Blue Cheer
Outsideinside

If you try to look for Metallica's influences, who do you usually find? Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath... but almost never Blue Cheer. Hardly anyone knows this album that seems to anticipate Metallica by 15 years (note that Blue Cheer also had their base in San Francisco), but if you appreciate the four horsemen (at least those pre-Black Album) you shouldn't miss this record. A music-crazy friend of mine from the 60s/70s passed it to me about a year ago. I expected something typically sixties and psychedelic, without knowing that I had come into contact with the most brutal thing that existed then (albeit with some typical psychedelic sounds of the period), which I contemporaneously classified as the violent, evil, and primitive version of Cream. When (recently) I got in touch with the first 5 albums of Metallica (Kill 'Em All especially) I couldn't help but notice some similarities... Back then, Blue Cheer was the classic power trio: the singer/bassist Dickie Peterson, still the only survivor of the original lineup, who at certain points seems to anticipate the raw and coarse croaks of James Hetfield, guitarist Leigh Stephens, famous for the impossible volumes he used to play at, and drummer Paul Whaley. The album takes its title from the fact that side A was recorded in outdoor locations like Muir Beach, Gate 5 of Sausalito (California), and the department of navy and aviation in New York, while for side B they opted for a traditional studio recording. Of their albums, I only have this one, but I know that compared to the debut, the music becomes more heterogeneous and (so to speak...) refined. Ooops, I went on too long! Still awake? On with the review!

The album opens with "Feathers From Your Tree", a typically psychedelic track where Peterson's raw vocal style, Stephens' buzzing guitar, and Whaley's heavy rhythm are well balanced by the curious psychedelic piano interventions of guest Ralph Burns Kellogg; definitely a track that has something crudely charming about it. The next "Sun Cycle" is, as the title suggests, a very psychedelic track, also the calmest of the album, despite a somewhat spicy accent given by the more lively chorus and Stephens' skillful use of wah-wah. The legacy that Metallica picked up 15 years later begins to be felt from "Just A Little Bit", which starts aggressively with Whaley's phasing-treated drums, over which Peterson growls and howls, and Stephens creates a dramatic guitar sound wall (another idea recycled in the future by Metallica), until the track slows down and blooms into a chaotic tail. "Gypsy Ball" is a more melodic and psychedelic track compared to the previous one, and would be really beautiful if it weren't for the horrible drum sound (it sounds like Whaley is playing on barrels, and I'm not joking!). The proto-metal sound fury of "Come And Get It" gloriously closes the first side.

The B-side opens with a vitriolic cover of the famous "Satisfaction" by the Stones, with Peterson's bass (which until now has hardly been heard) finally in the spotlight, and extended by a minute and a half over the original with Stephens' furious electric gallops. The next "The Hunter" is a typically bluesy track, a cover of the instrumental soul group Booker T. & the M.G.s. After the short instrumental interlude of "Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger", the album closes with "Babylon", a track with a more complex structure. After a psychedelic wah-based introduction, it starts as a fairly aggressive track, marked by numerous stop & go. At a certain point, when the development seems predictable, it switches to a rough blues track, which ends with a "reprise" of the first part of the track.

It's not exactly the type of music I usually listen to, and it's not an easy album to review: it is raw, harsh, primitive, and the production work is quite sparse, but let's not forget the historical importance of the record and the influences it has had on the hard rock and heavy metal genres, and how exciting and dramatic the album itself is. So 4 full stars.

PS this is my first review, it's not much, but I did my best...