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Friday Full-Length: Blue Cheer, OutsideInside

Blue Cheer, OutsideInside (1968)

What a glorious image it is to think of Blue Cheer taking the stage at some outdoor Summer of Love festival and knocking all the hippies on their ass. Of course, their 1967 debut, Vincebus Eruptum, enjoys permanent essential status as well, but the 1968 follow-up, OutsideInside, is more cohesive, and you can just hear that by the time the San Francisco three-piece got around to making it, they knew they were heavy. Put OutsideInside up against anything else 1968 had to offer and there’s very little, Hendrix included, that it doesn’t blow out of the water with its raw impact, channel-spanning solos, and the nascent groove that decades later became emblematic of what we now call stoner rock. If you haven’t heard it before and you doubt what I’m saying, listen twice before you tell me I’m full of shit.

Side B brings covers of The Rolling Stones and Albert King, both subjected to the weight and fuzz that Blue Cheer — the original lineup of bassist/vocalist Dickie Peterson, guitarist Leigh Stephens and drummer Paul Whaley intact for the last time — brought to bear all across the album, and though the whole thing is done in little over half an hour, its impact continues to resonate today in heavy rock and metal of various stripes. More than its influence, however, the movement the trio manages to enact while still keeping a feel emblematic of the psychedelic era, which then was really just beginning to take hold, makes it necessary listening. The trio pull off rhythmic shifts that would blind lesser bands even today and do it all sounding so zoned out thatPeterson’s vocals hardly register as words on “Feathers from Your Tree.” It’s a landmark record, but it also rules.

There were rumors kicking around at some point last year or two years ago of a trio of former Blue Cheer members getting together to play under the moniker, but I’ve yet to see anything materialize, and without Peterson — who passed away in 2009 — there’s no way it could be the same. I was fortunate enough to see Blue Cheer a couple times around the release of their final album, 2007’s What Doesn’t Kill You, which included a redux of “Just a Little Bit” from OutsideInside, and they were still loud as hell, dug deep into heavy blues rock, Peterson playing through two 8×10 cabinets stacked sideways on top of each other. It was glorious, and while I knew what I was getting to some degree when I showed up, I was still knocked on my ass much the same way I expect the flower children were. Some power stands, undulled by time.

Crazy week. Madness. Had company here Sunday night into Monday, Wednesday night into yesterday, went to that Deville show last night, plus The Patient Mrs. and I are trying to buy a condo a couple towns over that’ll hopefully save us some money on our month-t0-month — what with being a single-income household for the time being — and as we’re in that you’re-just-basically-waiting-for-something-to-make-this-fall-apart stretch of time before closing, it’s been a bit frazzling. Oh yeah, I also did three interviews this week, with Peder Bergstand from Lowrider, Jon Davis from Conan, and this morning with Mike Dean from C.O.C., so yes, a little wild.

I’d like to get that Lowrider piece up next week. Peder had some cool stuff to say on making the video for Bob Balch of Fu Manchu‘s side-project, Sun and Sail Club, as well as getting Lowrider going again and their plans for putting together a new album. There’s a lot to go through to get a Q&A out of it, but I’m going to work hard to try to make that happen before next Friday. Also look for a review of the new Wo Fat record and a round of radio adds to make up for those I didn’t get the chance to do over the last couple days, and, in case I don’t already wind up with too much on my plate, a new podcast at some point. Too much good music floating around not to put one together sooner than later.

All that in mind, I’ll take my leave for the remainder of the evening ahead of waking up tomorrow morning and driving two hours into Connecticut (then back!) for family whathaveyou. I wish you a great and safe weekend and hope you’ll take the time to check out the forum and radio stream, as both kick ass mightily.

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