in this
collection. There are a few reworks of already existing songs (i.e. "Devils' Answer", "Death Walks Behind You". "Tomorrow Night" and "Sleeping For Years") which are of the same quality of the originals. Furthermore there are plenty of new songs (2 of which in 2 settings, like "End Of The Day" and "Lose Your Mind") and even 5 songs which have never appeared before on any album. Crane and du Cann, whether together or seperate, prove that they were able to write fine rocksongs with a strong melody. Crane was a wellschooled keyboardsman and Du Cann a very good guitarplayer. Although most of the time without a bassplayer you hardly notice this. Anyway, to me they deserve a far better place in musical history and not only that, because a quarter of a century later I still enjoy this fine collection of songs. Nothing to be shamed for."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1