THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: February 2021 (Page 2 of 12)

WEATHER REPORT – 8:30

February 25, 2021 /

This is one of those amazing albums that you can lose yourself in and is pure joy to listen to. This was the 10th album that Weather Report released, and actually won a Grammy for best Jazz Fusion performance in ’79. It captures the classic line up of the band: Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Jaco Pastorius, and Tye awesome Pete Erskine on the pots and pans. Very wide ranging in style, from world/African, Jazz, Rock, and fusion – this is just a fantastic record and is a lesson in groove and rhythm.

Check out opening track Black Market – it has everything I have just mentioned. It’s a wonderful track with some amazing playing by all concerned. If anyone was in any doubt just how amazing Jaco Pastorius was on the bass – just listen to his solo piece, Slang. Incredible! In places, this is an incredibly groovy record. With Teen Town the groove never stops, Birdland with its infectious boogie-woogie style, and The Orphan with its African rhythms.

I know there is more music now than there has ever been, but you really have to dig to find bands playing like this. Other than Snarky Puppy, there aren’t many young bands playing with this much freedom. If you would like to dip your toe into the waters of Weather Report, you could start with this or try anything after ’74 when the groove was the primary focus.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

JERRY CANTRELL – Degradation Trip

February 25, 2021 /

The Alice In Chains album that never was. Rumour has it that the majority of these songs were to be for the next AIC album, but due to Staley’s on going substance problems, Cantrell used them for this solo release. Staley would die of his drug problems two months before this album’s release, and it is dedicated to him.

Jerry is joined here by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo on bass (who at the time, was part of Ozzy’s band), and Faith No More’s Mike Bordin on drums. The record sounds very much like Alice In Chains as Jerry’s voice is so distinctive, and he provided the melody with Staley to create that sound. He doesn’t get enough credit for those albums other than being the guitar player.

For me, this album is one of the best grunge albums of all time. This is not all doom and depression – there is a lot going on here, great well written songs, awesome playing, and superb production. The opening track could be the best song that Alice In Chains never recorded. There were two singles released: Anger Rising and Angel Eyes, Angel Eyes being the most commercial. Other stand out tracks are Side 2 close out track Hellbound (which I like a lot), the unusual Castaway, which starts off real slow until the fat guitar kicks in, the awesome Chemical Tribe, which is a very dark tune with a very simple riff, and the fat heavy riff of Spiderbite. There are a couple of tunes that aren’t great, but overall it’s a good album.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

GILLAN – Future Shock

February 24, 2021 /

After Gillan’s departure from Deep Purple, he was in the musical wilderness for a few years. The releases were very patchy until he released Mr Universe in ’79 when the NWOBHM was in full swing. With the addition of a hotshot guitar player (Bernie Torme) and a more raw rocked up sound, Gillan found some solo success. Gillan’s love of old school rock’n’roll is evident with the inclusion of what was a hit single, New Orleans, and the Lieber/Stoller classic, Trouble. One of his first professional bands was Episode Six, and two of his band mates from that band join him here, Colin Towns and Mick Underwood.

Opening track is the title track and is a decent tune with good vocals and some raw guitar from Torme. Night Ride Out Of Phoenix is again a decent tune with an odd groove and a cool riff. Mutually Assured Destruction is a strange tune, not a bad vocal from Gillan and some cool guitar – I just think it’s a weak song. Bite The Bullet is the best song on this side. It starts off with a cool barroom piano, then we are off with a great up tempo rocker with some nice guitar from Torme. Side 1 ends with If I Sing Softly, the obligatory power ballad.

Side 2 begins with the best song on the album, if not Gillan’s best solo track – and to add extra sauce – it was also a hit single. Borrowed heavily from Gillan’s love of rock’n’roll, but twisted around to give it that huge dose of originality. His vocal is fantastic and Bernie’s over driven guitar is just perfect. Don’t Want The Truth and One More For The Road are fairly straightforward rockers. For Your Dreams is an interesting ending to the album with an almost Supertramp feel to the song.

The one thing you get from Gillan’s solo albums is the material was never that strong. Each album had its highlights for sure, but the quality never stretched to the whole album. I think this was the main reason he went back to Purple as the money was guaranteed.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

GENESIS – Live

February 24, 2021 /

This was recorded in ’73 and released in ’74. A fantastic document of what the classic line up of Genesis were all about at the time. It’s only 5 songs as I’m sure it was edited down for this single LP release, but all killer and no filler. The songs that are represented here are from the albums Trespass, Nursery Cryme, and Foxtrot. The album was recorded at Leicester De Montfort, and Manchester Free Trade, both stops on the gig circuit at the time.

The absolute epic Watcher Of The Skies opens things up with a nice Melotron intro, which is about as Prog as it gets. Get Em Out By Friday is next, with Gabriel doing his finest cockney impression deep in character. I know they went onto mega stardom, and Collins became the housewives favourite, but Gabriel was all that was great about Genesis and when he left they were a completely different band. The last track on this side is one of the best songs they ever recorded, The Return Of The Giant Hogweed. I think it sounds better here than the original.

Just the two tracks on Side 2 with The Musical Box and The Knife both bonafide classics. The Musical Box is my personal favourite Genesis song. The lyrics and the way they are delivered by Gabriel is fantastic. Musically, this song as everything that made Prog great at the time, intricate quiet passages that lead into the up-tempo ending. It does sound a bit dated if I’m honest, but I still really like it. The Knife closes the album out and was always a crowd favourite.

This was the end of phase one of the Gabriel era. The next two albums; Selling England and The Lamb, would be his last contributions to the band. If you like your Prog “very Prog” then you can’t go wrong with this.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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