|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bullet: Entrance To Hell
 Angel Air continue to come up with the goods in unleashing rare and obscure recordings with this release by the short lived Bullet, a band formed by the ex Atomic Rooster pairing of John Du Cann (guitar, vocals) and Paul Hammond (drums). After being dismissed by the somewhat eccentric Vincent Crane the pair joined forces with bassist John Gustafson (later of the Ian Gillan Band) to form this power trio in 1970 and signed to Purple Records. Upon discovering that the moniker Bullet was already in US across the Atlantic the name was changed to Hard Stuff and some of the material re-recorded. But the original recordings as Bullet have survived in Du Cann's personal archives and are made available here warts and all.
Much more than just Atomic Rooster without Crane's unmistakable Hammond, Bullet's style was more one of funk rock blended with the sound of a traditional blues rock power trio. Du Cann and Gustafson shared songwriting and vocal duties and the latters "No Witch At All" is a good example of what Bullet were all about; hard edged riffing, blues backbone, funked up groove and a catch melody. Other highlights include "Taken Alive", "The Orchestrator" and the title track all of which have some impressive Du Cann soloing. Another worthwhile release from a band that never made it, Entrance To Hell is a very satisfying listen.
Track Listing
1. Door Opens
2. Millionaire
3. No Witch At All
4. Taken Alive
5. The Soul That I Had
6. Entrance To Hell
7. The Orchestrator
8. Hell, Demonic Possession
9. Fortunes Told
10. Sinister Minister
11. Jam (The Rock)
12. Time Gambler
13. Monster In Paradise
14. Jay Time
15. Mr Longevity
16. Door Slams
17. Jam (The Taker)
Added: January 4th 2011
Reviewer: Dean Pedley
Score:  
Related Link: Angel Air
Hits: 6635
Language: english
[  Printer Friendly Page ]
[  Send to a Friend ] |
|
[ Back to the Reviews Index | Post Comment ]
|
|
| » SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews: |
Bullet: Entrance To Hell
Posted by Ryan Sparks, SoT Staff Writer on 2011-01-04 12:31:15
My Score:
After being unceremoniously dismissed from Atomic Rooster by Vincent Crane, guitarist / vocalist John Du Cann, together with Rooster drummer Paul Hammond and bassist John Gustafson (Quatermass, Roxy Music and later Ian Gillan), quickly picked up the pieces and formed a power trio of their own called Bullet in 1970. The band which released a couple of albums under the moniker of Hard Stuff (due to the fact that another band in the United States was already using the name Bullet) sadly never really got off the ground as a near fatal car accident ended things rather abruptly in 1973. Fast forward to the present and Angel Air Records has managed to snag the original master recordings from Du Cann's personal archives which are now available as The Entrance To Hell.
Without Crane's organ to contend with Du Cann assembled himself a real gritty sounding, blues based power trio built around his unlimited arsenal of crunchy guitar riffs and scorching solos. Together with Gustafson's meaty bass playing and Hammond's rock solid attack behind the kit Bullet certainly had all the ingredients in place for a shot at commercial rock success. Du Cann and Gustafson pretty much split the lion's share of the songwriting duties down the middle and their different writing styles definitely add to the bands overall dynamic. For example Gustafson's funkier, hook laden approach and soaring lead vocals can be hard on tracks like "Taken Alive" and "Sinister Minister", while Du Cann's darker themes also yield some equally as stunning results on "Time Gambler", "Fortunes Told" and "The Soul That I Had". There are also some fabulous, loose sounding jams, as the title track, "Jam (The Rock)" and "Jam ( The Taker)" not only captures the electric and spontaneous energy conjured up when these guys got together and jammed, but they also act as vehicles for all three musicians to demonstrate their versatility as players. Du Cann in particular turns in some extended, blistering, bluesy solos that you hope will never end.
The Entrance To Hell contains just over an hour of kick ass sounding jams and songs that are crammed to the hilt with memorable sounding riffs and melodies. If you're a fan of John Du Cann's previous work in The Attack, Andromeda and Atomic Rooster, or you just appreciate good old fashioned, vintage sounding classic / hard rock from the 70's, then these newly issued recordings from Bullet should definitely be able to give you what you're looking for.
|
|
|
|
© 2004 Sea Of Tranquility | For information regarding where to send CD promos and advertising, please see our FAQ page.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us.
Please see our Policies Page for Site Usage, Privacy, and Copyright Policies.
|
All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, all other content © Sea of Tranquility
SoT is Hosted by SpeedSoft.com 
|
|
