Sleeping For Years: The Studio Recordings 1970-1974

I had the first 3 Rooster albums on vinyl and loved them. But then came the loss of John Cann and the shift of direction, with a funkier groove rather than the heavier sound that was in vogue at the time. Having seen and heard Chris Farlowe's vocal histrionics with Colosseum, I had decided the new Rooster line up (mk 3) was not for me without giving them a hearing. Listening to new albums without actually shelling out your hard earned cash was not that easy back in the 70's. Fast forward 40 years and the purchase of the excellent 'Heavy Soul' Rooster compilation showed me exactly what I had missed out on. I actually fell in love with Farlowe's vocals to the extend that I purchased the Colosseum albums on which he featured. Certainly the new Rooster line up's output wasn't going to trouble the singles charts, but they had a unique sound within British music. Appetite well and truly whetted for Rooster Mk3 I wanted to acquire the 'Made in England' and ''Nice n' greasy' albums and couldn't believe my luck on discovering this 4 cd box-set covering 5 albums. Not only did I have the added bonus of having the complete albums on CD but also some previously unheard tracks/versions inclusive of excellent alternative versions with either John Cann's guitar over-dubbed on several tracks from their first album (as per. their first U.S. release) or over-dubbed Pete French vocals on the UK hit single Devil's Answer (as per. the US release of 'In Hearing of') to reflect the rapidly changing line-ups that Rooster went through between their UK and US release dates. This box set has everything from their studio album output that you could possibly want. Why it took me best part of 50 years acknowledge Farlowe's vocal brilliance is beyond me. Loved the John Cann period, but now reckon that their unjustly poorly received later albums are as good if not better. If we could turn back the clocks and recognize these gems in 1972 and 1974, Rooster may have continued and put out more albums with this line up. Our loss. Of course Vincent Crane was the main man throughout, and his keyboard sound and artistic vision led Rooster through their rapidly changing line-ups and styles, usually at the worst possible times commercially. A band that could have been premier league along side the likes of Deep Purple and Zeppelin at the time, but sadly largely a Rock footnote for their Devil's Answer and Tomorrow Night Hit singles. Of course there was so much more.......and here in this box set you have all the reasons why. Buy it.

Well, say hello, wave goodbye to the weekend. It’s at times like this I’m glad I have no life.Instead I can sit down with a four disc collection of one the greatest and most underrated bands Ever. Atomic Rooster. There was something in every incarnation that was special. Well, maybe not the 1980 version but even the closing “Headline News”, a Vincent Crane solo album in all but name was a treasure.This box set, though, is all about the early days. As it says on the tin, “The Studio Recordings: 1970-1974”. And they were magnificent years for the legendary Mr Crane and the assorted musicians he took along the way with him. From the early prog years through the crossover “In Hearing Of” to the bizarre Chris Farlowe fronted prog soul sounds of “Made In England” and “Nice ‘n’ Greasy”, this was music like no other. For your bucks you’re getting all five albums they put out in those four years plus an assortment of demos, singles and overseas edits and exclusives. It’s hard to know where to begin as I love them all. The somewhat basic Carl Palmer featuring debut has it’s charm, “Death Walks Behind You” is probably the darkest album of all time. Bugger your Sabbaths, this is heavy.My favourite is probable “In Hearing Of”, the sole record to feature Cactus / Leaf Hound vocalist Pete French. It’s probably the peak of Vincent Cranes compositional skills. This fabulous box set squeezes in 55 tracks and has an illustrated booklet with a new essay by Malcolm Dome (sadly not written by leading Atomic Rooster journalist Mr H) featuring exclusive interviews with Nick Graham, Pete French, Steve Bolton and Chris Farlowe. My favourite box set of the year.

Way better the tracks with guitar on the 1st album.Not good the division of the 3rd lp half on 2nd cd and half on 3rd cd!

If you are into 70s rock of the slightly unusual/more thoughtful kind. Then you will LOVE this. 2 hit records in the collection plus track 7 (I think) on the 2nd cd is absolutely outstanding! The 1st 2 albums are brilliant but after the original led singer left they headed off into a slightly different direction. Still good stuff though. They are still touring! At least, a version is still touring but they sound amazing. If you like the era and don't like it too heavy or metally, you will love this. Highly recommended.

I have received Atomic Rooster CD well~,, Thanks ^ ^

Five Atomic Rooster albums on 4 CDs,Atomic Rooster,Death Walks Behind You,In Hearing of...,Nice 'n' Greasy and Made in England - along with singles A and B sides and a few re-recorded tracks.Death Walks Behind You is still my favourite of those 5 albums,nice to finally have it on CD instead of a scratchy LP reissue in a tatty sleeve,now going to the Charity shop.Informative booklet about the band.

A bit of both, I suppose. You can't argue about five albums at this price, plus bonus tracks, which means this box set does what it says on the tin. But... at this price, you have the exasperating prospect of 'In Hearing' split between two CDs. Plus the exasperating prospect, replicated from earlier CD reissues, of the debut album featuring the wrong running order, which greatly reduces its impact. And what's the point anyway, if the two albums and separate singles from the early 80s revival aren't included? Cannot be for fanatics wanting to replace their collection; they will already have the individual CDs with more interesting BBC recordings as bonus tracks. Must be for newbies, if such a thing exists these days, who will no doubt find the variation in Rooster music across these years confusing. If you are such a person, be bold and get 'Death Walks Behind You', and see how you go (avoid 'Made In England').

Excellent release that means I can finally clean up my music server by adding CD versions to my old crackly vinyl

I've heard of Atomic Rooster but never "heard" them. I took a chance on this set and I'm glad that I did. The music has a good variety to it. While they have their own "sound" the music is reminiscent of ELP (Carl Palmer played drums in the earliest incarnation of the band) all the way to Kansas.Four discs for less than $40 with tax. Solid clamshell case and a nice booklet included too.For those familiar with the band they can comment on the sound as it compares to other releases.For those who fancy classic rock, progressive rock, and even a bit of jazz, but haven't yet checked these guys out...this is a revelation waiting to happen.

A wonderful find for me, despite taking me 45 years or so to give this band a listen.Well done, ATOMIC ROOSTER!

Klasse CD-Box !!!

Ho salutato la pubblicazione del cofanetto degli Atomic Rooster, "Sleeping For Years: Studio Recordings 1970-1974" come un'autentica delizia per gli amanti del rock progressivo a tinte minacciose e sulfuree. Questo bellissimo box comprende i primi cinque album della band, arricchiti da bonus track, e rappresenta un'immersione completa nel mistico dark sound degli Atomic Rooster.La qualità audio di questa raccolta è molto buona. Le canzoni sono state rimasterizzate, restituendo in tutto il loro splendore le tracce iconiche della band. L'esperienza di ascolto è coinvolgente, con ogni strumento e ogni sfumatura delle performance musicali che risaltano in modo cristallino.Gli Atomic Rooster sono noti per il loro stile distintivo, una fusione di rock, progressive, elementi blues, hard rock, suoni sepolcrali che preludono al doom, che li ha resi una delle eccellenze del genere. Questi album catturano perfettamente l'essenza di questa miscela unica. Brani come "Death Walks Behind You", "Tomorrow Night", e "Devil's Answer" sono delle pietre miliari che hanno contribuito a definire il suono heavy progressive dell'epoca.La cosa che rende questo cofanetto ancora più speciale sono le bonus tracks, che consentono agli ascoltatori di esplorare ulteriormente l'evoluzione musicale degli Atomic Rooster e di scoprire gemme nascoste.Il packaging è curato nei minimi dettagli, con un libretto informativo che fornisce una panoramica approfondita sulla storia della band e dei singoli album inclusi. Le note scritte direttamente dal leader, fondatore e tastierista Vincent Crane sono un tocco apprezzato che aggiunge valore a questa raccolta già di per sé straordinaria.Vincent Crane è stato uno dei più grandi tastieristi dell’epoca, e questi album sono qui a ricordarlo."Sleeping For Years: Studio Recordings 1970-1974" è super consigliato per qualsiasi amante del rock, del rock progressivo, dell'hard rock a tinte dark e ovviamente per i fan degli Atomic Rooster. Un vero tesoro per la vostra collezione musicale!

Sin embargo, le edición en formato grande que salió ente de esta es más bonita. Aún así Atomic Rooster es excelente.