Cactus is an American hard rock band, formed in 1969. (More from Wikipedia)
If I remember right, I saw a display at the local Record Bar showing Poco emerging from Buffalo Springfield; and Cactus growing out of another classic 1960’s band, Vanilla Fudge.
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Cactus was originally going to be the rhythm section of Vanilla Fudge – Tim Bogert (bass guitar) and Carmine Appice (drums) – coupled with guitar hero Jeff Beck and future superstar Rod Stewart. What a rock band that would have been also! Unfortunately, Beck had a bad motorcycle accident and was sidelined for 18 months. Instead, the line-up in Cactus was rounded out by Jim McCarty (guitar), formerly with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, and singer Rusty Day from Ted Nugent’s early band Amboy Dukes.
The band’s first album, Cactus was one of the best hard rock albums of 1970. The album opens with a fierce version of the Mose Allison song “Parchman Farm” (about the notorious Mississippi State Penitentiary of that name) – and not long after Blue Cheer recorded that classic blues song (misnamed “Parchment Farm”) on their debut 1968 album, Vincebus Eruptum – plus the Willie Dixon song “You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover” that was made famous by Bo Diddley. But Cactus’s own songs rock just as hard, like “Let Me Swim”, “Oleo” and “Feel So Good”.
Cactus albums were never big sellers, but they worked fast, recording two more albums in 1971, Restrictions and One Way . . . or Another plus ’Ot ’n’ Sweaty the following year in a revamped line-up after Jim McCarty left. Their brand of American-style blues rock has been cited as an influence on many bands that followed; Wikipedia lists Aerosmith, Van Halen, .38 Special, Anvil, the Black Crowes, Montrose, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the Black Keys. Cactus has been through a succession of line-ups over the years and is still active as of 2012.
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After Cactus (initially) broke up in 1972, Jeff Beck joined with Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice in a short-lived power trio called Beck, Bogert & Appice. While Rod Stewart was long gone, they represented ¾ of the originally planned line-up for Cactus.
(April 2014)
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Items: Cactus
