Cactus : Evil is Going On : The Atco Albums 1970 1972 : 8CD Box Set Review

Cactus : Evil is Going On : The Atco Albums 1970 1972 : 8CD Box Set Review - H.N.E Recordings / Cherry Red Records
Another box set that does what is says on the tin – and done wonderfully it is too.

Cactus were an American hard rock band with heavy blues leanings, formed in 1969 by drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tim Bogert, both formerly of Vanilla Fudge. They signed to Atco and released four albums before splitting. This set collects those four albums, three of which have bonus tracks, and two live shows, each spread over two discs each.

Cherry Red have not only set a bar, but they’re sticking to it. Joe Geesin

Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine

[Dafalex]

Hot & & ballsy blues band CACTUS!! Thx for resurrecting Phil!!

[frankcantelmi]

thanks for sharing this box set Phil i just ordered it on Ebay looking forward to listening to it
Keep collecting its so much fun
ill keep buying CDs & DVDs as long as they are around

[ingarchris]

Thank you Phil for the video, music and CD's, spectacular :^)
Best regards from South America.
Chris.

[clevebaker]

Now this is a box set!! Cactus!! One killer band!!! Great work

[johnsimmons]

I had no idea this box set was available. Just ordered on amazon. Previously, it was impossible to find the complete Cactus CD's. Thanks for another great video Phil.

[normanmacfarlane]

Just received my box set today ❤😂
Great stuff Phil.
Greetings from Western Australia

[marcrouge]

Cactus !!! What a band, no need to worry is for me the best blues song ever recorded and the Wight version is just out of this world, nothing gets close, Jim and Rusty are the Best

[Trifixion]

How did I miss this? Love Cactus! I own the 2CD HNE set of the first album and One Way Or Another. Wonder if these ones sound any different? Gonna have to get it for the live stuff alone.

[TractorCountdown]

Hi Phil, yes, Jim is a crackin' player and I have all their CDs, although I'm tempted by the remastered live CDs plus the extra one. I've just bought the Keef Hartley Band box set you recommended and what a treat that is! The progression just across the first three albums is superb - I'm hearing early Chicago in there, which is pretty cool :) Cheers, Ian

[jameschen]

Hi Phil, very interesting stuff. I’m coming back to Rock/Pop after a 30 year detour diving deep into Classical and some Jazz. I grew up with Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Dire Straits, Aerosmith, Kate Bush, The Jam and so on. Now I’m back closing (huge) gaps in the 60s - 80s and discover a lot from the 90s until now. I stopped listening to Rock/Pop (and all the sub-genres) in the early nineties when I discovered Classical Music, not because I didn’t like it anymore, just because listening time was limited (work). I still love Classical very much, although there are many snobbish people involved who care more about feeling as an elite than caring for the music. Anyway, there’s good and bad in any genre and your channel is very useful for me to get back to the music I grew up with and discover bands which didn’t grab my attention 40 or 50 years ago. Many thanks for that!

[andreaagnes]

Hi, let me just point out a couple of things because we seem to be a bit out of the loop here... 😊
Everything in this box (I mean everything – studio and live - with the possible exception of a couple of single edits) has already been reissued by the original label ATCO/Rhino (now WEA) in a series of limited run (5000), numbered, two-disc sets from 2004-2007 (The Studio Sessions; The Live Gigs; The Live Gigs Vol. II), which were lovingly remastered from the original analogue tapes (and newly mixed from the multi-tracks, for the then-unreleased recordings) by the team of Bill Inglot, Dan Hersch, Dave Schultz - for SPECTACULAR sound. Forget about Cactology, forget about Wounded Bird. That’s what you want.

About the new box: Cherry Red don’t own the tapes, so it’s extremely unlikely this is actually a new, proper remaster. The credits to the new box read “(p) 1970-2007 WEA International Inc” and it’s a giveaway that they used and “remastered”, or rather tweaked, some digital files from 2007, provided by WEA (in whatever form WEA felt suitable providing them - Hi-Res, compressed or whatever, we don't know). Best case scenario, the new box might sound as good as the 2007 Rhino/WEA releases… maybe. But it's certainly not going to top those. My understanding is that WEA okayed this Cherry Red release because their original, numbered run is out of print. Cherry Red is also mimicking the WEA 2004-2007 artwork for all of the live stuff.

So in a nutshell the new box is, possibly, a reasonable way to settle if you don’t own the Rhino/WEA reissues; otherwise, those are the real thing if you can find them.
Hope this helps clarify the matter a bit. Cheers

[stevenhanson]

Wow. I have never upgraded my Cactus vinyl to CD. After all these years. I recorded the vinyl to CD, bought all of the Live recordings. But never replaced the original 4 releases. Thank You. Sold ! going to the ....rain forest, to buy my Cactus.

[MrCherryJuice]

You mention about Appice (your pronuncation is correct though he goes by A-piece'; brother Vinnie is 'A-piss-ee) and Bogert that 'they would zoom off and do Vanilla Fudge and Jeff Beck'. For anyone unaware, they actually came from the Fudge, which was one of the most influential bands of the era, as that quartet's 1967 debut album and performances in London triggered what became the core aesthetic for Britain's Progressive Rock movement - Hammond organ, soaring vocals, instrumental prowess, complex arrangements etc. Deep Purple often stated that their mission was to be the 'European Vanilla Fudge' (Purple drummer Ian Paice remains a close friend of Appice). And it is well documented that John Bonham's drumming style was inspired by Appice, who also arranged for the Zep drummer to get a Ludwig kit that matched his own.
When the Fudge disbanded, Appice and Bogert were to pair up with Jeff Beck, but an auto accident just prior to him flying to America for rehearsals put the guitarist out of action for 18 months and thus quashed that. So the duo enlisted ex-Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels guitarist Jim McCarty and vocalist/harmonica man Rusty Day, formerly with (Ted Nugent's) Amboy Dukes to form Cactus. (Worth noting that the Detroit Wheels were Chrissie Hynde's fave band as a teen.)
As we hear on those live 'Unleased' albums, Cactus were ferocious. We got an indication of that with the likes of 'Parchment Farm' and 'Oleo' on the debut album (surely Appice's drumming on 'Parchment Farm' inspired the likes of the blistering double bass drumming heard on Van Halen's 'Hot for Teacher'. But overall the studio albums never lived up to what the band promised. Had they done a well-produced live album at the time they might have scored the way Humble Pie, Procol Harum and Peter Frampton did. There are great live tracks on ''Ot & Sweaty', by which point McCarty and Day were out and the lineup had expand to a five-piece), though by then it was too late as the heavy blues-rock era was in decline.
When Beck recovered he formed the Jeff Beck Group MKII, with Cozy Powell, Clive Chaman, Bobby Tench and Max Middleton. After two albums, Beck folded the band. And with Cactus also calling it a day, he finally paired up with Appice and Bogert for Beck, Bogert & Appice, who released one studio album and a double set, 'Live in Japan', the latter of which was available as import only and thus made no impression on the charts. Despite some great playing, BB&A and their albums, like Cactus suffered from a lack of great tunes. Their take on Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition' (originally created by Wonder for Beck) was released too late and was too heavy to bother the charts. Though a second album was in the works, Bogert split, leaving Beck and Appice to commence what would become 'Blow by Blow'. When Beck's management sent Appice packing due to a dispute over whose name would appear on the album cover, his drumming on tracks including the ripping 'Scatterbrain' were replaced by the (excellent) playing of Richard Bailey.

[jean-lucpernel]

Hi Phil, one of my great favorite band with JAMUL and MOUNTAIN

[thomaswery]

I have a two double. cds from Rhino Handmade with the Atco labels, But this box looks like I might have to purchase looks very nice

[JohnFreeman-dt]

Jimmy McCarty is a blazing guitarist. I followed this band and bought the Lps when they came out, now I must buy this box set. HNE puts out great sounding discs

[larrynolletti]

Finally ...a box set that gives you everything...at a reasonable price...thanks for letting me know about this....I'm getting the way... I would park the Doors but not Jimi....I wouldn't mention them in the same breath....you said we're talking hard rock....Purple Haze....Foxey Lady..if you said heavy metal that would be different....anyway....I most definitely put Mountain over Montrose.. and also West Bruce and Laing....I'm a diehard Leslie fan....also Johnny Winter absolutely I know he's not American but Rory Gallagher also one of my all time favorites that should be mentioned....and last but not least Canned Heat was most certainly in that Cactus vein...especially in the early 70's....they were rockin the heavy blues for sure....thank you so much for letting me know about this box set...great review...

[normanmacfarlane]

Greetings from Western Australia
Listening to your review I paused mid cast to listen to one of their tracks and the first track presented was Evil 😂❤ bugger me ! Awesome. Shades of Zeppelin's Lemon Song or my over-active imagination ? Doesn't matter really because now I am a FAN .
Now I'm going to Amazon to see how much it cost 😂
Another great review Phil.
Let's see if my limited budget will cope 😂
I can live on beans for a day or two LOL

[paularmstrong]

Hi Phil, many thanks for the video. Ordered a brand new copy from Musicmagpie today. It appears Cherry Red don't have it anymore. Correction, Cherry Red do have it. Apologies for the error.

[backrowbrighton]

Hi Phil, this is on my radar. I own the 'Cactology' set and while it is well presented for a single disc set, I feel the track selection to be a little uninspired. This set really looks good and is very affordable. I would really like to see a similar set for The James Gang as they were of the same period plus Joe Walsh and Tommy Bolin graced their ranks.