Man
oh man, what a band. Vanilla Fudge was a band of competent
musicians who came up with one good production, their inspired
production of "You Keep Me Hanging On". It was an inspired move to slow
down the Supremes' most jacked-up hit . Instead of the ringing
-telephone shrillness of the original, this became instead a mock-fugue,
building tension and releasing it effectively erotic explosions.
Sometimes I still thrash around the living room with this song in my
head, miming Vince Martel's clanging power chords with broad sweeps of
my hand. VF's arrangement of this song became the standard approach for
the most part; Rod Stewart did a credible take of his that borrowed
heavily from the Fudge's initial recasting.
Sadly, though, the band
relied too much on that one idea, too often. Their songs, original or
reinterpretations, tended to be dirge like and down right pompous,
dullsville , a drag. And their album "The Beat Goes On" beat Yes to the
punch , producing the single most pretentious and bombastic concept
album years before the British band mustered up that three disc
Hindenburg they titled "Tales from Topographic Ocean." Vanilla Fudge has
a mixed legacy, but the one thing they did well, the storm and thunder
that comprises their version of "You Keep Me Hanging On", they did
brilliantly. It is a thing forever and so few of us accomplish that even
in our most inflated fantasies.