Here's a strange but ultimately quite fun DVD from the reunited classic rockers Vanilla Fudge. Well, it's not a full reunion, but you do get founding members Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert, along with new keyboard player/vocalist Billl Pascali and guitarist/vocalist Teddy Rondinelli. The setting is an empty studio, warehouse, or club (hard to tell actually) with a stage set up for the band to play on, and the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra situated in front of the group. No audience to speak of, though you can see a few people milling about the hall, but the band and orchestra act as if it's a packed arena, so you don't really notice it much, other than after each song there is no clapping or cheering, and the video fades to black. Kind of odd but it works in a strange sort of way.
The set list features many of the band's classic material, which were always mostly cover songs, as well as some new original material and covers, like a rousing rendition of N'Synch's "Tearin' Up My Heart" (you gotta hear this one to believe it!), "People Get Ready", and "She's Not There", as well as tried and true favorites like "Take Me For a Little While", "Shotgun", "Season of the Witch", and of course their staple "You Keep My Hangin' On". Also of note is the supercharged, hard rock version of the Rod Stewart hit "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy", originally co-written by Appice, who also happens to have a pretty damn good voice here as well. Amongst these familiar tracks are some solid proto-metal, blues rock pieces, featuring Rondinelli's beefy guitar licks and Pascali's swirling Hammond, and the always dependable rhythm section of Appice and Bogert is stellar as you can expect. The addition of the orchestra adds a certain dramatic flair, but the band is pretty loud and cranked up so they tend to drown out conductor James Domaine and his crew much of the time.
For a fun trip down memory lane with the latest incarnation of Vanilla Fudge, you can't go wrong with this DVD.
Track Listing
01. Orchestral Intro
02. Good Livin'
03. Take Me For A Little While
04. Ain't That Peculiar
05. People Get Ready
06. Shotgun
07. Tearin' Up My Heart
08. She's Not There
09. You Keep Me Hangin' On
10. Season Of The Witch
11. Do You Think I'm Sexy
12. Need Love
13. You Can't Do That
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