Carmine Appice and Cactus have released a music video for “300 Pounds of Joy,” a cover of the Howlin’ Wolf classic featured on their latest album, Temple of Blues II, available now through Cleopatra Records.
The track features King’s X guitarist Ty Tabor and vocalist Artie Dillon alongside Appice, who also shared his thoughts on the song and its accompanying video.
“This song is so cool, Great Howlin’ Wolf song with the killer drum groove,” Appice said. “I copied the groove and the video is awesome with a great ROCKY kind of story!”
Temple of Blues II follows the band’s previous Temple of Blues release, which featured reworkings of Cactus material. For the second installment, Appice chose to focus on blues classics and other covers, bringing together a variety of guest musicians.
“This time, I wanted to make a real blues album for Temple of Blues 2,” Appice explained. “Temple of Blues 1 was made up entirely of Cactus songs. I’ve always loved the Howlin’ Wolf album, which also gave Cactus our biggest song, ‘Evil.'”
The album features contributions from Steve Morse, Joe Lynn Turner, Rudy Sarzo, Alex Skolnick, Tracii Guns, Dee Snider, Ted Nugent, Billy Sheehan, Pat Travers, Bumblefoot and several others.
Among the tracks are “Bad Stuff,” featuring Morse, Turner, Derek Sherinian and Tony Franklin; “The Little Red Rooster,” featuring Snider, Guns and Jimmy Haslip; and “Spoonful,” featuring Nugent and Bob Daisley.
Originally formed in 1970 by Appice and bassist Tim Bogert following their time in Vanilla Fudge, Cactus became known for their blues-influenced hard rock sound. The band has undergone several lineup changes and reunions over the decades, with Appice continuing to lead the group.
Temple of Blues II is available on CD, vinyl and digital platforms.
Watch the music video for “300 Pounds of Joy” below.
Temple of Blues II track listing:
1. Back Door Man Pt. 1 & 2 (feat. Eric Gales & Billy Sheehan)
2. 300 Pounds of Joy (feat. Ty Tabor)
3. Moanin’ at Midnight (feat. Pat Travers)
4. Down in the Bottom (feat. Dug Pinnick)
5. Token Chokin’ (feat. Bumblefoot)
6. Bad Stuff (feat. Steve Morse, Joe Lynn Turner, Derek Sherinian & Tony Franklin)
7. Tail Dragger (feat. Rudy Sarzo & Alex Skolnick)
8. The Little Red Rooster (feat. Dee Snider, Tracii Guns & Jimmy Haslip)
9. Purple Haze (feat. Melanie)
10. Spoonful (feat. Ted Nugent & Bob Daisley)
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CD bonus track:
11. Feel So Good (feat. Billy Sheehan & Britt Lightning)
