Best Atomic Rooster Studio Record

My favorite is In Hearing. I especially like the production on the drums. I like the sound of the snare drum on "Breakthrough" and of course the playing which comes across more sophisticated. I like Pete French as the vocalist, Vincent Crane is a wizard on keys, the guitar is produced well and fits the style of writing perfectly. It's a collection of dark songs which cross boundaries of Prog rock many times throughout the album, but especially to notice in the instrumental sections. The vocals are very open and grab your attention. The perfect amount of echo on Pete French's voice is utilized to produce a haunting affect on the listener. When he sings..."There must be a way outta here" on "Breakthrough" it's reminiscent of commonly used dynamics in musicals. It's producing the effect to the story line of the song and is well thought out by the band. "Black Snake" contains one of the strangest organ solos ever written in Progressive rock. It's very counterpoint in 1 particular section of the solo and the choice of notes to be held or sustained while other notes are being played are of the most creepy, blood thirsty, body freezing effect to make your mind drift off or travel to the darkside....whether you understand the darkside and the underworld or not..it makes no difference because Vincent Crane will take you there with the music. Even if it creates a small insignificant vibe like a long walk down a short, dark hallway....it will draw you in and creep up on you like arpeggiated equilibrium. I suppose Vincent Crane was a "dark child" himself, lighting candles..and practicing spells according to the reports of Chris Farlowe. Demonology, dark cloaks, an incense burner and the desire for death. The investigators decided to trace the pattern of Crane's final moment. Demons were awaiting!...and his appointment could not be broken. Think about the piano intro to "Death Walks Behind You". Vincent Crane made this band dark and interesting.

Edited by TODDLER - February 04 2014 at 20:22

Death Walks Behind You

There's very little between the first three LPs which are all very good in terms of quality. In Hearing Of shades it due to featuring Pete French's great hard rock vocals, Paul Hammond's superb drumming, plus probably my favourite Rooster track Breakthrough.

The later funk and metal combos were quite enjoyable but I think their peak era was the proggy/hard rock albums they made 1969-71.

In Hearing Of...

While the first 4 or 5 are all pretty good , Death is by far the best....imo.