THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: April 2021 (Page 3 of 11)

VOIVOD – Dimension Hatross

April 26, 2021 /

Other than poutine and tourtiere, VOIVOD is Quebec’s best export to the world. Born in the early eighties at the end of the first wave of thrash – it’s always amazed me how they never became bigger. This album and the one after (Nothingface) are classic metal albums that I would recommend any metal fan to own.

There is a lot going on within the music. We go from basic thrash, to punk, to speed metal, and we venture off even into progressive territory. This album is a concept album based around the exploits of the band’s mascot, Korgull. Bands like Meshuggah name check them as an influence, and there are a myriad of other acts that site them as an influence as well. They were once even called the Frank Zappa of metal, and I sort of get that musically. No song breakdown here as it’s just a great metal album of the era. Huge riffs, clever time changes, crushingly heavy in places, and there are no hooks or melodies for you to sing along to – just great challenging metal.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

AVERAGE WHITE BAND – Feel No Fret

April 26, 2021 /

I am forever amazed that this bunch of hairy-kilt-wearers from Scotland can produce such amazing funky soulful music. This is the seventh full length album the band released, and it came out late ’78/early ’79 depending on where you are in the world. The band are driven along by the amazing talents of Alan Gorrie and Hamish Stuart, who share vocal duties and write most of the material.

When Will You Be Mine gets things underway and sets the tone for the rest of the album. Grooves a plenty to make you get up and dance – a fantastic opening tune! Please Don’t Fall In Love has that distinct Philly soul groove, and is another killer tune. The Hal David and Burt Bacharach classic, Walk On By, is next but done in an almost funk/reggae beat – a fantastic rendition. The title track, Feel No Fret, closes out Side 1 and is an absolute beast of a tune. The underlying groove feels a bit like Exodus by Bob Marley, but seriously funked up. Another killer tune!

Side 2 starts with Stop The Rain – another funked up Philly soul sound. Atlantic Avenue was the song that got all the attention upon release, as all the critics raved about it as it was released as a single. Ace Of Hearts follows, and is slightly disappointing – its not as strong a tune as everything else. Too Late To Cry is the slow smooch tune of the album as the groove is a lot slower. The album closes out with Fire Burning and it is a full on disco experience.

Not quite as outstanding as earlier releases as Side 2 lets the album down somewhat, but it does contain two band classics.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

OZRIC TENTACLES – Strangeitude

April 25, 2021 /

These guys are one of the most prolific bands around – having released over 30 albums since their inception back in ’83. The first six albums were released on cassette only, so this album is the 3rd proper release in ’91. Musically, they are a very diverse band, ranging from the early fusion/psych, to prog/space rock, and then to more electronic/ambient/trance of their more modern releases. The only constant member throughout their career is founder/guitarist, Ed Wynne. A great player and one of the great unsung guitar heroes.

Opening track, White Rhino Tea, is a lesson in great British fusion. Great playing from all musicians with some serious grooves being put down. The Ed Wynne penned, Sploosh, is next and it has a very hypnotic trance like groove. Saucers starts with a classical guitar and then the keys kick in and we are in ambient groove heaven. If you want music to totally relax and groove to, then you should invest immediately.

Side 2 starts with the title track, Strangeitude, and it begins with a very middle eastern vibe until the stop start keyboards give way to more hypnotic grooves. A very trippy track that just makes you want to move. The middle eastern feel continues with Bizarre Bazaar, but this time the groove is heavier and faster with some fantastic guitar. I assume Soft Machine, and Weather Report were influences of the band as I can hear the similarities. Last track, Space Between Your Ears, starts off dub/reggae style before we enter into the more chill out grooves. There is no other band like the Ozrics, and they consistently put out great instrumental records. Definitely one of the world’s best kept secrets, and I love them.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SAIGON KICK – s/t

April 25, 2021 /

Saigon Kick are a very puzzling band. This was their first album and was released in ’91 – right at the height of all things grunge. There are a couple of tracks that have that slight feel to them, but overall, musically, they scream hair metal – or whatever you want to call it. There are melodies and harmonies in every song, which is about as anti-grunge as you can get. The album after this one, The Lizard, would be the one to score big for the band, as the top twenty song, Love Is On The Way, was on that record. This album is a lot more quirky. Tracks like, What Do You Do, sort of defy description. It has a spoken lyric with a heavy guitar, but it reminds me of Devo.

The opening two tracks, New World, and Want You Say, are really good tunes. The first great track is Suzy. It’s funky bass line and guitar leap out of the speakers – and Extreme spring to mind here. I think one of the things that make them hard to pigeonhole is the vocals of Matt Kramer. He has a very unusual timbre to his voice. Colours is the first normal rock style track, and it’s really good with a nice solo from Jason Bieler. The very heavy riff of Love Of God changes the vibe somewhat (this could almost be an Alice In Chains track), and has that new wave feel to the track. I love the picked chord progression and the chorus on this track. Down By The Ocean is the weirdest track on the album – it’s lyrically strange and disturbing. The shortest track on the album is Acid Rain, which has a fat riff and nursery rhyme style lyric. My Life follows, and is trying to hard to be Queen in their weirder moments – it is my least favourite on the record. Month Of Sundays could be a Megadeth riff and is the heaviest track on the album. Ugly has the sleaziest of riffs and sounds like it could be a song from an LA hair band. Come Take Me Now shows how great songwriters Matt Kramer and Jason Bieler can be when they put the weird to one side. ICU has a typical hair metal riff and is a really good song.

So as you can tell, musically they are all over the place. They would hone their skills and zone in for the next album. I do really like weird, and things here are a bit different from the norm, so this gets…

An 8/10 from The Grooveman.

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