CD Details

FAT MATTRESS II

FAT MATTRESS
1970 , UK , EAN CODE 5013929723528 - EURO 13.00

Label: ESOTERIC RECORDINGS

ALBUM REVIEW
I suppose with Noel Reading half way gone from the band (he only plays on half the songs) and since they didn't sound like Jimi Hendrix anyway this must be the weak swan song follow up ? Well maybe if you are some self assured music critic who probably listened to this once or twice with all the assumed prejudices you could be right. Well I didn't give a damn that Noel Redding played with Hendrix or that he is only a partial player here. Fat Mattress was a hell of a lot more than Noel Redding. In fact Neil Landon (an exceptional vocalist) and Jim Leverton were just as important to the sound as Noel. I bought this immediately on it's release because I thought their first album was drop dead excellent. I played it often and my only confusion was I couldn't figure out which ones were the best songs because everyone was great. Layers of instruments and vocals permeate through every track. "Anyway You Want" is a strong example of a good Fat Mattress song. There is an organ and rhythm guitar holding the middle with a simple chord progression and two subtle lead guitars (One Noel's) are riding over the top. This mixed with Landon's searing vocal makes for a perfect song that should be heard a few times to appreciate. In retrospect Fat Mattress is one of the very few if not only band that I have listened to in over 35 years that in my opinion never made a bad song. I have never heard the bonus cuts on the reissues but odds are they are probably good. (otismidnight - Rate Your Music)