New! Improved!

New! Improved! is the third album by Blue Cheer, first released in March 1969 on Philips Records. It was re-released in 1994 by Repertoire with two bonus tracks, in 1999 by Italian indie label Akarma Records and in 2007 in Japan within a mini-LP sleeve. The album features Randy Holden on guitar on side B (tracks 7-9). This is the only studio recording of Holden with Blue Cheer.

After the 1968 release of their second album Outsideinside guitarist Leigh Stephens left the band due to musical differences or, as some report, deafness.^[1] He was replaced by Randy Holden, formerly of Los Angeles garage rock band The Other Half. On 1969's New! Improved! Blue Cheer there were different guitarists on side 1 and side 2 (Randy Holden and Bruce Stephens) due to Holden's unanticipated departure from the band. Following Holden's departure the band's lineup initially consisted of Dickie Peterson (bass), Tom Weisser (guitar), and Mitch Mitchell (drums), before Whaley returned and Stephens joined the band. Later, Ralph Burns Kellogg also joined the band on keyboards. Both Stephens and Kellogg had previously worked together in The Emeralds, a well-known northern California backing band in the 1960s. Side One of the album contains the bands first recordings as a quartet, with a new more commercial sound that would carry over to their next three albums. Side Two features their last recordings as a "heavier" power trio until reforming in the 1970's.

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Review scores
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Track listing

Side one

"When It All Gets Old" (Ralph Burns Kellogg) – 3:01
"West Coast Child of Sunshine" (Bruce Stephens) – 2:41
"I Want My Baby Back" (Stephens) – 3:19
"Aces 'n' Eights" (Kellogg, Dickie Peterson, Stephens) – 2:47
"As Long as I Live" (Peterson, Stephens) – 2:20
"It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" (Bob Dylan) – 3:16

Side two

"Peace of Mind" (Randy Holden) – 7:22
"Fruit & Icebergs" (Holden) – 6:05
"Honey Butter Lover" (Holden) – 1:16
"All Night Long" (Kellog) - 2:06 (Repertoire Bonus Track)
"Fortunes" (Peterson) - 2:20 (Repertoire Bonus Track)

Personnel

Dickie Peterson – bass guitar, vocals
Paul Whaley – drums
Bruce Stephens – guitar (tracks 1–6)
Ralph Burns Kellogg – keyboards (tracks 1–6)
Randy Holden – guitar (tracks 7–9)

Blue Cheer

Dickie Peterson Leigh Stephens Eric Albronda Paul Whaley Jerre Peterson Vale Hamanaka Jerry Whiting Randy Holden Mitch Mitchell Tom Weisser Bruce Stephens Ralph Burns Kellogg Norman Mayell Gary Lee Yoder Ruben de Fuentes Terry Rae Nick St. Nicholas Tony Rainier Mike Fleck Brent Harknett Billy Carmassi Eric Davis Andrew "Duck" MacDonald David Salce Dieter Saller Gary Holland Prairie Prince Joe Hasselvander

Studio albums	Vincebus Eruptum Outsideinside New! Improved! Blue Cheer The Original Human Being Oh! Pleasant Hope The Beast Is Back Highlights and Lowlives Dining with the Sharks What Doesn't Kill You...

Live albums	Blitzkrieg Over Nüremberg Live and Unreleased Vol. 1: '68/'74 Live and Unreleased Vol. 2: Live At San Jose Civic Centre & More Hello Tokyo, Bye Bye Osaka - Live In Japan 1999 Live in Japan Bootleg: Live - Hamburg - London Rocks Europe

Compilation albums	Motive - Blue Cheer Louder than God: The Best of Blue Cheer Good Times are so Hard to Find: The History of Blue Cheer The Best of Yesteryear

Tribute albums	Blue Explosion - A Tribute to Blue Cheer

Charted singles	"Summertime Blues" "Just a Little Bit"

Related bands	The Oxford Circle The Other Half Sopwith Camel Silver Metre Flamin' Groovies Monsters Dokken Raven Pentagram Mother Ocean

References

↑ Blue Cheer Biography, Rockdetector.

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