THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: November 19, 2020

GENESIS – Foxtrot

November 19, 2020 /

It’s amazing to look at the release date of 1972 and think where did all the time go? I can vividly remember listening to this way back when through the mists of time and thinking “wow what an amazing album”, and it still is. When you consider all the great albums that have come since, it still holds up well. I guess good songs will always be good songs.

Kicking things off with what is one of my favourite Genesis songs, Watcher of the Skies and followed by Time Table, Get Em Out By Friday, and closing the side with Cam-Utility and the Coastliners – you think no way can Side 2 be any better?! Then you turn over and the complete side is the classic Suppers Ready.

Any other band would call this the peak of creativity but Genesis went on to record The Lamb. Man they were great around this period – a completely different beast that came along much later. Gabriel’s lyrics and imagery are on a different level to all around him at the time. It’s hard to believe but Phil Collins never sang a note as a vocalist at this point sticking to being the drummer. This is a wonderful record, and is still held in high regard in Prog circles to this day. Many bands have tried to emulate and copy their style (Marillion- Script for a Jesters Tear) but none have surpassed what early Genesis created. In fact, it can be argued that a whole movement sprung up because of this period of Genesis. This and Nursery Crime are still go to records for me.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND – The Roaring Silence

November 19, 2020 /

It’s not often that someone records a Springsteen song and blows The Boss out of the park. Yet that’s exactly what happens with Blinded By The Light. The Earth Band’s version went to Number 1 all over the world and outsold Mann’s earlier sixties releases. MMEB released three great albums together, Nightingales and Bombers, Solar Fire, and this, each one as good as each other but the Roaring Silence had the killer single.

After a killer opening 1,2 of Blinded and Sailing the Dolphin Through, Side 1 closes out with instrumental Waiter There’s a Yawn in My Ear, which showcases what a great keyboard player Mann is. Side 2 starts with The Road to Babylon which I think was the follow up single to Blinded, and while it’s a great song, it doesn’t have that touch of greatness as Blinded. The album closes out with Questions, another great song and what finishes what could be the last great Prog album of the 70’s. Great vocal from Chris Thompson throughout and complimented with tasty guitar by Dave Flett, and a young Chris Slade on drums who would later go on to fill the drum stool for AC/DC.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

JEAN MICHEL JARRE – Oxygene

November 19, 2020 /

I remember this being a bit of a ground breaking album at the time as I think the single Oxygene Part 4 was the first number one single in the UK that was all electronic. Basically this album is all one piece of music that is split into six parts. It’s way ahead of its time as the ambient movement was in its infancy at the time, and would reference this album album as a big influence. I’ve always loved this album since I first bought in ’77 as it is a very relaxing record. Sure it does sound dated compared to what electronic music is around today, but Jarre is doing some great soundscapes before it became fashionable. Sure there were bands like Tangerine Dream that were doing experimental electronic music at the time, but Jarre made it palatable for the masses – hence the success of the single which went to number 1 in the singles charts across Europe.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

GARY MOORE – Corridors of Power

November 19, 2020 /

The first thing that my British chums will notice is the different cover shot. This is a Canadian copy on the Mirage label. Other than the GForce project, this was Moore’s first foray into the hard rock market as a solo artist. His first solo outing Back on the Streets was more of a jam/fusion style like the Colosseum 2 project he was involved with.

Kicking things off with the rockin’ ballad Don’t Take Me For a Loser, this sets the tone for most of the record. Strong songs, good melodies, and killer guitar breaks. Later on in his blues phase, he said he hated this hard rock period and I have to say I am surprised to hear him say that as he was really good at it.

Side 2 bursts in with the incendiary End of the World, which showcases what Moore was all about at the time. Incredible showmanship on the guitar, in fact, this was his big show piece when played live on this tour.

Fun fact!!! I got to see Moore on this tour at Leeds University with freebies I got for winning tickets in a competition on Radio Aire at the time. You had to get a lady to phone into the station saying what they thought of Gary Moore. I managed to get my mother to phone in saying he had a face like a welders bench. Happy Days.

Anyway, this is great album by Moore and it gets a 8/10 from The Grooveman.

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