Did you know Chubby Checker made a psychedelic record? He sure did — Chequered! in 1971. Truthfully, it’s more of a soul album, or psychedelic soul.
On the strength of his various dance craze hits — namely The Twist and its offshoots — Ernest “Chubby Checker” Evans made 15 studio albums between 1960 and 1965. He didn’t make another studio album until Chequered! And then 11 years later, The Change Has Come in 1982. Chequered! showed up six years after his heyday, with the kind of music that would have been way more popular about four years earlier. But with the benefit of generational perspective and retrospective tastes, we can evaluate this oddball gem fairly.
First, like Satan, it is known by many names. Initially it was Chequered!, but my copy is a 1976 pressing from France called Chubby Checker. There are other versions called Slow Twistin’ (Belgium, 1976), New Revelation (U.S., 1982), Chubby Checker Goes Psychedelic! (U.S., 2007), and The Other Side Of Chubby Checker (Germany, unknown year). Original U.K. pressing copies of Chequered! on London Records fetches upwards of $300 CAD in near-mint condition. The album isn’t on Spotify, but can be found on YouTube and Deezer.
Chequered! was recorded in Holland by producer Ed Chalpin, who convinced Checker to put out some of his own compositions, done in a psychedelic soul style. Chalpin is perhaps best-known as the guy who is responsible for giving Jimi Hendrix his first contract in 1965. Hendrix was the guitarist in the Chalpin-managed Curtis Knight & The Squires. Initially, the album — done with studio musicians and featuring all original material — was only released in Europe. I’m having an impossible time trying to figure out who the musicians are or what studio it was done in. Most likely, it happened at Vitus Studios/Bussem Radio in Rotterdam. That’s the studio where Chalpin recorded some of the early Hendrix/Knight stuff in 1967. Wherever it was made, the album bombed, didn’t chart at all — anywhere. Checker apparently refuses to talk about the album, and Chalpin passed away in 2009.
So, how does it sound? The album opens with the awesome, epic How Does It Feel — refreshingly loose and rockin’. A little bit Joe Cocker, a little bit Hendrix without the signature guitar or musicianship, and obviously a little Bob Dylan because of the refrain. It’s a much better song than any of his well-known hits and old chestnuts and at 7:46, probably three times longer too. On most copies, next is Stoned In The Bathroom, which probably gets ripped for playlists and mixes more than any other song on the record due to its title and the juxtaposition of the subject matter vs. the artist. “Stoned in the bathroom, just sitting on the moon.” It’s reminiscent of Hendrix’s Stone Free, for sure. Goddamn, it’s mixed horribly.
No Need To Get So Heavy is next, a much better-mixed one. It’s groovier too. If this song had horns it could be Blood, Sweat & Tears. Reminds me a bit of Crowbar. Chubby certainly had some things to say. “No need to get so heavy about all the things that have gone down,” he sings. “Just look in the mirror and you’ll see things that have always been there in your town. The time is doing the same thing. The cities are doing the same thing. And the people are doing the same thing, too small to do anything about the way they feel.”
That’s followed by Let’s Go Down, a little more novelty-ish, this one, courtesy of the playful organ lick. It gets funky, though — somewhat hard to categorize. Again, a bit BS&T or Chambers Brothers. There’s quite a difference in this song being called Let’s Go Down and not Let’s Get Down. Therein lies the essence of what makes this album unique in Checker’s catalog.
The last song on the first side is My Mind. it has a bit of a Cream vibe to start — and ohh, Chubby really belts it out on this one. I feel like I’ve heard this song before. It could have been a hit for someone who wasn’t typecasted the way Checker was. The mystery lead guitarist really goes for a Hendrix face-melter on this. Fun, though is after the solo he (or she) goes back to the rhythm setting but the volume stays up. This is a fantastic song, the most psychedelic one so far.
Goodbye Victoria starts the second side, with considerably more effect on Chub’s vocals. This one is a cool heavy piano riff which cascades into a soaring chorus. He’s a good songwriter! The curiously titled Love Tunnel is next — fast and heavy. I’m pretty sure it’s neither a double-entendre nor about a midway attraction. There’s some “freaky” right-left-right panning going on throughout the song, trying to make you fall over. There’s a very ’60s psych semi-spoken breakdown section. Poor Chubby, this record is great. This is the album The Animals tried to make when they did the awful, awful The Twain Shall Meet. This is how it’s done, lads.
Slow Lovin’ is the antepenultimate track. Greasy, greasy, greasy. Oh, man. Just great, with a ripper of a solo. It’s basically a Jeff Beck Group song. Incredible. Then it’s the weird, sparse and haunting Crucifixion ballad, He Died. Damn, it’s dark. Reminds me a bit of I’d Be So Happy by Three Dog Night. I have never heard a Christ-on-the-cross song like this. Wow, it’s pretty special. In a good way.
Finally, the album wraps with the slightly brighter ballad If The Sun Stopped Shining. Chubby’s going for an anthem here. It’s a bit low for his voice, really. At the very least, he should have just taken another few runs at the vocal. This one is missing something — backing vocals, perhaps. The organs are really loud. It also needs more room to breathe. Chubby’s vocal is constant all through it. Definitely the weakest track. Shame, because otherwise this album is almost perfect. It’s still 4/5.
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
