THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: January 2, 2021

HAWKWIND – Quark, Strangeness and Charm

January 2, 2021 /

Somewhat of a British Institution, Hawkwind were called new age before it came fashionable. This version is the 2020 RSD double clear vinyl. More famous outside of the UK for giving birth to Motörhead – as them firing Lemmy directly led to the birth of that band. The term Space Rock was, to my knowledge, first given to Hawkwind as their imagery and lyrics were all about other worlds and science fiction – partly due to there collaboration with sci-fi author Michael Moorcock.

This album, believe it or not, spawned 2 singles. The lead off track Spirit of the Age, which is just a simple rocker, and the title track Quark, Strangeness and Charm, which I have always liked – with a robotic simple chorus by Bob Calvert that won’t leave your mind. The second disc is given over to alternate versions and takes.

I remember seeing them play live and the track Damnation Alley would extend forever in the middle eight section so all the hippies could trip out. Hawkwind would do that quite a lot as their gigs were really long. I always thought their albums were really out there at the time, but the years that have passed I have realized that is not the case and the songs are quite simple.

I am sure if Hawkwind had all the technology available to them from today, their imagery and themes would have blown peoples minds. Dave Brock is still out there touring as Hawkwind, or which other incarnation of Hawk he is doing, and more power to him for doing it.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

U.S. METAL – Vol. II

January 2, 2021 /

Nostalgia time for rockers of a certain age. I remember buying the first instalment of this series when I lived in the UK back in ’81. So when I found that there were 2 more instalments in the series, I snapped them up years later.

The premise or subtitle to these compilations was to give groove space to unsung guitar hero’s of the time – courtesy of Mike Varney of Shrapnel records fame. In fact his band Cinema contribute the 2nd track on the album Rockin’ In The US.

If you are like me and love everything guitar, then these are the compilations for you. They do sound a bit dated as the production isn’t great, but these albums are 100% fun and capture the time perfectly when metal bands were coming out of the woodwork. Very early performances by John Ricci (Exciter), Josh Ramos, David “the rock” Feinstein, Mike Batio, Marty Friedman (when he was in a band called Vixen), and Jack Starr. There is no shortage of great players. There are a couple of dodgy tracks namely Culprit who do a very bad Rush impersonation, and the Michael Batio solo piece which is just widdle for widdles sake.

So if you’re of a certain and age and can still headbang without the aid of a walking frame – then this baby is for you.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

MICK KARN – More Better Different

January 2, 2021 /

What we have here is the ninth solo album by Japan bassist Mick Karn. Whilst Mick is mostly known for his time in Japan, he is also an artist. His music is often created to go together with his art pieces or gallery exhibitions.

Incredible bass player as he is, this album goes from funk, jazz, to atmospheric, ambient pieces. While this is by no means a get up and groove record, it is a great relaxing piece to listen to after a stressful day. Mostly instrumental pieces – though some tracks do have looped vocal as on Atlantic B-Boot or a spoken word style on Never Thought. I think Mick either plays or samples all instruments on the album, although I am sure there is a physical drummer on at least one track even though it is not credited.

So would the everyday Joe buy this if he had it in his grubby mits? No, he would not. You either have to be interested in Mick himself, a collector of Japan related material, or a fan of avant garde ambient jazz. I myself am a fan of his bass style so I am weird enough to have bought this.

5/10 from The Grooveman.

Archives

© 2025 THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑