Decent hard-edged psych from an NYC Italian-American band circa 1970, but you have to wonder if the reissues game has gone too far when labels are putting out albums by bands that didn’t even write their own songs and that no one noticed the first time around.
Velvet Night features the eponymous LP and sole 7" and features covers of Donovan, Cream, Robbie Robertson and Tim Hardin. The few originals here were penned by the producers. Maybe Velvet Night were a good band that got screwed over by jerk producers and label people, or maybe they were just another cover band that got picked up by some producers hoping to cash in on a trend.
Overall, a decent listen but personally I find it hard to love records by groups that aren’t playing songs penned by the band members. The Cream tribute melody is painful, and The Band’s "The Weight" features a flaccid, annoying intro and the cover doesn’t even come close to measuring up to the original. My advice - skip over this unremarkable release and check out some of the other brilliant Fallout reissues like Terence, Montreal or The Hellers.
