Shocking Blue LP Cover
It’s a funny thing, when I saw Venus, by Shocking Blue, at No.3 in the US singles chart for this week 50 years ago, sandwiched between Led Zeppelin and the Jackson 5, I thought I didn’t know it. I pulled it up on YouTube and recognised it instantly. And it was the original version I recognised, not the later covers (I listened to them afterwards to check).
Shocking Blue were from the Netherlands. Their songwriting talent was Robbie van Leeuwen and Venus took the band to number one in the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and into the top ten in 17 other countries. It was taken from their debut album, released in 1969, that is available in full on Spotify, which includes an interesting, if respectful, cover of Acka Raga from Harriott and Mayer’s Indo-Jazz Fusions.
The whole album is on Spotify and is well worth a listen as an example of a forward-thinking European band fully aware of what’s happening across the Atlantic–especially, I think, Jefferson Airplane. It’s well-played and well-produced, and I prefer it to Jefferson Airplane.
What really caught my attention when I listened to them further was their original of Love Buzz, later covered by Nirvana. Listening to the two back-to-back and there is no comparison: Shocking Blue’s original is far and away the better version, just as the original of Venus is better than any later remake. Also, as an admirer of Everything But the Girl, I was surprised to hear the line I need you like a desert needs rain in Love Buzz. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess.
Here are Venus and Love Buzz
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