Cactus – Rochester (1971)

Cactus was initially conceived in late 1969 by former Vanilla Fudge members bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice after plans to team up with guitarist Jeff Beck were scuppered when Beck had an automobile accident and was out of the music scene for over a year. In early 1970, Bogert and Appice brought in blues guitarist Jim McCarty from Mitch Ryder’s Detroit Wheels and The Buddy Miles Express, and singer Rusty Day (born Russell Edward Davidson) from The Amboy Dukes.

This lineup released three albums on Atco Records, Cactus (1970), One Way… or Another (1971), and Restrictions (1971), before intraband troubles led to McCarty quitting at the end of 1971. Day was fired from the group shortly afterwards. The fourth and last original Cactus album, ‘Ot ‘n’ Zweit (1972), featured original rhythm section Bogert and Appice joined by Werner Fritzschings on guitar, Duane Hitchings on keyboards and Peter French (ex-Leaf Hound and Atomic Rooster) on vocals. After Cactus’s dissolution in 1972, Bogert and Appice finally joined with Beck to form Beck, Bogert & Appice. (by wikipedia)

And here´s a nice bootleg, recorded live at Auxiliary Studios, Rochester, NY; October 18, 1971.

Enjoy the Blues-Power of Cactus ! And you can hear a great bass solo by Tim Bogert on “Oleo” !

Fairly to very good WCMS-FM

Personnel:
Carmine Appice (drums)
Tim Bogert (bass)
Rusty Day (vocals, harmonica)
Jim McCarty (guitar)

Tracklist:
01. The Sun Is Shining (Abner/Carter/Reed) 5.57
02. Evil (Burnett) 5.48
03. Sweet Sixteen (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 4.30
04. Oleo (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 14.15
05. No Need To Worry (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 19.35
06. On Air Spot + Long Tall Sally (Penniman/Johnson(Blackwell) 9.13
07. Big Mama Boogie – Pt. 1 (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 9.21
08. Big Mama Boogie – Pt. 2 (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 5.06

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Cactus – Same (1970)

Cactus is the debut album by the American hard rock band Cactus, released in 1970 under the Atco label. It includes original songs as well as cover of Mose Allison’s version of a blues standard, “Parchman Farm” and another one, Willie Dixon’s “You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover”. (by wikipedia)

Cactus may have never amounted to anything more than a half-hearted, last-minute improvised supergroup, but that don’t mean their eponymous 1970 debut didn’t rock like a mofo. The already quasi-legendary Vanilla Fudge rhythm section of Bogert and Appice may have provided the backbone of the band’s business cards, and soulful, ex-Amboy Duke Rusty Day brought the voice, but it was arguably former Detroit Wheels guitarist Jim McCarty who was the true star in the Cactus galaxy, spraying notes and shredding solos all over album highlights such as “You Can’t Judge a Book By the Cover,” “Let Me Swim,” and, most notably, a manic, turbocharged version of “Parchman Farm.”

The fact that Cactus chose to tackle this classic blues song just a year after it’d been blasted into the fuzz-distortion stratosphere by Blue Cheer betrays — at best — a healthy competitive spirit within the early-’70s hard rock milieu, and at worst it suggests something of a mercenary nature to Cactus’ motives, but that’s an issue for the surviving bandmembers to duke it out over in the retirement home. And we digress — for the blistering closing duo of “Oleo” and “Feel So Good” (complete with bass and drum solo slots) easily certifies the Cactus LP as one of the best hard rock albums of the then brand-new decade, bar none. Too bad the illustrious members of Cactus would quickly lose interest in this band project and deliver increasingly mediocre efforts in the years that followed. (by Eduardo Rivadavia)

Personnel:
Carmine Appice (drums, background vocals)
Tim Bogert (bass, background vocals)
Rusty Day (vocals, harmonica)
Jim McCarty (guitar)

Tracklist:
01. Parchman Farm (Allison) 3.06
02. My Lady From South Of Detroit (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 4.26
03. Bro. Bill (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 5.10
04. You Can’t Judge a Book By The Cover (Dixon) 6.30
05. Let Me Swim (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 3.50
06. No Need To Worry (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 6.14
07. Oleo (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 4.51
08. Feel So Good (Appice/Bogert/Day/McCarty) 6.03

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