The Shocking Blue 1970 Album

Shocking Blue

Often pigeonholed as a novelty act thanks to the one-hit wonder status Stateside of "Venus" - it wasn't their fault Bananarama filtered it down through a fogscreen of noxious 80's synth sounds and machines. The real deal was a garage-heavy foursome with Jefferson Airplane overtones thanks to their striking lead singer and her surprisingly versatile pipes. There's bit of James Brown-style rhythms, Americana-inspired themes and riffs, Middle Eastern instrumentation (mainly sitar), lots of psychedelic keyboards - in all, a neat grab bag of insubstantial pop played in a direct yet intriguing manner.