Bull Angus - A Time Like Ours / Lone Stranger / Mothers Favorite Lover (Margaret)

The various images used within this video are taken from photos and scans of my original Canadian vinyl LP jacket/cover/labels of Bull Angus' LP's; "Bull Angus" (1971) Mercury SRM1619, and "Free For All" (1972) Mercury SRM1629.

Bio courtesy "The Whistler" at Progressive Rock Archives...

"Bull Angus" haled from Poughkeepsie, New York, and were influenced by Grand Funk Railroad, Mountain, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.
Known primarily to late 60s/early 70s vinyl fanatics, BULL ANGUS (a name inspired by the bull farms near a barn they'd rented for rehearsals) was a psychedelic blues band with significant prog leanings. Best evidence has them forming sometime in the late 1960s in Poughkeepsie, New York, by guitarists Larry LaFALCE and Dino PAOLILLO. The duo was soon joined by Geno CHARLES(drums), Frankie PREVITE(vocals,recorder,percussion), Ron PICCOLO(keyboards) and Lenny VENDITTI(bass). LaFalce and Venditti were formerly with NY bands The PYRAMID, Previte had been with The OXFORD WATCHBAND, and Piccolo a member of The REVELLS. With Vinny Testa producing, the group released a self-titled debut in 1971 on Mercury Records but poor marketing and sales meant that the band only issued one more album, 1972's 'Free For All', before BULL ANGUS split up (although PREVITE will forever be a footnote in pop history for penning "The Time of My Life" for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack!).

It is odd that BA didn't make a larger impact at the time; their brand of post-psychedelic heavy blues successfully crossed between jam-happy Southern rock and budding Prog. The material was often compared to heavyweights like URIAH HEEP and ATOMIC ROOSTER as well as homegrown GRAND FUNK RAILROAD, but the band's dexterity and large roster meant they could occasionally leave hardrock behind and dabble in early Crimson-style folk. Despite all this, Bull Angus never earned a cult following and has remained underappreciated to this day.

Frankie Previte Vocals
Larry Lafalce Guitars
Dino Paolillo Guitars
Lenny Venditti Bass
Ron Piccolo Organ, Piano
Geno Charles Drums

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bull
• Angus
• Led
• Zeppelin
• Mountain
• Uriah
• Heep
• Grand
• Funk
• Railroad
• Bloodrock
• Hard
• Rock
• 70s

[slwmusicman]

I saw them play in a 4 act show in the Jai-a-lai Palace in Miami, FL in the summer of '72. They were great then and (imo) their sound is still fresh and vibrant today. Other bands at that show included Cactus, The John Kay Group, and Wishbone Ash (who closed the show and had the biggest fan base in the audience) Thanks for helping keep Bull Angus's music alive!

[drprogensteinphp]

@slwmusicman

Must have been one helluva show! Thanks for the trip down memory lane :)

[misscoolbreath32]

Bad ass! !

[drprogensteinphp]

@misscoolbreath32

Bad "Bull" :)

[Yellowowleye]

I was listening to them when I was in my teens, always thought they were as good as any band in there time. Also was listening to Blood Rock, if the album cover looked cool I bought it and was always grew on me !

[drprogensteinphp]

@Yellowowleye

Cool. I used to pick some of my albums in very much the same way. Anything with cool art (Roger Dean-ish) cover art I'd buy. I discovered a lot of great music this way back in the day.

[mrd3frank3]

great sound!! cant understand why they didnt make it. sound was perfect for the time.

[patricerick]

I own this album! Ron Piccolo gave it to me back in the day when they were "Freewheel". They really should have made it big, such a tight, rockin band! With his vocals and Dino's riffs, could never figure out why they didn't.

[sjporter51]

Saw them at Dutchess Community College in 1971..swore they could have been really a huge success..great GREAT band!

[drprogensteinphp]

@RedArmyMostar

Thanks...glad you enjoyed :)