The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (album)
| The Crazy World of Arthur Brown | ||||
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| Studio album by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown | ||||
| Released | June 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 38:33 | |||
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| Producer | Kit Lambert | |||
| The Crazy World of Arthur Brown chronology | ||||
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| AllMusic |   |
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is the eponymous debut studio album by the English psychedelic rock band the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, released in June 1968. The album was produced by the Who's manager Kit Lambert with associate production by Pete Townshend. The album was released in June 1968 on Lambert's Track Records label in the UK, with North American distribution handled by Atlantic Records. The album was released in the US in September. (Early North American copies of the album, while distributed by Atlantic, bore the Track Records imprint; later pressings were released on the Atlantic label proper.)
The album peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart. The album's first single, "Fire," was a global success, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in North America in October 1968, No. 1 in the UK in August 1968, and No. 19 in Australia in October 1968.
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown was the only album released by the band during its active tenure, and features the band's core members Arthur Brown (vocals), Vincent Crane (organ, piano and vibes), and Drachen Theaker (drums). Bass guitar, where used, was provided by Nick Greenwood; session drummer John Marshall replaced Theaker on two selections. Horn and string overdubs were also employed on side one of the album. While the latter were done for tactical reasons, Brown's opinion is that the overdubs add to the album's overall presentation, replacing visuals and costume changes he would have employed in live performance to achieve dramatic effect.
Considered a classic of the late-1960s psychedelic scene and a significant influence on progressive rock, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown included a full album side of original songs focused on the horrors of Hell, including Brown's signature song "Fire." The album's second side contained a mix of original songs and covers, the latter being Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" and James Brown's "I've Got Money." The album's format reflected a compromise between Brown and the band's producer/manager Kit Lambert; Brown's original intent was to produce an album-long rock opera incorporating the material included on side one, while Lambert wanted to produce a more overtly commercial record, including cover material from the band's stage act. Following the success of the single "Fire," the press would often refer to Brown as "The God of Hellfire" in reference to the opening shouted line of the song.
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