Vincebus Eruptum

Vincebus Eruptum
Studio album by Blue Cheer
Released	January 16, 1968
Recorded	1967
Studio	Amigo Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre	Heavy metal hard rock psychedelic rock
Length	32:08
Label	Philips
Producer	Abe "Voco" Kesh
Blue Cheer chronology
Vincebus Eruptum (1968) Outsideinside (1968)

Vincebus Eruptum (/vɪŋˈkeɪbəs ɪˈrʌptəm/ (pseudo latin) is the debut studio album by American rock band Blue Cheer. Released on January 16, 1968,^[1][2] the album features a heavy-thunderous blues sound, which would later be known as heavy metal. It also contains elements of acid rock, grunge,^[3] experimental rock, blues rock, stoner rock,^[4] and garage rock. A commercial and critical success, Vincebus Eruptum peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and spawned the top-20 hit cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues". Being an example of hard rock,^[5] it is also lauded as one of the first heavy metal albums.^[6]

Background and history

Blue Cheer's debut album was recorded in 1967 at Amigo Studios in North Hollywood, California.^[7] In an interview with StonerRock.com, frontman Dickie Peterson explained that "Some songs I wrote have taken 20 years to really complete. And there are other songs like 'Doctor Please' or 'Out of Focus' that I wrote in ten minutes."^[8] On "Doctor Please" in particular, Peterson explained that "when I wrote the song (in 1967), it was a glorification of drugs. I was going through a lot of 'Should I take this drug or should I not take this drug? Blah, blah, blah.' There was a lot of soul searching at the time when I wrote that song, and I actually decided to take it. That’s what that song was about and that’s what I sang it about, sort of a drug anthem for me."^[8] On the band's cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues", Peterson noted that "We kept changing it around and adding/taking bits away. It also has to do with large doses of LSD."^[9]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[11]
Rolling Stone	negative[12]

Blue Cheer's debut album has widely been held in high regard by critics. Writing for music website AllMusic, Mark Deming described Vincebus Eruptum as "a glorious celebration of rock & roll primitivism run through enough Marshall amps to deafen an army", praising the band's "sound and fury" as one of the founding movements of heavy metal.^[10] Pitchfork reviewer Alexander Linhardt gave the album nine out of a maximum ten points, noting that the album was less structured than its successor, Outsideinside.^[11] It has also been described by Billboard as "the epitome of psychedelic rock".^[13]

Online music service Rhapsody included Vincebus Eruptum in its list of the "10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums", suggesting that the band "not only inspired the term 'power trio,' they practically invented heavy metal."^[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Summertime Blues"	Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart	3:47
2.	"Rock Me Baby"	B.B. King, Joe Josea	4:22
3.	"Doctor Please"	Dickie Peterson	7:53
4.	"Out of Focus"	Peterson	3:58
5.	"Parchment Farm"	Mose Allison	5:49
6.	"Second Time Around"	Peterson	6:17
Total length:			31:54

2003 remastered reissue
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"All Night Long"	Ralph Kellogg	2:06
Total length:			34:00

Personnel

Blue Cheer Dickie Peterson – vocals, bass Leigh Stephens – guitar Paul Whaley – drums

Additional personnel Abe "Voco" Kesh – production John MacQuarrie – engineering John Van Hamersveld – photography

Remastered version Bill Levenson – production Ellen Fitton – remastering

References

1. "JAN. 16, 1968: THE RELEASE OF BLUE CHEER'S 'VINCEBUS ERUPTUM'". Arthur Magazine. Joshua Tree. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
2. "Celebrating the 45th birthday of Blue Cheer's mighty Vincebus Eruptum…". Classic Rock Magazine Facebook Fanpage. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
3. SPIN Magazine - Page 90. Google Books. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
4. "Blue Cheer - Live Bootleg: London - Hamburg review". Allmusic. Greg Prato. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
5. Various Mojo Magazine (1 November 2007). The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition. Canongate Books. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-84767-643-6.
6. Chris Smith (2009). One Hundred and One Albums that Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-19-537371-4.
7. "Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum (Vinyl, LP)". Discogs. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
8. "Blue Cheer interview, Dickie Peterson". StonerRock.com. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
9. "Interview with Dickie Peterson of heavy metal hard rock band Blue Cheer". Get Ready to ROCK!. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
10. Mark Deming. "Vincebus Eruptum > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
11. Alexander Linhardt (October 7, 2003). "Blue Cheer: Vincebus Eruptum / Outsideinside". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
12. Michael Geary. "Vincebus Eruptum > Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
13. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. (2 March 1968). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 52. ISSN 0006-2510.
14. Justin Farrar (June 22, 2010). "Classic Rock Crate Digger: 10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums". Rhapsody. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved September 25, 2010.