Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice has recalled how his guest spot on Pink Floyd album Momentary Lapse Of Reason left him feeling blown away.
He was invited by producer Bob Ezrin to play on the track Dogs Of War on the 1987 title, and found himself working in an unfamiliar manner.
Appice – also known for stints with Rod Stewart, Cactus and others – tells My Drum Lessons: “There was a message on my voicemail from Bob. He said, ‘I’m producing this group that’s just screaming for Carmine drum fills.’
“I thought it would be a new group. I called him back and he said it was Pink Floyd. I said, ‘Wow! What happened to Nick Mason?’ He said Nick would be there and they wanted some new blood and new energy. So I went down and spent the day.”
He remembers filling three reels of 24-track tape as he played Dogs Of War over and over again, and having to be patient while Ezrin mixed the results together.
“Every time I called him I said, ‘What does it sound like?’ He said, ‘In a word – daring.’ Finally I was in Canada and the album came out. I bought the cassette and listened, and it blew me away.”
Floyd released final album The Endless River last year. Vanilla Fudge launched their latest covers collection, Spirit Of ’67, last month.