Cactus "One Way or Another" 1971

One Way or Another is Cactus' second album, coming right on the heels of their debut(check out the review of this album for more info). It is still drenched in the blues, but with less harmonica and more riffs. The album opens with a slow, tough as nails version of Little Richards Long Tall Sally built on a hard groovin' guitar riff with some burnin' McCarty wah wah soloing. Rockout, Whatever You Feel Like starts out sounding like it's gonna be a killer, but then turns out to be a bit of a lightweight happy Status Quo-ish tune. Eh... I'm a little iffy on that one. It does have a kind of cool twin lead thing, but still...

"One Way Or Another"


Anyway, next up is Rock and Roll Children, which is a midtempo backbeat blues for the verses that, as is often the case with Cactus, turns into a blazing guitar/bass drum freakout before returning to the backbeat groove. Lots of great high harmony vocals on this album, by the way.

This brings us to the aptly titled Big Mama Boogie, pt 1 & 2 . It starts of with a few minutes of groovy acoustic guitar/honkin' harmonica blues with some great vocals from Rusty. Just when you think it's over part 2 walks up and punches you in the gut with a heavy, hard-ass, Let There Be Rock-esque groove.


Side 2 opens with the cool, understated, tremolo guitar-driven Feel So Bad. Great tune with a cool hypnotic groove. Nice wah guitar solo. This simmering understatement is a bit of a departure for Cactus, but it works well. The next tune, Song for Aries is also somewhat of a departure. It is one of those melancholy minor key instrumentals so popular in the 70's that we all love that starts out with acoustic guitar building to a smoldering electric guitar solo.
Hometown Bust, a lament about drug busts is a heavy lumbering blues that alternates between subdued clean guitar/harmonica and molten overdriven Big Muffy sustain.

The record closes with what is the ultimate Cactus song - One Way or Another. This is a riff rock masterpiece that ranks up there with the most rocking songs of the 70's. Built on a nasty guitar riff, they have fully transcended the basic blues structure and moved into fully modern post blues 70's rock. After a couple of verse/choruses there's a cool breakdown that builds into a slamming guitar solo freakout section undergirded by Bogert's snarling bass and Appice's assault and battery(batterie). Pure and unadulterated, this is what Rock and Roll is about.

Can you tell I really dig this song?

Anyway, like their debut, the album is not packed front to back with giant riffage, but more than half the album is hard rockin' in one way or another ;-)

Riff Density 7
Riff Caliber 10
Post Blues Factor 6
Groove Factor 10
Dig It 8