Search - Stack :: Above All

Pretty good forgotten early hard rock

Robert Schell | Townsville, Texas | 05/24/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Stack was a late-60's hard rock group from California who were rediscovered in the mid-80's by record collectors, who deemed their one album some kind of Holy Grail of early hard rock, and no doubt pay ridiculous sums of money for original rare pressings. Stack were actually pretty well known in their time, and gigged with big name groups like Iron Butterfly. They were obviously influenced by other heavy rock of the era. The album has a very Led Zep sounding blues, minus the flashy guitar, and starts with a kind of Blue Cheer-ish cover of "Poison Ivy." They weren't as crude or grungy as Blue Cheer, though, and they certainly weren't the musicians that Led Zep were -- there's one song with a long, fumble-fingered guitar solo that sounds like it could have been played by anyone with two hands. They also suffer somewhat from the long-windedness common in the period. On the positive side, the vocals are very strong, especially on the harmony and backing vocals, and the album has a nice melodic feel to it. This certainly isn't the Holy Grail it's been made out to be, but it might be of interest to fans of early hard rock."