Background and history
Blue Cheer’s debut album was recorded in 1967 at Amigo Studios in North Hollywood, California. 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.” 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.” 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.”
Since its original release in 1968 the album has been remastered and reissued a number of times, notably in 1993 and 2007. A 2003 reissue by Akarma featured the bonus track “All Night Long”, written by and featuring later guitarist Ralph Kellogg.
Reception and legacy
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. The album has also been identified as an “All Music Guide Album Pick”, denoting that it is one of the top albums recommended by the allmusic critics. Pitchfork reviewer Alexander Linhardt gave the album nine out of a maximum ten points, although noted that the album was less structured and more experimental than its successor Outsideinside. Sputnikmusic offered the song an “Excellent” rating of four out of five, with reviewer Joe Katz praising the album as “one of the heaviest blues albums in existence”, noting the “Raw production and quality [which] keep it fresh in the world of squeaky clean classic rock sounds.”
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.”
Track listing
1. “Summertime Blues” 3:47
2. “Rock Me Baby” 4:22
3. “Doctor Please” 7:53
4. “Out of Focus” 3:58
5. “Parchment Farm” 5:49
6. “Second Time Around” 6:17
Total length: 31:54
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