Search - Vanilla Fudge :: Out Through the In Door

Good Rock Music

Joseph P. Darak Jr. | Gallup, NM United States | 08/29/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I give five stars if the album is solid all the way thru and has a masterpiece or two. This album is darn good but falls a hair short of 5 stars. The song Fool in the Rain didn't make it for me and I've been skipping over that one. There are a few songs that are almost masterpieces but not quite. The singing on this album sounds a little short of what you hear on Zeppelin originals. More so on some songs than others. Musically the Vanilla Fudge are still top notch - a super tight talented band. Normally they Fudgeisize songs so much that they are barely recognizable to the song their covering. They didn't do that here and I wish they had. It is certainly a lot of fun when the fudge take creative liberties with other peoples songs. I'm not sure if an entire album of Zeppelin tunes was a smart move, but it is a very good album and they do the songs justice. I like the album "The Return" best of all the Vanilla Fudge albums so you should check that one out."

The Return of The Original Fudge

Barry Goldklang | Forest Hills, NY USA | 08/08/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a Vanilla Fudge fan from the beginning so clearly I'm prejudiced, but it's great to have the original four members of The Fudge back and recording. To my ears they sound better than ever. It was an interesting choice to do an entire cd of covers from one band and what a band they chose- Led Zeppelin. There was a strong connection between the two bands "back in the day" so to me that justifies the choice.

Now to the music- as I said earlier they sound better than ever - particularly Mark Stein's voice- he has been missed. I'm sure it was difficult for the band to decide on how to arrange each song and which songs to chose. I think they made great choices- thankfully they didn't try Stairway to Heaven - and they explain why in the liner notes.

Vinnie's guitar playing is really great- and Carmine and Tim (the best rhythm section in rock)are fantastic. I've always thought that John Bonham was one of rocks great drummers and but that Carmine was better. Fans of heavy rock will love this cd."

Should have been better

H. P. Keable | Chicago, IL | 03/05/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First let me say I love the Fudge. I have all their releases and I was both pleased and surprised when I saw this listing given that Carmine and Tim have reformed Cactus (or is that dead after one release?) So, I really dig the Fudge, but after my initial play of this Zep tribute, I was mostly quite disappointed. I like it better after a couple more plays but still not like I had hoped. To me it seems that on the tracks that they chose to stay very close to the original version, they just flat out missed the "feel" of Zeppelin. They're not played badly, they just seem to be missing something: a vibe, if you will. The few that they made more their own, like they used to do with covers, are much more interesting.



Mark Stein's vocals are still first-rate on everything, but Carmine's vocal on Trampled Underfoot really misses the mark. And the sort of "megaphone" vocal effect of Dancing Days does not come off very well either. And the classic Rock & Roll is probably the worst track on the disc. That one falls flat both vocally and instrumentally.



I really wish they chosen to "Fudge-ize" more or maybe even all of these tracks. The closer, Your Time Is Gonna Come, is really good, and gives a hint at what this whole project might have been. Sure, maybe 40 years later in 2007 they don't want to be the same band they were in 1967, but they did that style, that turning other artists' tracks into their own, so much better than anyone else. Why call it Vanilla Fudge otherwise?

And I found it interesting that they chose to use a band photo from their classic period as opposed to a current one.



Carmine Appice produced this, and the new Cactus as well, so you gotta admire his efforts to return two well-loved groups to the public eye.

I hope to see more by the Fudge."