''New! Improved!'' is the third album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...

. Released in March 1969 by

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...

, it is their first without original guitarist

Leigh Stephens Leigh Stephens is an American guitarist and songwriter best known for being former lead guitarist of the San Francisco psychedelic rock group Blue Cheer. Blue Cheer Leigh Stephens has recorded two albums with the band, ''Vincebus Eruptum'' an ...

. The album features songs recorded by two different group lineups: in addition to bassist and vocalist

Dickie Peterson Richard Allan Peterson (September 12, 1946 – October 12, 2009)Paul Whaley Paul Gene Whaley (January 14, 1947 – January 28, 2019) was an American drummer best known as the drummer for rock band Blue Cheer. He was the son of country music singer Paul Edward Whaley. He grew up in the towns of Vallejo and Winters, Califo ...

, side one includes Bruce Stephens (no relation to Leigh) on guitar and Burns Kellogg on keyboards; while side two includes

Randy Holden Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

on guitar and vocals. The two lineups contribute very different material. With Holden, the approach is closer to the previous psychedelic hard rock of Blue Cheer albums; with Kellogg and Peterson, they explore more understated

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

and

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

styles. Also, unlike their earlier albums, Peterson plays a smaller role. Holden wrote and sings the songs on side two, while Kellogg and Stephens contribute most of the material on side one. ''New! Improved!'' was slightly more successful than the group's previous album, ''

Outsideinside ''Outsideinside'' is the second album by American power trio Blue Cheer. Philips Records released the album in August 1968, only seven months after their debut LP, ''Vincebus Eruptum''. The album was recorded both outdoors and indoors—hence the ...

'', and reached number 84 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. One single "West Coast Child of Sunshine", backed with "When It All Gets Old", was released, but did not reach the charts. The album has been reissued several times and a 1994 release by

Repertoire Records Repertoire Records is a German record label from Hamburg, Germany, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s. The chairman is Thomas Neelsen. See also * List of record labels File:Alvino ...

includes two songs first released in 1969 on a non-album single. The Holden compositions "Peace of Mind" and "Fruit & Icebergs" appear on several Blue Cheer compilations, such as ''Louder Than God: The Best of Blue Cheer'' (1986) and ''The History of Blue CheerGood Times Are So Hard to Find'' (1988).

Critical reception

In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Mark Deming gave the album three and a half out of five stars. He emphasizes the two very different musical styles: terms such as "rootsy", "country rock", and "percussive boogie" are used to describe the songs with Kellogg and Stephens, while Holden's "contributions feel a lot more like the group's formative work ndsuggest an evolution from the towering proto-metal of ''

Vincebus Eruptum ''Vincebus Eruptum'' (; pseudo-Latin) is the debut album of American rock band Blue Cheer. Released on January 16, 1968, the album features a heavy-thunderous blues sound, which would later be known as heavy metal. A commercial and critical succ ...

'' and ''Outsideinside''".

Track listing

Album details taken from the original Philips album liner notes and may differ from other sources.

Personnel

Side One *

Dickie Peterson Richard Allan Peterson (September 12, 1946 – October 12, 2009)vibraslap The vibraslap is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire (bent into a U-shape) connecting a wooden ball to a hollow box of wood with metal “teeth” inside. The percussionist holds the metal wire in one hand and strikes th ...

, vocals *

Paul Whaley Paul Gene Whaley (January 14, 1947 – January 28, 2019) was an American drummer best known as the drummer for rock band Blue Cheer. He was the son of country music singer Paul Edward Whaley. He grew up in the towns of Vallejo and Winters, Califo ...

drums, percussion *Bruce Stephensguitar, tortoise shell, woodblocks * Burns Kelloggpiano, organ *Gene Estes"percussion stuff" Side Two *

guitar, vocals *Dickie Petersonbass *Paul Whaleydrums Production *Milan Melvinproducer *Hank Cicaloengineer, mixing *

Greg Irons Greg Irons (September 29, 1947 – November 14, 1984) was an American poster artist, underground cartoonist, animator and tattoo artist. Profile Irons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He moved to San Francisco, California, in 1967, whe ...

cover art and lettering

References

{{Authority control Blue Cheer albums 1969 albums Philips Records albums