They have had a number of hit singles, their biggest hit being "You Keep Me Hangin' On", a slowed-down, trippy, hard-rock cover of a song originally recorded by The Supremes, which particularly featured Appice's energetic drumming. One follow-up to this hit, "Take Me for a Little While", was an original composition with a very similar sound both in musical themes and treatment, but it said something quite different from its forerunner. While it did not do nearly as well commercially, it did attract some airplay, making it a rare instance of a band successfully parodying their own work.
The members of Vanilla Fudge were great admirers of The Beatles, and covered several of their songs including "Ticket to Ride", of their version of which The Beatles were quite fond.
Vinnie Martel was invited to play with Jimi Hendrix, but Hendrix died a month later.
Bogert & Appice also played with jazz/rock guitarist Jeff Beck on their self-titled album in 1973. (Beck replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds in the late 1960s.)
Stein and Appice revived the band in 1984, with very minor success. The band has not recorded, but has played some concerts since. A live concert recorded in Chicago in 1987 has been released recently.
Thoughts
Vanilla Fudge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are running through my mind it seems
I'll never be the same again
Though I know my life will still go on
I can't go on in misery
I love you till eternity
The Look you gave me with your eyes
The love we spent on endless highs
As I look through purple clouds of passion I can see
The echos of the world are
lost in the quiet of your sighs
I reach to touch your hand
And we climb up to the sky!
I float along in silver clouds
To bathe in beauty all around
Is this a dream?
As I float along on purple clouds I can see
The echoes of the world are lost
In the quiet of your sighs
I reach to touch your hand
And we climb up to the sky!
In the song Thoughts by Vanilla Fudge, the lyrics describe the overwhelming nature of the singer's thoughts and dreams about a past love. The lyrics convey a sense of helplessness and resignation as the singer knows that their life will move on, yet they will never forget this love. The love they shared was intense, represented by the "endless highs," and the singer still longs for this love, as seen in the line "I love you till eternity."
The second half of the lyrics change in tone slightly, as the singer describes a dream or a fantasy they are experiencing with their past love. The imagery in the lyrics is dream-like, with "purple clouds of passion" and "silver clouds" creating a sense of surrealism. The singer is lost in the moment, "bathing in the beauty all around." The desire to be with this past love is so strong that even in this dream state, they reach out to touch their hand and climb up to the sky together.
Overall, the lyrics of Thoughts suggest a longing and a yearning for a past love, as well as a sense of being unable to move on completely. The dream-like state in the latter half of the lyrics emphasizes the intensity of this longing and the desire to be reunited with this past love.
Line by Line Meaning
The never ending thoughts and dreams
My mind is consumed by thoughts and dreams that never seem to stop
Are running through my mind it seems
My thoughts and dreams are constantly flowing through my mind
I'll never be the same again
My experiences have changed me permanently
Though I know my life will still go on
Even though I've changed, life will continue on
I can't go on in misery
I can't continue living my life in pain and sadness
I love you till eternity
My love for you will last forever
The Look you gave me with your eyes
The expression in your eyes conveyed so much to me
The love we spent on endless highs
Our love took us to places of pure joy and euphoria
Is this a dream?
Are these experiences and feelings even real?
As I look through purple clouds of passion I can see
In the midst of passion and emotion, I see things in a different light
The echos of the world are lost in the quiet of your sighs
All the noise and commotion of the world fades away in the peacefulness of your sighs
I reach to touch your hand
I long to connect with you physically and emotionally
And we climb up to the sky!
Together, we reach heights of happiness and fulfillment beyond our imagination
I float along in silver clouds
As I continue to experience these emotions, I feel like I'm floating on clouds
To bathe in beauty all around
I'm completely immersed in the beauty I see and feel
Contributed by Layla T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.