Welcome to the first edition of From My Collection. In this brand new weekly feature, I explore and revisit a classic (or not so classic) album from my personal collection of 2,000+ records. This week’s inaugural article pays tribute to veteran bassist, Tim Bogert. Though he may not be known by the masses, Tim’s was a bassist’s bassist. I couldn’t think of a better subject to devote this first entry to.
When the news broke that Tim Bogert passed away last week, my initial reaction was one of confusion. Some said he passed after a long battle with cancer. Others claimed the veteran bassist was not the victim of cancer, but of a cruel fake news hoax. Unfortunately, the former proved to be true.
Born John Voorhis Bogert III on August 27, 1944, Tim’s melodic stylings influenced generations of bassists to follow. A good chunk of his catalog should be present in any self respecting hard rocker’s collection. Between Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, and the all too short lived Beck, Bogert & Appice, this is a man who made enough classic music in 5 years to last a lifetime. Add to this the various projects he kept himself busy with over the years (Boxer, Pipedream, Mark Edwards, etc.) and I had no shortage of records to spin in his honor.
After spinning Vanilla Fudge’s landmark self titled debut, I decided to reach for the second Cactus album, One Way…or Another. For years, their debut has always been my favorite album. From their hopped up rendition of “Parchman Farm” to the adrenaline overload that is “Feel So Good”, it’s easily their finest hour…right? Well upon revisiting One Way…or Another, I found myself questioning this, as well as my entire existence.
There’s a grit and attitude to this album that just isn’t present on the debut. Sure, there are shades of it here and there, but one would never assume Jim McCarty’s riffs could get that mean. On the debut, we have a young guitarist who’s a firecracker and a half, but still finding his way through a fuzzy, feedback laden wilderness. On One Way…or Another, we have a guitar giant playing with the same courage and conviction as peers like Leslie West and Joe Walsh.
Then there’s the towering vocals of the late Rusty Day. It’s easy for pretentious Pitchfork know-it-alls to dismiss him as a poor man’s Robert Plant or Steve Marriott. This couldn’t be further from the truth. While Plant’s voice oozed of illicit sex, and Marriott boasted soul that no white man (aside from maybe Glenn Hughes) had harbored before or since, Day sounded like an escaped mental patient: The only possessions to his name being his voice and a harmonica. He looked and sounded like the type of guy who’d steal your girlfriend and slice your eye out with a broken beer bottle. That’s exactly what Cactus was going for on this album.
Rounding it all out is the dream team pocket of Bogert and Appice. You could have one without the other, but the results wouldn’t be the same. Bogert’s melodic grooves and Appice’s pioneering power drumming compliment each other like a glass of lemonade on a sticky Summer day. And if you turn the volume up loud enough (as you should), it almost sounds like these rhythmic twins of destruction are about to burst through your stereo. Such savagery would’ve never been allowed in Vanilla Fudge!
Key songs include a rip roaring rendition of “Long Tall Sally”, the bulldozing boogie of “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children”, the pseudo-doom laments of “Hometown Bust”, and my all time favorite Cactus song, “One Way…or Another”. The funny thing about Cactus is, they were one of the pioneering bands of early metal without actually crossing the threshold into metal territory…except for on this song. The lead riff to “One Way…or Another” is one of the heaviest, meanest, most intense riffs I’ve ever heard in my life. I don’t care how simple and bluesy it is. There’s a primitive energy to it that manages to scare the living daylights out of innocent bystanders every time I blast it from my car, even 50 years after its conception.
True change is about questioning ideas that challenge the moral views we’ve been trained to accept as the status quo. Is there an afterlife? Should we trust the government? Is the first Cactus album really their best? While I’ll ponder upon those other deep questions another day, today I can unequivocally say that Cactus’s debut album is not their best. That title belongs to One Way…or Another.