NICE 'N' GREASY [AKA: IV]

"Nice'n'greasy" was the second of a pair of albums recorded by the Chris Farlowe era Atomic Rooster for Dawn records. Vincent Crane is still very much at the helm, but the music here is once again radically different to the band's best know works. Titled Atomic Rooster IV in the US, the album was recorded less than a year after "Made in England". The line up is essentially the same, except that guitarist Steve Bolton has been replaced by Johnny Mandala. Mandala is in fact the talented John Goodshall, who would later become a member of Brand X using his real name.

The soul and funk elements which had infiltrated "Made in England" are apparent once again here, together with a fair bit of blues based material. The opening "All across the country" for example is a guitar driven blues song which is barely recognisable as being by Atomic Rooster. "Voodoo in you" follows a similar path, this 7 minute piece being reminiscent of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac (Crane would eventually team up with Green in 1984 when Atomic Rooster finally folded).

On the soul/funk side, tracks such as "Save me", which curiously has an Arthur Brown flavour lurking in the Temptations like sound, and "Take one toke" are well removed from prog, and will thus only appeal to those who enjoy such music.

"Can't find a reason" is an orchestrated ballad featuring the voice of Farlowe. It was released as a single under the name Crane/Farlowe (not Atomic Rooster) the song being pleasant but totally at odds with anything by any line up of Atomic Rooster. "Ear in the slow" sounds a little like an instrumental version of "Tomorrow night", the track featuring heavy organ and guitar riffs. It is therefore as close as we get to the old Atomic Rooster.

Overall, "Nice'n'greasy" is something of an oddity in the Atomic Rooster catalogue, even when compared with the preceding "Made in England". It is dominated by guitar far more than any other album by the band, while taking them further and further from their progressive roots. Unfortunately, the material is inconsistent, making for a reasonably enjoyable, but notably patchy album. The sleeve was clearly not designed to enhance sales either, being a far cry from the Roger Dean artwork which adorned some previous releases.

The band once again imploded after the release of this album, but would return yet again in 1980.

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