Album Review: Atomic Rooster- Friday The 13th: The BBC Sessions

Aaron ConnMusic, ReviewsLeave a Comment

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13thNow a little less than a year after the release of their reunion album, a two CD set devoted Atomic Rooster has been released. The set, Friday The 13th, is a release consisting of the surviving recordings the band made at the BBC. As to be expected, Cherry Red have gone all out on the remastering and packaging of this release, making this another strong release. While it isn’t without its downsides, this is a good release.

The Set
Friday the 13th is a two disc set consisting of two hours worth of music. The first disc is devoted to recording sessions the band did with the BBC for the radio while the other disc has two full length concerts.

Disc 1
The first disc’s content can be split into three sections:

  • The John Du Cann Years (1970-1971)
  • The Chris Farlowe Years (1972)
  • The Reunion Years (1981)

The first five tracks on the album come sessions done with Mike Harding in May 1970 and March 1971. The first two tracks feature Carl Palmer on drums while the other three feature the band’s classic line up of John Du Cann (guitar/vocals), Paul Hammond (drums) and Vincent Crane (keyboards/organ). Of the tracks on the first disc, these are probably the best: this is usually considered the band’s best time period.

The following four tracks are from two sessions with Johnny Walker from June and December 1972. These songs feature singer Chris Farlowe and mark a drastic change in sound from the band: compared to the band’s first three albums, the two albums featuring Farlowe are more soul/funk based. Many longtime fans don’t care for this version of the band but the songs are all performed well and Farlowe sounds good.

The last four songs are from a Friday Rock show recorded in November 1981 during the band’s reunion with John Du Cann. The band were playing a little more after reuniting in the late 1970s and releasing a self-titled album in 1980. This sees the classic line up reunited, along with the addition of bassist Shug Millage. These songs all sound good, with the band play a mix of new and old songs.

Disc 2
The second disc consists of two full radio concerts:

  • A John Peel concert from January 1971 (4 songs, 25 minutes)
  • A BBC Radio 1 In Concert performance from July 1972 (6 songs, 36 minutes)

The 1971 performance is from the John Du Cann era while the 1972 performance is from the Chris Farlowe era. As to which performance is the best depends on the listener’s preference. Most people will prefer the John Du Cann performance though the Chris Farlowe one might have better sound quality. Of the two discs, this is probably the better of the two given that these feel like proper concerts.

In Conclusion
Friday the 13th is a fine release from Atomic Rooster. This is a nice document of their times at the BBC and it’s a nicely put together release. As per usual with Cherry Red releases, the set comes with a CD booklet. There is, however, one downside to this release: as good as these performances are, they don’t sound too different from the studio recordings the band made.  With that, it’s hard to see listeners wanting to come back to this release.  If you’re new to Atomic Rooster, you might want to hold back on buying this. If you’re a diehard fan, you’ll get a lot out of this release.

Rating: 7/10 

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