blue cheer / albums

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- Oh! Pleasant Hope
- - 51 plays
  - 0 favs
  - 0 shares
Blue Cheer
Released 1971

Believer
03:41
8 plays

Traveling Man
03:10
5 plays

Ecological Blues
02:26
3 plays

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songs

- 1
- Hiway Man
- 04:22
- 25 plays

- 2
- Believer
- 03:41
- 8 plays

- 3
- Money Troubles
- 04:02
- 3 plays

- 4
- Traveling Man
- 03:10
- 5 plays

- 5
- Oh ! Pleasant Hope
- 02:39
- 3 plays

- 6
- I'm the Light
- 05:39
- 2 plays

- 7
- Ecological Blues
- 02:26
- 3 plays

- 8
- Lester the Arrester
- 03:02
- 1 plays

- 9
- Heart Full of Soul
- 04:37
- 1 plays

album review

"Hiway Man," which opens the sixth album by Blue Cheer, is a far cry from their version of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," which launched this group to worldwide fame. And though they were the original group to put their amps on "11," Oh! Pleasant Hope is a musical album. This first track, resplendent in heavy vocal reverb, sounds like Waylon Jennings fronting Quicksilver Messenger Service. OPH quickly changes pace with "Believer"'s interesting riff and the experimental production by Blue Cheer and Eric Albronda. Albronda assisted on the production of the self-titled fourth album, Blue Cheer, and co-produced BC#5 - The Original Human Being. It is the production that is a significant ingredient that makes this project by a legendary cult band so appealing. "Money Troubles" is written by Dr. Richard Peddicord, who contributes guitar and vocal. This track has that authentic laid-back West Coast sound, a feel much like "Truckin'" by the Grateful Dead -- the album having been recorded by Coast Recorders at Mission Street, San Francisco. "Traveling Man" is like a pensive Creedence Clearwater, say John Fogerty in his "Long As I Can See the Light" fashion with a bit more brightness. The title track, "Oh! Pleasant Hope," has a piano and drums opening into sudden guitar, the second title from Dr. Peddicord, a very precise ballad about drugs. The psychedelic denim pastiche of the album cover comes to life in this very Band-inspired rag. But it is the sixth track on their sixth album that is the finest moment ever for Blue Cheer. The harp, exotic instrumentation, and Pink Floyd overtones make "I'm the Light" an extraordinary piece of music. "I'm the Light" is to Blue Cheer what "Stairway to Heaven" is to Led Zeppelin, what "Closer to Home" is to Mark Farner and Grand Funk -- a moment of inspiration and production that stands the test of time and that is hard to match. This is a band famous for hard rock sounds creating a pop masterpiece of psychedelic cosmic consciousness. The song seems almost out of place on this collection, but it is truly one of those songs that demands attention and is worth seeking out. "Lester the Arrester" is paranoia about cops, kinda sorta. It is a band that wasn't known for its musical prowess having fun with sound and styles. "Heart Full of Soul" leans more toward "A Little Bit O'Soul" by the Music Explosion than the song of the same name by the Yardbirds. Oh! Pleasant Hope is a disc for people looking for musical ingenuity that hasn't been beaten into the psyche via classic hits radio. It is a monumental and largely forgotten effort with a lot of depth. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide