Drummer Carmine Appice has announced the release of a new album from 70s icons Cactus.
Temple of Blues - Influences & Friends is the follow-up to 2021's Tightrope, and features contributions from a plethora of stellar names including Joe Bonamassa, Dee Snider, Pat Travers, Warren Haynes, Vernon Reid, Steve Stevens, Ted Nugent, Johnny A (The Yardbirds), Ty Tabor and Dug Pinnick (both King’s X), Billy Sheehan (Mr Big), Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder), Tim "Ripper" Ownens (ex-Judas Priest), Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne), Kenny Aaronson (ex- Joan Jett and The Yardbirds), as well as members of Government Mule, Vixen, Rainbow, Zebra, and Whitesnake.
Original Cactus guitarist Jim McCarty also appears on the album, as does Appice's Vanilla Fudge bandmate Mark Stein, who sings on a cover of Little Richard's Long Tall Sally. Full tracklist below.
“The music of Cactus has always been steeped in blues tradition,” says Appice. “We kept hearing from so many of our music celebrity friends how much Cactus influenced them and how they would love to be a guest on a Cactus album. Even our label President, Brian Perera from Cleopatra Records, suggested to us that this album happens. So, Temple Of Blues was the logical next step."
The first fruits of this concoction come in the shape of a cover of Howlin' Wolf's classic Evil, featuring Dee Snider and Dug Pinnick.
"To get a call from Carmine Appice, asking me to sing this song on a Cactus album is one of the highlights of my career," says Snider. "He told me I sounded more like the late great Rusty Day than anyone else he ever heard. Of course I do! You don't fuck with perfection!"
Day, Cactus's original frontman, was machine-gunned to death in his home in Orlando, FL, in March 1982, during a drug deal gone wrong.
Temple of Blues is available to pre-order now.
Cactus: Temple of Blues - Influences & Friends tracklist
1. Parchman Farm feat. Joe Bonamassa & Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big / David Lee Roth)
2. Bro. Bill feat. Randy Jackson (Zebra), Randy Pratt (Cactus) & Bob Daisley (Ozzy Osbourne)
3. Guiltless Glider feat. Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (Guns N' Roses) & Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne)
4. Evil feat. Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) & Dug Pinnick (King's X)
5. One Way...Or Another feat. Dug Pinnick (King's X) & Ted Nugent
6. Alaska feat. Johnny A. & Tony Franklin (The Firm)
7. No Need To Worry feat. Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule) & Jorgen Carlsson (Gov't Mule)
8. Oleo feat. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) & Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big / David Lee Roth)
9. Big Mama Boogie feat. Pat Travers & James Caputo (Cactus)
10. You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover|
11. Rock N' Roll Children feat. Britt Lightning (Vixen), Vernon Reid (Living Colour) & Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot)
12. Let Me Swim feat. Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake) & Marco Mendoza (Blue Murder)
13. Restrictions feat. Ty Tabor (King's X) & Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne)
14. Long Tall Sally feat. Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge) & Fernando Perdomo
Bonus Track
15. Guiltless Glider feat. Tim "Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest)
