Near the Beginning

Near the Beginning (ATCO Records 33–278) is the fourth album by the American psychedelic rock band Vanilla Fudge. It was released early 1969 and featured a cover of the Jr. Walker & the All Stars song "Shotgun".

Near the Beginning
Studio album by Vanilla Fudge
Released	February 1969
Studio	Mirasound (New York) Record Plant (New York) Shrine Auditorium
Genre	Psychedelic rock
Length	44:10 (original LP) 46:56 (1991 CD) 57:44 (1998 CD)
Label	Atco
Producer	Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge chronology
Renaissance (1968) Near the Beginning (1969) Rock & Roll (1969)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Džuboks	(Mixed) [2]

The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard album charts in March 1969.

As of 2025, the album has not been added to streaming services.

Track listing

Side 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Shotgun"	Autry DeWalt	6:10
2.	"Some Velvet Morning"	Lee Hazlewood	7:34
3.	"Where Is Happiness"	Carmine Appice	6:59

Side 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
4.	"Break Song" (Live at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles)	Carmine Appice, Tim Bogert, Vince Martell, Mark Stein	23:27

1991 Repertoire Records CD bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"The Look of Love"	Burt Bacharach, Hal David	2:46

1998 Sundazed Music CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Good Good Lovin'" (Unedited version)	Carmine Appice, Tim Bogert, Vince Martell, Mark Stein	5:45
6.	"Shotgun" (Single version)	Autry DeWalt	2:33
7.	"People" (Single)	Carmine Appice, Tim Bogert, Vince Martell, Mark Stein	5:20

Personnel

• Carmine Appice - drums, vocals
• Tim Bogert - bass, vocals
• Vince Martell - guitar, vocals
• Mark Stein - lead vocals, keyboards

Charts

Chart (1969)	Peak position
Italian Albums (HitParadeItalia)[3]	1