Cactus
V

In most rock bands’ careers, it’s usually the early albums that contain their best work. That’s not the case with Cactus, whom I find at their best on this 2006 reunion album, compared to all their earlier releases from the early seventies. The reason is that here, thank goodness, we finally get the right riffs and, overall, more substance. There’s thematic consistency here, not just their proverbial, torrential grit and “punch.”

>“Doing Time” is a rock’n’roll that shifts into boogie in the central break, before a determined bass solo. >“Muscle and Soul” is Zeppelin-esque, intricate in rhythm: Appice has fun chopping it up every two measures, and in any case here comes another slick little bass solo from his lifelong partner. >“Cactus Music” is fast and benefits from McCarty’s signature solo with those long, compressed, infinite-sustain tones. >“The Groover” is another boogie, more predictable.

Between this fifth studio release by the quartet, which came out in 2006, and their previous fourth album, a third of a century has passed and, naturally, a lot has happened. The band had broken up in 1972, with the two founders Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert deciding to team up with Jeff Beck. The ill-fated frontman Rusty Day then tried to revive the Cactus name with other musicians on several occasions, only to meet a cruel end in 1982 at home, shot in the head along with his eleven-year-old son, a friend, and even the dog. By whom? By unknown assailants who remain unidentified… probably dealers. Fortunately, we find the legendary guitarist Jim McCarty back in his role, in good health. That is: God, for me.

>“High in the City” is super heavy, with a Cream-like solo from McCarty and, overall, a blistering atmosphere, true hard rock blues performed by people with honors in the field. >And could there be no slow, dragged-out blues? Here it is, it’s called “Day for Night,” rolling along as orthodox and predictable as it is substantial and juicy, thanks to the fat, priceless sound of that neck pickup on the Gibson, which I’ll never thank enough for existing. Then a little shredding from master Jim... >“Living for Today” is a no-prisoners hard rock’n’roll that reminds us how AC/DC drank from these wells in their formative years: driving, with perfect guitars.

The boozy and truly wild voice of Rusty can’t help but be missed in this work. His replacement, Jimmy Kunes, though more than adequate, inevitably makes us long for Rusty, but at the end of the day, the overall quality of the music is a more important metric than the singer’s personality. Here, the sounds and production are much improved, instrumental variations are more effective, and the bass-drum pairing of the two Vanilla Fudge veterans is as atomic as ever.

>“Electric Blue” stands on a regal bass riff and kicks harder than ever, with Appice putting his cymbals through hell. >“Your Brother’s Keeper” is a hard funk, a sort of Frankenstein between Wild Cherry and Zeppelin, extremely agile despite the superhuman drive: McCarty takes a turn toward the psychedelic for the occasion, but still bites at just the right moment. >His “Blues for Mr. Day,” dedicated to the late great bandmate, is an archaic acoustic blues instrumental a’la Robert Johnson: touching.

This time with Cactus, it’s not just raw power: there are also great harmonic and melodic ideas. A major guest (also present at concerts) is the harmonica player Randy Pratt, an ace with a wild look whom I was lucky enough to see play bass, his primary instrument, in Bologna with his Lizards. They opened for Glenn Hughes: there was no contest!

>“Shine” gives off a Free vibe; their much-missed guitarist Paul Kossoff would raise an eyebrow listening: beastly syncopations, Appice having a blast pounding like a blacksmith… there’s everything here for the delight of those who love this music. >“Part of the Game” is a telluric, sultry rock blues, beautiful low E string on the Les Paul left to resonate ad libitum. The singer pours out his soul, and the other three are no less great… it’s all impeccable. >“Gone Train Gone” once again makes it clear who inspired John Bonham (Led Zeppelin opened for Vanilla Fudge on their very first American tour in 1968, and Bonham clung to Appice like a shadow, soaking up drumming tricks every night). >“Jazzed” is what it announces but doesn’t deliver: jazz according to Cactus, a gang of hard-hitting players second to none. Yes, the drummer throws in a little jazz figure on the ride cymbal at the start and here and there, but in the end, it turns into pure hard rock as always.

What a record! Much too late, way too late. No matter—rock is dead; Tim Bogert is dead too (in 2021), but long live rock and thank you Tim, Carmine, Jim, and Jimmy.