THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: April 2021 (Page 8 of 11)

CHICKENFOOT – III

April 16, 2021 /

I’ll admit to not being the world’s biggest Sam The Sham fan. Hell, I’d goe as far to say I positively hate the guy. He is one of the luckiest guys around, and has made his name by leeching off the talent of others. He has a half decent voice, and his lyrics are 12 year old school boy at best. So why did you buy this I hear you ask? Well, the band musically are killer, and live they were amazing – once I got past the aerobic keep fit nonsense from the singer. If you surround yourself with quality you can’t fail right? Joe Satriani on guitar, Chad Smith on drums and Michael Anthony on bass. That’s one hell of a line up to be in front of.

Last Temptation is a good solid opening track and rocks hard. Alright Alright is an ok tune, but the endless singing of the chorus gets a bit grating. Different Devil is next and is a typical Hagar solo tune. Up Next is…well err…Up Next, and is similar to the jam style tunes that were on the first record – it has a nice groove and some nice playing from Joe. Lighten Up closes out Side 1 and starts quite interesting with the Hammond effect on Joe’s guitar, but it turns into a straight up rock tune.

Side 2 kicks off with wimp ballad city with Come Closer. Three And A Half Letters was Hagar’s attempt at writing about the social climate and the economy. Big Foot was the lead off single and gets joint best track on the album award. A great riff from Joe, and the killer groove from Chad and Mike really drives this song along. Dubai Blues is next up and is the other great track on the album. Again, it has that loose jam feel to it which is when this band is cooking. Great playing all around. The last track, Something Going Wrong, is quite a chill ending to what is a fairly rocking album.

This record is not as good as the first album, which is a shame, as that was going in the right direction.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND – SAHB Stories

April 16, 2021 /

I’ll admit to The Harvey’s being one of my favourite bands since I was at school. Having their logo emblazoned on my school bag. They were formed in Glasgow in ’72 by bringing Alex together with the hard rocking band Tear Gas. It was a mix of theater and killer tunes. They were always painting pictures with the stories that were told. They were insultingly compared to Alice Cooper, as the journo’s could not pin them down, and he was the nearest visually to what they were doing.

Starting off with the excellent Dance To Your Daddy, then things move up a few gears with one of my favourite SAHB tunes, Amos Moses. Killer riff and epic groove, and Zal letting loose on the guitar. Worth the price of admission alone kiddies! Jungle Rub Out is next, and in typical SAHB fashion, we take a little left turn musically where Alex is doing his best lounge lizard impression before the heavy chorus kicks in. Side 1 ends with Sirocco, the most unusual track on the album, a slow middle eastern meets blues/jazz crossover.

Side 2 begins with the one SAHB track that everyone should have heard of, Boston Tea Party. Top 20 in the charts, and rightly so – it is a great track. It wasn’t their highest single chart placing – that would be a cover of Delilah. Sultans Choice is next up and a great riff from Zal announces its arrival. It’s just an old rock n roll tune updated somewhat. The rock funk of 25$ For A Massage slides on in, and is another killer tune with a great groove. The last track on the album would also be the heaviest track the band would put on record – the fantastic Dogs Of War. What an end to the album! That huge riff and the lyric about mercenaries.

Released in ’76, it still holds up well and I still play it often.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

EARTHSHAKER – Fugitive

April 8, 2021 /

Out of the three big Japanese rock/metal bands of the 80’s, Earthshaker were the least well known behind Loudness and Bow Wow. The band were formed in ’78 and this is their second album, and the copy I have is on Music For Nations. Weirdly enough, even though the song titles are written in English (apart from the opening track), they are sung in Japanese. This does take away from the vibe for me as it’s really hard to sing along and get to know the tracks.

The songs are pretty basic and not setting the world alight, and the production is a bit flat. Musically, in places, it’s in the NWOBHM style and I can see why MFN signed them. In quieter moments, they are very AOR before it became fashionable. The stand out track for me is Drive Me Crazy, which is a fairly standard up tempo rocker but outshines anything else on the record. The best I can say is it’s an ok album.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS – Call It What It Is

April 8, 2021 /

Ben Harper, for those who don’t know, is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and multi- collaborator. This is his third album with the Innocent Criminals. I don’t like the term “Americana”, but this would be where the album firmly lies. A good mix of blues, reggae, folk, and a little Rock, make this album very diverse and eclectic.

Opening number, When Sex Was Dirty, is a fun up-tempo track. Deeper And Deeper is a typical American folk rock tune. Call It What It Is is deep in blues territory and is very heavy subject matter – dealing with police violence and racism. How Dark Is Gone has a very Latin feel, and carries on the dark lyrical theme. Shine starts with a Fender Rhodes intro before dropping into an off-groove reggae vibe – a really cool tune. All That Has Grown is an acoustic delta blues short piece to close out Side 1.

Pink Balloon brings us back to rock territory and possibly the grooviest tune on the whole album. Other than old country, the other genre I don’t like too much is reggae – so the next track, Finding Our Way, is my least favourite on the record. Bones has an old school RnB vibe in the Marvin Gaye tradition. Dance Like Fire is firmly in the folk/country vein, and last track Goodbye To You is a sad ending to the album as it deals with loss.

Sometimes music should do more than just entertain, and this album tries to educate those who are blind to what’s around them.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Archives

© 2025 THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑