Made in England [Bonus Track]

• Artist: Atomic Rooster
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1972
• Total Time: 51:37
• Genre: Rock

Review

The third incarnation of English prog-rockers Atomic Rooster makes its debut on Made in England (1972). The group began as a trio featuring former Crazy World of Arthur Brown member Vincent Crane (organ), Nick Graham (bass), and Carl Palmer (drums). After a few significant shuffles within the lineup, only Crane continued with the name, recruiting Colosseum co-founder and Mick Jagger protégé Chris Farlowe (vocals), Ric Parnell (percussion), and Steve Bolton (guitars) as the next generation. The band has an edgy and somewhat brooding sound, recalling early Mott the Hoople discs such as the highly underrated Mad Shadows (1970). Much of the material reveals the quartet's slightly funky groove, such as the pulsating "Stand By Me" or the gospel-inflection on the spoken "Introduction," which prefaces the Crane instrumental "Breathless." Somewhat misplaced is the orchestration -- especially on "Time Take My Life" -- which tends to congest the otherwise driving arrangement. Parnell penned a pair of the finest contributions on Made in England, the slinky "Little Bit of Inner Air" and the Southern rock-tinged "All in Satan's Name." The latter comes off like a blend of the Allman Brothers and Deep Purple. Bolton supplies the power ballad "Never to Lose" as well as "Space Cowboy," which develops into an electric hoedown following a somewhat off-balance and synth-heavy keyboard intro. Bolton would be the next casualty of the combo, leading to the formation of the criminally underrated Headstone. A successful North American tour resulted in Made in England charting briefly in the U.S. and would be the final Atomic Rooster album to do so. The band successfully continued under Crane's tutelage until the early '80s, when he joined up with a post-"Come on Eileen" Dexy's Midnight Runners. The 2003 reissue on the Akarma label also includes a pair of additional sides ("Goodbye Planet Earth" and "Satan's Wheel") from this incarnation of the band that were not released on the original album. ~ Lindsay Planer, Rovi

Previous:	Made in England [#2] (1995 Album by Elton John)
Next:	Made in England [Bonus Tracks] (1972 Album by Atomic Rooster)