Vehicle Expanded Slipcase Edition

As one collects music, there are certain groups that are needed to fill in the list. This nice album does that.

Whenever I saw the name of this band I was always reminded of an old K-Tel 8-track tape collection that I owned that included the huge hit "Vehicle." Over the years, I never thought about the Ides of March very much, lumping them into the one-hit wonder category. But then I stumbled upon the listing for this album and after reading some of the rave reviews I was intrigued enough to order the 2014 CD reissue. Was I impressed? Very much so!Hearing "Vehicle" and a few of the other horn-punctuated songs on this album, you can't help but be reminded of Blood, Sweat & Tears, And in the liner notes that come with this CD, Ides of March singer/guitarist Jim Peterick fully acknowledges the influence that BST and their lead singer David Clayton-Thomas had on the Ides of March sound. But by no means is the Ides of March some sort of Blood, Sweat & Tears copycat group. Sure, they've got the power horns and soul-rock riffs, but they also incorporated some jazzy improvisational bits, plus are capable of belting out some pure pop perfection, as is the case with one of the CDs bonus cuts, "High on a Hilltop," a song that was the B-side to a single, but deserved to be a hit in its own right.While the Peterik-penned originals are very impressive, two cover versions on this album are also worth noting. One is the medley of CSN's "Wooden Ships" with Ian Anderson's (Jethro Tull) "Dharma for One." Very nice stuff. Even more impressive is their 9-minute version of "Eleanor Rigby," a jaw-dropping reworking of the old Beatles classic.The CD comes with an 8-page booklet that includes liners notes by Richie Unterberger, highlighted by quotes from Peterik. If you thought the cover art was a bit strange, well, apparently the band felt likewise, blaming the Warner Brothers art department for the weirdness. But the music found on this album is far from bizarre, right in the wheelhouse of any listener who enjoys horn-based bands like BST, Chicago, or Tower of Power. Mighty interesting music!

This is another case of replacing an old album that's been lost or stolen with a CD. In about 1971 I played lead guitar and sang for a band in the Atlanta area called "Avalanche", we were a horn band and used to open with the song Vehicle. As my album has been long disappeared from my collection, I opted to replace it from Amazon. And it sounds great, you might note that "American Idol" runner up Bo Buice sang "Vehicle" in the competition and recorded it with Richie Sambora on his 1st album, also performing it on Jay Leno's Tonight Show. If not for "Vehicle" I probably would not have replaced the record. The rest of the songs, while being OK are not significant enough for purchase. They're OK but not great. At the right price it makes a nice addition and representation of the 70's era horn bands for your record collection.

Really great album! I knew Vehicle song well but had forgotten how great many others on this album were.

Good assortment of songs, better than I expected considering I only knew one song.

Ides of March have a lineage exceeded only by the Stones and this is their finest moment by far. Includes their radio hit Vehicle and a number of bonus cuts as well. Quality is a little patchy but overall this is a good solid effort. If you are a fan of the great horn driven groups of the late 60's and 70's like Chicago and Blood Sweat n Tears, you'll enjoy this!

Este CD es un excelente representante del sonido de Chicago de los 70's, con excelentes metales combinados con buenos solos de guitarra y un voz fuerte . Resaltan los experimentos de covers como Wooden Ship de Stephen Stills y Eleanor Rigby. LLama la atención como el compositor , guitarrista y cantante del grupo Jim Peterik tiende a salirse de su estilo de Chicago Brass al Pop en tracks como One Woman Man.

I had the two-disc "Warner Bros Years" set, but it got damaged beyond saving -- and the only replacement I could find was three times the price of this one, which has all the best Ides songs anyway.

Following in the footsteps of then-recent successes by The Electric Flag, Blood Sweat & Tears and Chicago, The Ides Of March joined the growing list of "brass-rock" acts with the release of the stupendous single 'Vehicle' in the spring of 1970. The tie-in album, most of which was recorded (according to the accompanying booklet) in a hasty week-long session in the wake of the single's success, is nevertheless able to provide an entertaining fusion of rock instrumentation coupled with bright and strident horn arrangements.Notable tracks include an epic reworking of The Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby' - retitled 'Symphony For Eleanor' - and an unlikely melding of the Crosby Stills & Nash/Jefferson Airplane tale of revolutionary exodus 'Wooden Ships' with Jethro Tull's 'Dharma For One'. Overall the album is less jazz-oriented than Blood Sweat & Tears' highly successful music of the period but equally it is less blues-based than Mike Bloomfield's Electric Flag, while the guitar work of lead singer Jim Peterik ensures that The Ides Of March stay close to the rock music form. The four bonus cuts are made up of b-sides and, most importantly of all, the punchy mono single mix of 'Vehicle' which, despite not featuring the gimmicky effect of Peterik's guitar solo shifting between channels during the bridge like the album mix, is in my view the superior version of the song and, upon hearing this, it's no surprise that 'Vehicle' went down a storm with record buyers back in 1970 - at least in the USA, if not quite so much here in Britain.To sum up, this is another nice release from Real Gone Music, a label which has unearthed a number of semi-forgotten gems over the last few years (their recent collection of Steppenwolf singles, the self-titled solo album from Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer and Claudia Lennear's 1973 album PHEW! all spring to mind). The slipcase packaging is nice and the booklet with Richie Unterberger's notes is informative and unfussy. Most importantly, the remastering is excellent too, with the brass parts sounding wonderfully clear and powerful. While nothing on the album quite beats 'Vehicle' for undeniable commercial appeal, if you find the aforementioned Blood Sweat & Tears and Chicago a little pretentious and over-blown in their approach, The Ides Of March make for a more accessible introduction to the brass-rock experience.

This refers to the 2016 Real Gone re-issue. I'd have liked to have give this 5 stars for the musical arrangements, generic classics as they are, but only 3 stars for the disc repro.This is quite possibly one of the shoddiest sounding re-masters I've heard given we have the kit available these days to do much better.A tad disappointing.Av. 4 stars.

Appreciated gift.

cool

Always thought Vehicle was an excellent single and finally got around to purchasing this album. Knew nothing about the band and still not a lot (see below) but it appears that the leader of the group, Jim Peterik, went on to greater things with Survivor.If you liked the early jazz-rock of Chicago Transit Authority (before they sold out as Chicago) and Blood, Sweat & Tears then you'll love this. A great band who obviously didn't get the recognition that they deserved.The only downside to the purchase is the flimsy cardboard CD sleeve plus the brief cover notes are in French!! Apart from the group member's names, not a lot to read - but don't let it put you off.