Various Artists — The Devil Rides In( CD boxset)
The Devil Rides In is a three-CD compilation looking at satanic-influenced fare from between the mid-60s and early ’70s. The selection on the discs moves from the expected proto-metal/ doom, on through more pop-focused fare, into folk, jazz, funk, and slightly more experimental/quirky fare.
The boxset appears on Strawberry- one of Cherry Red's sub-labels. The three discs each come in their own card slips( featuring occult-focused old illustrations). These are presented in a flip-side card box, which features on its front cover a rather mysterious woman standing in some purple-to-black reeds looking back at you. The set is finished off with a twenty-eight-page booklet- it features an introduction to the compilation and a breakdown of each of the fifty-five tracks offered over the three discs. Also, featured in the booklet is a great selection of cover artwork, and devil-genetic fare be that pulp paperbacks, film poster artwork, etc. So a very nicely thought out & presented set.
The compilation is broken up into eight parts over the three discs- these indicate genres, track focus, and period. The whole thing comes off as a wonderful varied celebration of all things sonically devil-focused in the 60s and 70s- with a good mix of the known & lesser-known artists.
So the first disc features sixteen tracks and covers parts one(Buried Underground) and part two(Phantom Sabbaths). We open with Atomic Roosters' “Death Walks Behind You” which rises from its creepy haunted house piano work opening to a steady occultic fuelled rocker. There is the plodding bass line, folk rock groove, and darkly shambling groove of Leviathan’s “Flames” with its warbling to chanted ‘higher & higher’ male vocals. There’s the bounding piano keys & theatrical sing-song male vocals of Dr.Z’s “Evil Woman’s Mainly Child”. Or the galloping tabular, baying rock guitars, and wailing/ wordy male vocals of Sam Gopal's “The Dark Lord”.
Disc number two takes in twenty-one tracks- moving through parts three( Popular Satanism), part four (She Devils), and Part five( Folk Devils). We move the swirling keys, psych-pop vocals, bounding drums ‘n’ guitar, and backwards tones of “Nightmares” by The Creation. Onto jiving organ ‘n’ flute lined 60’s pop-rock of “The Devil Rides Out” by Icarus. There’s the tolling harpsichord, wishful dark pipings, creepy synth sweeps and rapid female spoken word of Jucula’s “Long Black Magic Night”. There is the bound and rising folk-rock guitars and male sing-song vocals of Stawbs “Keep The Devil Outside”.
The third and final disc takes in eighteen tracks- moving through the remainder of part five( Folk Devils), onto part six (Evil Jazz), part seven( Belzefunk), and part eight(Let's all Chant). This disc opens with the ritual tolling percussion, discordant picked/ darted string work, and wailing horns of Third Eye Band’s “Devil Weed”. Onto roaring ‘n’ rolling Jazz rock groove of Bloodwyn Pig’s “The Modern Alchemist”. Though to smoking funk rock pump meets weird wavering vocal layering of Onyx’s “Air”. Onto steady clip-clopping drums, flute wail, and wordless chanted vocals of the opening of Black Widows “Come To The Sabbath” which soon rises to jaunting flute-led rock, with voices chanting ‘Come, come to the sabbath- satan's there!’.
The Devil Rides In is a wonderful compiled, curated, and wholly varied compilation. And if you have any interest in him down below, and the music of the 60s and 70s he influenced- this is a must!.