Description

Atomic Rooster was the brainchild of Vincent Crane, who used the band’s satanic imagery and lyrics as a way of exorcising his own personal demon – clinical depression. Before his suicide in 1989, many listeners assumed that Atomic Rooster’s songs, such as “Time Take My Life”, “Death Walks Behind You” and “Can’t Find A Reason” (all on this collection), were just the usual Heavy Metal cartoon doom & gloom. With hindsight, they conveyed genuine desperation. Atomic Rooster were a much more soulful band than their rather Gothic image suggestedmore…, which is why this 2-CD anthology is called Heavy Soul. Although it has many tracks in common with an equally good anthology, All In Satan’s Name (also a 2-CD set), Heavy Soul finds room to showcase the gentler and bluesier side of the band’s output. Two rare singles, ‘Save Me/Close Your Eyes’ and ‘Tell Your Story/O.D.’ are included, as well as a serene instrumental B-side, ‘Moods’. The band’s only two hits, ‘Tomorrow Night’ and ‘The Devil’s Answer’, are both here, although the version of ‘Tomorrow Night’ is the single edit, somewhat shorter than the album version that appears on All In Satan’s Name. Despite this and the omission of such gems as ‘Vug’ and ‘A Spoonful Of Bromide Helps The Pulse Rate Go Down’, Heavy Soul is probably the better of the two anthologies for an Atomic Rooster beginner. There are of course 1-CD collections too, but these don’t do justice to the band’s range and are often poorly sequenced and packaged. Beware too of supposed ‘best-of’s that are in fact drawn from Atomic Rooster’s 1980s reinvention as a New Wave group – not because the music is bad (the band did a perfectly creditable job of being punks) but because it is so different from their prime 1970s material. All in all, Heavy Soul is a fine testament to Atomic Rooster’s heyday. The final word should go to Vincent Crane, one of whose best songs, ‘Breakthrough’, finds a concrete metaphor for the illness that blighted his life: “An invisible prison/Is built around me/There may be a door/But there isn’t a key/An invisible prison/I cannot escape/With walls I can’t see/With walls I can’t break/An invisible prison/How can I be free?/ There isn’t a guard/For the gaoler is me…”

Tracks

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Info:

Category:

Music > Albums

Case Type:

CD

Release Type:

Retail

Comments:

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Cover Info:

Title:

Atomic Rooster - Heavy Soul (2001) Retail CD

Part:

Back

Dimensions:

1468 x 1150 px

Size:

432 KB

Downloads:

66 (0 today)

Uploaded:

Report a Problem Wrong Cover Duplicate Image Bad Quality Wrong Info

19/06/10 by stsk

Quality Rating:

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Rated 4 of 5 (1 votes). Click CDs to vote!

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