Cactus were formed out of the remnants of bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice's former band, Vanilla Fudge with the addition of guitarist Jim McCarty(not to be confused with the Yardbird's band member) and vocalist Rusty Day. This is a two disc collection of their first two releases and both albums have a strong set of original material and a few covers thrown in for good measure. Cactus is really an extension of what the rhythm section had done in their prior group, Vanilla Fudge, but with a slight bend towards blues inspired, hard rock. On the first disc(the debut release), the opening track, Parchment Farm(by Mose Allison) gets things off to a rousing start and from there, the music created is a direct and hard hitting approach as one gets the feeling that these guys really enjoy playing with one another. Rusty Day's voice has a solid and strong tenor register that can skip an octave higher within a bar phrase at the drop of a dime and McCarty's searing and inspired guitar playing is comparable to the likes of Clapton, Beck and Page. Further into the first disc on songs like My Brother Bill, You Can't Judge a Book and No Need to Worry, one can hear the connection of groups like Mountain and Humble Pie of which they share a common bond per the hard rock/blues idiom that is established. Let Me Swim and Oleo are tracks that certainly continue the trend on the first disc and further expand on the hard hitting style that the group has carved a niche out for itself and I find these tracks to be personal favorites and points of interest, if one were to sample to hear what this band was like aurally.

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The second disc continues on in fashion to the first disc and opens with a cover of Little Richard's Long Tall Sally which settles into a laid back, yet hard groove that consolidates the gains acquired by the first disc. Rock and Roll Children is truly a lost gem within this era of blues rock and is probably my favorite Cactus track overall. It features a bluesy rock swagger coupled with Rusty Day's commanding vocal performance and the unbeatable rhythm section of Bogert and Appice. Their cover of Chuck Willis' I Feel So Bad is definable and further attests the power that this quartet possessed. Some people have said that Cactus were one of several links between the line of hard rock and heavy metal that inspired groups like Aerosmith, Montrose and Van Halen and I can hear this connection within this disc as to those aforementioned groups for the basis of this claim. In short, I'm glad to own this "two for one" collection of hard rock with a blues base and even into today with groups like Blackberry Smoke, My Morning Jacket and Kings of Leon, this style of music still thrives today and I'm apt to believe that Cactus were integral in cultivating this innovative style of  music.  Highly recommended for those whom want to seek out the roots of this great musical genre.

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Rating Grade- A