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Hard Rock by Earthen Vessel is one of the great cult records of the early-'70s American Christian psychedelic underground – an explosive collision of spiritual lyrics, male and female vocals and some seriously heavy fuzz-wah guitar.
Formed in Lansing, Michigan, Earthen Vessel emerged at the dawn of the American Jesus Rock movement but sounded considerably heavier and stranger than the term might suggest. The group combined its Christian message with the volume and intensity of contemporary psychedelic and hard rock, creating music packed with distorted guitar, pounding rhythm section, keyboards, harmonica and extended instrumental passages.
The album was recorded in Nashville in 1971 with a line-up featuring Sharon Keel on lead vocals, keyboards and percussion, Dave Caudill on electric and acoustic guitar, vocals and harmonica, Ken Fitch on keyboards, vocals and percussion, John Sprunger on bass, vocals and trumpet, and Ed Johnson on drums.
Opener Life Everlasting immediately sets the tone with its combination of impassioned vocals and scorching guitar, while You Can and Let Jesus Bring You Back push the band's raw, garage-like psychedelic sound even harder. The album's centrepiece is the lengthy I've Been Walkin', an extended heavy psych workout driven by fuzz guitar and an insistent rhythm section. Coming Home and Get High complete an album that remains one of the most distinctive examples of early American Christian psychedelia.
Musically, think Jefferson Airplane colliding with the primitive force of The Stooges, with plenty of fuzz, wah-wah and acid-rock jamming thrown into the mix. Long prized by collectors, Hard Rock has become a genuine underground classic for fans of private-press psych, proto-heavy rock and obscure early-'70s American rock.
Tracklist:
Side A
A1. Life Everlasting
A2. You Can
A3. Let Jesus Bring You Back
Side B
B1. I've Been Walkin'
B2. Coming Home
B3. Get High
