VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Devil Rides In: Spellbinding Satanic Magick & The Rockult 1967 - 1974
Cherry Red
Rock, especially of the Heavy variety has always had an association with the occult, Satanism, and other such naughtiness. Whether it be the PMRC warning the delicate sensibilities of American teenagers against the supposed backward messaging in Heavy Metal records, unproven links between high school shootings and Marilyn Manson records, Jimmy Page's obsession with Aleister Crowley and The Golden Dawn, speculation about Paul McCartney going shoeless to cross the road outside the Beatles recording studios, the Rolling Stones politely asking for a bit of sympathy for The Devil please, or the more obvious sword and sorcery links of Black Sabbath and all that followed, including the likes of Psychic TV and Coil, there is plenty for the nervous or pious to feel nervous or pious about.
So it was high time that someone pulled all these evil sounds together in one place so those souls destined for eternal damnation had something new to listen to on their way to hell. Step forward Cherry Red, always up for another box set. They have this down, they do it so well. This collection comes with a superb full colour booklet in addition to the 3 CDs full of blasphemy, bell, book, and (black) candle, which surprisingly, and to Cherry Red's credit, avoids the obvious and brings into the open a whole range of the obscure and unlikely, with the link largely being the inclusion of the word 'Devil' somewhere in the track. You wouldn't expect Sandi Shaw to be featured be on here, (but her cover of Sympathy For The Devil qualifies her), nor The Strawbs (with 'Keep The Devil Outside'), Family, and Genesis. There are a number of acts like Paul's Troubles, Julian's Treatment, Tintern Abbey, and Jacula (amongst others) that I have never heard of until now, plus some more familiar names; Arthur Brown, Jethro Tull, Nirvana, Third Ear band, Cozy Powell, Black Widow, and even Dave Dee,Dozy, Beaky, Mick, and Titch. The omission of the more obvious bigger names (Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, etc) is more likely down to publishing and copyright issues preventing them from appearing than any reluctance on Cherry Red's part. However, that does mean that you get to hear a wide range of some more obscure artists though, which is a good thing.
Listening to bands like Lucifer's Friend, or humming the tune to 'Black Mass' by Jason Crest hasn't resulted in any poltergeist activity or mysterious happenings around here so far, so I think you will be safe enough giving this a spin. You might not want to take it with you to any bible classes though, lest you burst into flames as you walk through the door. Theming box sets like this around less obvious themes, and showcasing less mainstream acts is something Cherry Red do particularly well. With their past history of signing smaller, less commercial acts such as Felt, Eyeless in Gaza, Five or Six, Monochrome Set (who wrote a track called 'The Devil Rides Out', actually), and putting out regional compilations (eg Sent From Coventry), you would expect no less from them. In fact, Cherry Red have released no end of records after the period covered by this with the word 'Devil' in the title, so expect a Volume 2 at some point.
My only disappointment is that Cliff Richard's 'Devil Woman' (she has "evil on her mind", you know) isn't included. Cliff, now that is what I call true evil!
