THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: April 2021 (Page 6 of 11)

ROCK CANDY FUNK PARTY – The Groove 3

April 20, 2021 /

This the brainchild of drummer and bassist Tal Bergman, and Ron De Jesus who wanted to expand on the Groove project they had together. Bergman was in Bonamassa’s band at the time, and he loves these collaborations – so a band was born. Add Prince’s keyboard player, Renata Neto, and this band is looking killer. The band is a groove machine Live, as the Blu Ray Live At The Iridium showcases. This album and the two previous recordings are a funk lovers paradise, as the band have explored different facets of the genre over the three albums. It’s mostly instrumental with only a couple of tracks with vocals – my type of album!!!

The first two tracks have that New Orleans feel to them as the titles suggest, Gothic Orleans and Drunk On Bourbon On Bourbon Street. Third track in, In The Groove, is just fantastic, some serious grooves and playing by Neto on the Fender Rhodes, and Bonamassa on the guitar. Don’t Even Try It is the first track with vocals and has a Prince vibe to it. The very slow funk/jazz of Two Guys And Stanley Kubrick Walk Into A Bar is showing how to experiment and shows something new in a genre that’s not changed for over twenty years. Isle Of Wright Brothers is just a short interlude, before Mr. Space slaps you back to funky town and is another killer funk groove experience. It reminds me of a soundtrack to one of those cheap American cop shows of the seventies. I Got The Feelin’ is next and you should dust off those dancing shoes as the spirit of James Brown is in the house. After Hours follows, and again, slows the pace right down with that deep funky bass line. This Tune Should Run For President has that seventies fusion vibe to it, and another great track rolls on by. Bergman gets to do a crazy drum solo piece next and we’re on to side 4.

The heavy groove of Funk-O-Potamia kicks off the final side, and great playing from everybody here. The Token Ballad is the penultimate track and is most definitely not! It’s probably the heaviest track on the album. I see what you did there! Last track, Ping Pong, is almost a trad jazz piece and sounds as though everyone is having a blast. I really like this album and the two others they did previously. If you have groove in your soul, then this is most definitely for you.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

BUDGIE – Deliver Us From Evil

April 20, 2021 /

This is Budgie’s 10th studio release, and other than an attempted comeback in 2006, this would be their last. This album is a much more melodic and commercial album compared to their other releases, and it was received pretty poorly by the critics at the time. They accused main man Burke Shelley of bringing his new found Christian values into the music, although, I can’t really see that. What you do get is a great melodic rock album with great songs. great melodies, and some killer playing.

Opening track, Bored With Russia, is the only track not written by the band and was written by American producer, Beau Hill – a great opening tune. Next up is the fantastic Don’t Cry, a great tune with a great riff and some tasty guitar from John Thomas. What you do notice is that there is a ton of keyboards on most of the tracks, and whether that was what the critics were moaning about I’m not sure. The pretty straightforward Truth Drug follows, a typical Budgie track. Next song, Young Girl, is the only track that doesn’t sound like the band – it could be any American rock band from this period of the time. Side closer and the album epic track, Flowers In The Attic, is based on the book of the same name by V.C. Andrews. Very slow build up, with the stolen Randy Rhoads middle section, and the big rock ending.

Side 2 opener, N.O.R.A.D, is another attempt at writing a song about an apocalyptic future. It is a really good tune with some excellent playing, and again another killer middle section. Give Me The Truth is a straight up decent hard rock song. Alison is the obligation wimp out ballad track that is a great mood killer. Finger On The Button is probably the band’s blatant attempt at a single – at least that’s what is sounds like to me. Album close out track, Hold On To Love (which would turn out to be the final recorded output of the band for over 25 years) has a Maiden style gallop with a very sing a long melodic chorus – a good end to a good album.

Guitarist, John Thomas, who is sadly no longer with us was one of the great unsung guitar heroes of the time. I saw the band a few times and he was killer live – as were all of the band.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

CRAWLER – Snake Rattle And Roll

April 19, 2021 /

Crawler were formed as an offshoot to Back Street Crawler after the tragic death of guitarist Paul Kossoff. This is the band’s second album from 1978. Even though the blues are present in certain songs, they are not as upfront as when Kossof was around. The tunes are a lot more radio friendly with an eye on commercial success and are going in a hard rock direction. Geoff Whitehorn is a worthy replacement for Kossoff and is a great guitar player, and in Terry Wilson Slessor they have a great vocalist.

First track, Sail On, has American radio written all over it and is a great song. Disc Heroes is one of the blues based tunes on the album. How Will You Break My Heart has a touch of soul and funk about it, Slesser sounds like Rod Stewart in places, and a great solo from Whithorn make this a great tune. Muddy Water follows, and as the title suggests, is a blues based song but done ballad style. Last song on Side 1 is First Class Operator – a shuffle boogie and an ok tune.

Side 2 starts with Where Is The Money? It’s done in a reggae style and has a great chorus and some great guitar. Hold On follows and is a short pretty pointless joke hick tune. Midnight Blues is another big ballad which builds nicely. Liar could have been an Eagles tune as the melodies remind me of them. It has a killer lead break from Whitehorn and it makes this one of the best tracks on the album. Final track, One Way Street, is a nice rockin’ ending to the album.

After this album they all went their separate ways, and other than 3 live records that were release over 20 years later, that was it. I bought this when it first came out and I still play it occasionally.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT – s/t

April 19, 2021 /

God Is An Astronaut are an Irish post-rock band from Ireland and formed in 2002. This is their fourth studio album from 2008, and this version is a 2015 reissue. I think they are a very unique band as they deal in instrumental music, which is a hard thing to do when creating soundscapes with melody when there are no solos all whilst trying to keep the listener engaged. It was nominated for Album Of The Year in some magazines, and rightly so, as the melodies do shine through the wall of sound approach to the guitars. Synths are used to add textures when needed. It’s a great album to put on and lose yourself in and unwind to.

I have a couple of favourite tracks: Echoes from Side 1, and Shores of Orion from Side 2. Both of these tracks are lifted by the musicality in each of the tunes, and I love the way the fast strumming of the guitar is used to great effect to create a heavy dynamic. A great album and a great a band. If you are unfamiliar with their work this would be a nice entry point.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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