Reviews roundup – Cactus vs. Pervy Perkin vs, Carl Verheyen vs. Cyrille Verdeaux & Pascal Menetrey

Reviews roundup – Cactus vs. Pervy Perkin vs, Carl Verheyen vs. Cyrille Verdeaux & Pascal Menetrey

CACTUS
Live In The USA
Cleopatra

First things first.  If you bought the 2012 Universal release “Do Not Kick Against The Pricks”, then you won’t want to buy this.  Because it’s the same live album in a different cover.  If you didn’t, well, this is a rough and ready live performance from the reformed Cactus back in 2006.

Now I always had a soft spot for Cactus.  There was no good reason for it.  Their lumpen, blues drenched proto-metal wasn’t exactly original, but as a lover of gumby seventies rock, I was always happy when one of their tunes turned up.  This reformation saw Jim McCarty, Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert playing together for the first time since 1972, alongside former Savoy Brown singer Jimmy Kunes on vocals in place of the deceased Rusty Day.

They’d just released their first album since “Ot ‘N’ Sweaty” in 1972 (the craftily titled “V”) and played B.B. King’s in New York as a warm-up for their festival appearance at Sweden Rock.  And they give a good account of themselves.  It’s bootleg quality, but a good bootleg, with McCarty in particular, seemingly on fire.  I remember it was his playing on “No Ballads”, an album by The Rockets that first pointed me back in time, and age had not withered him.

Appice is Appice, and he’s never put in a bad shift, so when they power through tunes like ‘Muscle & Soul’, ‘Evil’ and ‘Long Tall Sally’, it’s a mighty fine groove.  Possibly not the best place for anyone new to the band to begin, but I had a good time.

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PERVY PERKIN
Ink
independent

That’s a shockingly bad name, that is.  It’s the kind of thing you would associate with electronic pop goth.  Like the baby brothers of Lesbian Bed Death.  But, no, turns out they are a Spanish progressive rock band.  And a prog rock band who have put together a seriously enticing package for their CD.  Seriously, if you decide you want to buy this from their Bandcamp page, pony up for the CD.  It’s lovely.

Granted, two hours of a prog rock band you’ve never heard of is some ask, but in this case it is worth settling down to their metal tinged take on traditional prog.  They are on the symphonic side of things, and you can trace a few lines back to the likes of Camel.  But then a riff comes charging along, and you’re thinking about Pain Of Salvation.  And that’s before the choir and the string section trundles along in a kitchen sink.

They’re not messing about either.  Not when there are two songs that break through the 20 minute mark.  Although it was the sylph like 12 minutes of ‘Of Echoes and Reflections’ that really won me over.  They seem willing to take on any style and give it their best shot, which makes for an invigorating listening experience.  And even if their ambition sometimes breaks down, you have to give them a round of applause for trying.  An essential buy for fans of the genre.  But get the CD!

https://pervyperkin.bandcamp.com/

CARL VERHEYEN
Mustang Run
Cranktone

Carl Verheyen has spent a fair amount of his career playing guitar on other peoples sessions, as well as a long spell playing the guitar in the ongoing version of Supertramp.  But when he gets the chance he punts out his own material, all of which has been enjoyable, dipping in and out of jazz, fusion, blues and seventies rock.

He’s held in high esteem in muso circles, which explains the presence of drummer Gregg Bissonette, Bill Evans on saxophone and Joe Satrianis bass player Stu Hamm, Mahavishnu Orchestra / The Flock violinist Jerry Goodman, as well as Simon Phillips on drums and fellow Supertramp fella, John Helliwell on sax.  And of all his releases, I reckon this is the best.

This album is really centred on jazz fusion, no more so than the title track which sees him and Mahavishnu Orchestra / The Flock violinist Jerry Goodman going at it hammer and tongs.  Verheyen is a fantastic guitarist, and if there was one track you should listen to prove that, cock an ear to the amazing ‘Fusioneers Disease’.  If you want an easier introduction to his playing, though, take a few moments to hear his new version of ‘Bloody Well Right’, which strips it down to nothing and builds it back up into a different beast.

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CYRILLE VERDEAUX & PASCAL MENETREY
Tribal Hybrid Concept
Gonzo

If you were a fan of seventies Euro prog, then you’ve probably heard of Clearlight.  A French prog band who were signed to Virgin Records, they made a bit of a name for themselves.  Cyrille Verdeaux was the main man, whilst fellow member Pascal Menetrey passed away in 2006.

What you’re getting here is a hippy delight.  There are samples of Inuits, Papoos, Tuvas, Ethiopian and Kurdish singers as well as samples of various wild animals facing extinction collected by Pascal Menetrey between 1992 and 1999, which have had music added to them by Cyrille Verdeaux.

I’m not entirely unconvinced that this material wasn’t out at the end of the nineties in some form or other.  Maybe it’s been rejigged for this new release.  It’s certainly not easy to listen to, and it’s certainly not for prog fans, but if you are one of these bonkers hippy types who yearns for a yurt and the sound of the Amazon in your ears, then this may find a place in your heart.

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