Carmen Appice & Friends – Live At The Savoy New York (1982)

In 1982, a UNICEF benefit held at the Savoy in New York City was organized by rock drummer extraordinaire Carmine Appice. Appice first came to notoriety as the skin basher for Vanilla Fudge, a pioneering heavy metal band that merged blue-eyed soul and psychedelic music. The Fudge had a number of hits with covers of contemporary pop hits of that period, such as The Supremes’ “Keep Me Hanging On,” Sonny & Cher’s “Bang Bang,” and Trade Martin’s “Take Me For A Little While.”

When the Fudge began to fade in 1970, Appice and Fudge bassist Tim Bogart regrouped with a new blues/rock/boogie band called Cactus. From there he and Bogart formed a power trio with Jeff Beck, before Appice went to work for Rod Stewart.

For Carmine Appice the show would mark the first and one of the few times he performed under his own name, and not as part of a band. But, that didn’t stop him from still playing within a band, anyway. After running through a number of popular songs with guests Rick Derringer (who does his trademark “Rock ‘N Roll Hoochie Coo”) and Charlie Daniels (singing outstanding versions of “C.C. Rider” and “Amazing Grace”), and doing the obligatory lengthy drum solo, Appice surprised the audience by staging the first reunion in 12 years of the original Vanilla Fudge.

The Fudge were a little rusty, but overall sounded exceptional as they blasted through powerful versions of “Take Me For A Little While,” and “Keep Me Hanging On.”

The benefit show was broadcast as part of the King Biscuit Flower Hour, and closed with an ensemble version of the rock classic “Bo Diddley.” It was a quirky gathering of musicians and the music is certainly all over the place, but for the Fudge reunion alone, this show is historic, not to mention a lot of fun. (by WolfgangsVault)

What a great show … another night, many legends came out to play … Rock ‘N Roll Hoochie Koo !

Personnel:
Carmine Appice (drums, vocals)
Rick Derringer (guitar, vocals)
Duane Hitchings (keyboards, vocals)
Kasim Sulton (bass, vocals)
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Charlie Daniels (vocals, guitar on 04., 05. + 09.)
Phil Lynott (vocals)
Tom Petersson (bass, vocals)
Fran Sheehan (percussion)
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Vanilla Fudge (on 06. – 08.) :
Carmine Appice (drums, vocals)
Tim Bogart (bass, vocals)
Vinnie Martell (guitar, vocals)
Mark Stein (organ, vocals)

Alternate front covers

Tracklist:
01. Rock ‘N Roll Hoochie Koo (Derringer) 5.12
02. Be My Baby ( Barry/Greenwich/Spector) 4.30
03. Drum City Rocker (Ballad Of Drum City Surfer Girl) (Appice/Cusano) 2.51
04. C.C. Rider (Traditional) 8.15
05. Amazing Grace (Trditional) 4.12
06. Band introduction 0.54
06. Take Me For A Little While (Martin) 5.08
07. People Get Ready (Mayfield) 5.46
08. Keep Me Hanging On (B.Holland/Dozier/E.Holland) 6.47
09. Bo Diddley (McDaniel) 5.58

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Various Artists – Who Are You – An All-Star Tribute To The Who (2012)

Stars of Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Punk Rock, and Country gather together to pay tribute to one of the most successful and influential bands of all-time, The Who!

I have been a great fan of The Who for about 50 years so I was a bit hesitant to buy this tribute album as some of these type of records can be very ordinary, but this is a great one. Most songs are pretty faithful to the original songs while obviously stamping the guest artists own sound and style on them, with a 2 or 3 of horrendous exceptions (I won’t say which, you be the judge). And I reckon Leslie West’s guitar on The Seeker is worth the price alone. An enjoyable listen. One issue though – Don’t know what happened on, if I recall correctly, Eminence Front, the music just cuts out before the end unfortunately as this is a great song. An error in production no doubt that should never have made the final product. (by Mr. M)

Who would have thought that Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) and Peter Banks (Yes, Flash) would render a performance of Magic Bush nearly equal to the original. Todd Rundgren and Iggy Pop fans need this album ! (by Brent W. Cook)

Indeed … a real unique tribute album for one of the most important bands in the history of rock … look at the line-up … unbelieveable …

Alternate front + back cover

Personnel:
See booklet

Tracklist:

Derek Sherinian, John Wetton, K. K. Downing:
01. Eminence Front 5.32

Nektar & Jerry Goodman:
02. Baba O’Riley 5.23

Mark Lindsay & Wayne Kramer:
03. I Can See For Miles 4.07

Huw Lloyd-Langton, Joe Elliott, Rick Wakeman:
04. Love Reign O’er Me 6.17

Dave Davies, Knox & Rat Scabies:
05. My Generation 3.29

The Raveonettes:
06. The Kids Are Alright 2.32

Sweet:
07. Won’t Get Fooled Again 7.41

Carmine Appice & Todd Rundgren:
08. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere 2.38

Iggy Pop:
09. I Can’t Explain 2.07

Pat Travers:
10. Behind Blue Eyes 3.43

Ginger Baker, Peter Banks & Peter Noone:
11. Magic Bus 3.20

Gretchen Wilson, Randy Bachman:
12. Who Are You 5.05

Brad Gillis, Mike Pinera, Terry Reid:
13. Pinball Wizard 3.03

David Cross, John Wesley:
14. Squeeze Box 2.49

38 Special, Ian Paice & Ted Turner:
15. Bargain 5.24

Joe Lynn Turner & Leslie West:
16. The Seeker 2.43

All songs written by Pete Townshend

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