Vanilla Fudge Songs Ranked

Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, most notably “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”. The band’s original line–up — vocalist and organist Mark Stein, bassist and vocalist Tim Bogert, lead guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, and drummer and vocalist Carmine Appice — recorded five albums during the years 1967–69, before disbanding in 1970. The band is currently touring with three of the four original members: Stein, Martell, and Appice with Pete Bremy on bass as Bogert retired in 2009. The band has been cited as “one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal.” Vanilla Fudge also is known to have influenced other major bands such as The Nice, Deep Purple, Yes, Styx, Led Zeppelin, and Uriah Heep. Here are all of Vanilla Fudge songs ranked.

Don’t miss out on the music of Vanilla Fudge! Click and experience their unique brand of rock!

10. Ticket To Ride (Vanilla Fudge, 1967)

“Their rendition of the Beatle’s hit “Ticket to Ride” gives the impression that the song was meant to be psychedelic all along. It has a spoken word intro, of a technical nature. Solid drumming, organ, and some screeching vocals.”

9. Bang Bang (Vanilla Fudge, 1967)

“Bang Bang” has a nursery rhyme kind of intro…perhaps it’s “A-tisket a-tasket”. Organ, and more Indian style guitar. A pleasantly done song, with an outro which reminds one of the intro to the first track.

8. Where Is My Mind (Renaissance, 1968)

“More of their own material, but not a step forward IMHO – rumors of a disagreement with the producer and maybe they were still finding their feet in the new genre. Vanilla Fudge made a name for themselves by deconstructing and idiosyncratically interpreting the songs of others, notably the Beatles and the Supremes.”

7. Need Love (Rock & Roll, 1969)

“The opener “Need Love” is a nice heavy rocker. Musically, we’re dealing with psychedelic rock that isn’t too far away from what most bands in the genre were doing in 1966 and 1967. Although sidelong jams and increased experimentation hadn’t yet become the norm, heavy use of the Hammond organ and Beatles-influenced vocal melodies are plentiful here.”

See more: Vanilla Fudge Albums Ranked

6. Eleanor Rigby (Vanilla Fudge, 1967)

“Seems to have a little bit of an unrelated intro to it, like the broken up track. Has what might be described as some ‘speed’ drumming on it, and it’s quite an insistent knocking at times, too. Features the organ and what may be a cello or some such instrument. Has harmonies in it. The song becomes pleasant later on. However, once again, the singer does annoy with his ‘acting’ voice when he want to emphasise a word.”

5. Season of the Witch (Renaissance, 1968)

“The track “Season of the Witch” alone is reason enough to own this recording. This is their heaviest release and the guitar and keyboards excel but Tim Bogert bass lines are terrific. This album is better  recorded and sounds better than their first release but I still prefer their initial platter.”

4. Shotgun (Near the Beginning, 1969)

“Shotgun”, with its funky rhythm, tambourine, rolling organ, and a heaviness that makes you think how much Deep Purple took from here -even when most Purple fans wouldn’t admit it.

See more: Rick Springfield Albums Ranked

3. Some Velvet Morning (Near the Beginning, 1969)

“When Lee Hazlewood wrote “Some Velvet Morning” and recorded it as a duet with Nancy Sinatra, I’m pretty sure he could not have imagined Vanilla Fudge’s version. Vanilla Fudge was one of the heaviest of the 1960′s hard rock bands. They slowed everything down so much it seemed as if they were playing underwater. They were an album band for the most part. “Some Velvet Morning” bubbled under on the BILLBOARD MAGAZINE Pop Chart at number 103 but reached number 81 on Cashbox.

2. The Sky Cried/When I Was a Boy (Renaissance, 1968)

“Vince Martell’s guitar screams and scratches along in typical fashion over the album even if the album opener “The Sky Cried When I was Born” simply sounds an incoherent mess, but solidity merges throughout the rest of the album, at least as far as they could make their own songs solid.”

1. You Keep Me Hangin’ On (Vanilla Fudge, 1967)

“I like the drumming in this track, especially for the intro and the outro. Has Indian style guitar and an eerie synth note. Perhaps the drumming and bass guitar are of the kind you can find in heavy metal, with a very driving rhythm. The vocals are also good in this song, and the synthesiser brings to mind David Bowie’s classic “Starman”, which came after this song, I think. The only annoying thing about this song is the acting the singing does to provide emphasis. Jangly at times and featuring the organ.”