Best know for their heavy sounding, slowed down arrangement of The Supremes’ song “You Keep Me Hanging On,” along with the ultra trippy album cover, the band was poised to hit the big-time. Yet the big-time came with a price, and that price was authentic credibility, something that Vanilla Fudge would forever lack. With juxtaposition and word play certainly running their course in the 60’s, where groups attempted to make statements that not only reflected their image, but also turned the establishment and all things previously excepted, on their heads. Of course there were The Beatles with A Hard Days Night, and there was Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, and the legendary Vanilla Fudge. While Vanilla Fudge did not rise from the sunny California psychedelic music seen, but rather from New York, their epic musical structures certainly were embraced by the hippies who flocked to the west coast in droves. Like their point, counter point, reflective name, Vanilla Fudge made their mark by covering not only songs from different genres, but by stretching out these rather short pop singles, creating full fledged psychedelic wonders. They achieved this by layering distorted guitars on top of an ambitious Hammond B organ, then they slowed down songs like “Ticket To Ride,” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” to almost heartbeat level, 'til the songs were suspiciously recognizable ... floating them along, improvising, deconstructing, and making the music very trippy, all in the manner of future jam bands.Still sounding tantalizing and bright after all these years, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by The Supremes, was definitely the high water mark for the band. The covering of songs like “She’s Not There” by The Zombies, takes nearly all of the fun out of a really great pop song, and far too many liberties are taken with “Eleanor Rigby,” creating a fragmented, disjointed, stoned out, over the top acid drenched monolith.To their credit, many of their harmonies are sincerely wonderful, reminding me of The Young Rascals, and there is a balance and continuity to their music that many fans found satisfying. Matter of fact, Vanilla Fudge were so successful that an unknown group by the name of Led Zeppelin opened many dates for them, and Vanilla Fudge even found themselves touring with Jimi Hendrix for a spell. But probably the most odd side note is that several members of the band formed a power trio, which included Jeff Beck of all people ... though the adventure was very short lived.This isn’t music I live and breath by, but it occupies an essential period in my life. Truth be told, I wish I could forget this release, but the notion that covering other peoples material in such an eerily exciting manner kept me hangin’ on for another twenty five years or so, 'til I found really good groups who managed this task with all of the dynamics and excitement I thought I was hearing on this release ... hey, we all need a stepping stone. And to that end, I keep this puppy shelved, a marker on my musical highway.Review by Jenell Kesler

Also have this on reel to reel tape, ATCO # 01-224 F which is a 4-track 3 3/4 ips Stereo tape.

Looking for mono, not stereo, but thanks.