THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: May 2021 (Page 11 of 15)

THE JOE PERRY PROJECT- Let The Music Do The Talking

May 10, 2021 /

The Joe Perry Project were actually formed whilst Perry was still a member of Aerosmith. At the time, the Aero ones were all off their relative faces on all sorts of exotic substances, and the record company were at loss to know what to do with them. The label CBS openly encouraged Perry to do this project hoping it would give Tyler a boost to get him up and rockin’ again. With Perry being on the same label, it would be easy to bring him back when the time was right.

As you would expect, the music does have the same vibe as the Aero ones – but with a lot more Joe. The first and title track is such a great song, that when Perry went back to Aerosmith, Tyler could not wait to sing it live. Vocalist Ralph Morman has a great voice and suits these songs perfectly. Conflict Of Interest could have been a Smith outtake – it’s that close. Discount Dogs has a real funky swagger until the cool time change for the chorus – with some killer Joe guitar. Shooting Star has the real big riff to start and could have been a Smith song. Side closer, Break Song, is an instrumental, and is one of my favourite Aerosmith related tunes – this bad boy is all groove and plenty of Joe. Freakin’ awesome tune!

Side 2 kicks off with the funky tones of Rockin’ Train – a seriously groovy tune. Next up is The Mist Is Rising, and with the very dissonant guitar sound it comes over as a very sleazy song. Ready On The Firing Line seems to be missing a lead off riff, and is a bit jumbled until the funky chorus. Life At A Glance brings the album to a close, and is just a short sharp fun rock and roll song that wouldn’t have been out of place on Toys In The Attic. There were two more project albums after this and they had some good tunes, but this was the best by a mile.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

LOUDNESS – Thunder In The East

May 10, 2021 /

Even though every rock band under the sun went to Japan and seemed to be huge, there weren’t that many Japanese bands coming the other way for their chance at world domination. The best metal band to leave the land of the rising sun were Loudness and this is not open to debate. Mainly due to the extraordinary talents of guitarist, Akita Takasaki, who formed the band in ’81. They were the first Japanese metal act to sign a record deal outside of their own country. This is the 5th studio album released after the mighty Disillusion, which did really well around the world.

The first thing that you notice when opening track Crazy Nights kicks in, is how similar they sound to Accept – who also have that hard edged sound. Huge riff and killer solo. Like Hell follows, and again, as soon as the riff starts there is a very European approach to the sound. Heavy Chains is all about Akira right from the intro to the Manowar riff and the killer solo. Get Away has a very NWOBHM opening riff and vibe to the whole song. We Could Be Together closes out Side 1 and the opening riff is very reminiscent of Randy era Ozzy.

Side 2 starts with Run For Your Life with a really cool guitar heavy intro, and stands out as the most unusual track on the record as they are trying something a little different, which in my opinion, works really well. Clockwork Toy is fat riff city with double kicks and is the heaviest track on the album. No Way Out is very Schenker era UFO in sound, and a big mention to producer Max Norman for a killer production, and gave the band the huge sound that lifts the whole album. The Lines Are Down is back to NWOBHM territory with the riff and the Iron Maiden gallop. Album close out track, Never Change Your Mind, has an intro that is a near lift from Closer To The Heart, and to be honest, is a disappointing end to what is a pretty good album with its cigarette lighter feel. Remember this is 1985, and for the time it’s a good album, but listening to it now it still feels like I’m in a time warp.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

VENGEANCE – Take It Or Leave It

May 9, 2021 /

Outside of their native Holland, this band’s main claim to fame was having Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Ayreon) as the their main man and founder, and he was there up until the band split up in ’92. This album was released in ’88, and is pretty much standard hair metal with a European slant.

The opening track is a decent opening track and rocks hard. The next track, Code Of Honour, is slower and suffers from having a kid’s choir singing part of the chorus – it’s just ok. Rock N Roll Shower follows and has a stock party rock riff and is not a bad tune. Take Me To The Limit rips in with a killer riff and some double kicks, and then descends into standard rock territory. Engines tries to be Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher, and is a nice metal instrumental with Lucassen showing everyone how good he is as a guitar player. This music is a million miles away from what he does now.

Side 2 starts with Hear Me Out, and its back to glam city we go with big chants and everything. Women In The World has the big acoustic intro before a very Scorpions style rocker breaks out. Looks Of A Winner is the most American sounding of all the tracks – you can tell the market they were aiming for. Last track, Ain’t Gonna Take You Home, actually had me thinking they were going to break out into Doctor Doctor by UFO – until the big chorus kicked in and it’s definitely Friday night rock night crowd pleaser.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

THE PINEAPPLE THIEF – Dissolution

May 9, 2021 /

I’ll admit to being late to the party on The Pineapple Thief, as I wrote them off as being Porcupine Tree wannabes. Even Gavin Harrison has joined them on the old pots and pans. He has also established himself as Bruce Soord’s main songwriting partner. I think I was a bit harsh in my assessment, as I think I came to the conclusion just on the similarities in the voices of the main protagonists.

This is actually the 12th studio album from the band, and the second with Gavin. This is a concept album based (if I’m correct) on the way social media and technology lead to the dissolution of society as we know it. The album starts with a brooding piano piece, Not Naming Any Names, a very eerie opening. This leads into the more upbeat, Try As I Might, which brings the band into play and is a really good modern Prog song. Threatening War is a similar composition with a really cool middle section. Uncovering Your Tracks runs along similar lines to the previous two tracks, and the side closer, All That You’ve Got, is a more up-tempo groover of a tune – the strongest track so far.

Side 2 starts with Far Below, and I’m getting the message that this is the band’s trademark sound – even though the guitars get turned up towards the nod of the song. I’m going to go back to my original assessment. I suppose you can call it Porcupine Tree Light, as that’s what springs to mind constantly. Pillar Of Salt takes the mood down several notches, and is an engaging acoustic piece. Next up is the albums epic piece and 11 minutes of White Mist. Musically, this song is all about Gavin’s drumming, as it steers the song through all its twists and turns, along with Bruce’s guitar chunk. All modern Prog bands have the big epic number on their albums as it’s in the Prog 101 handbook. The album closes with Shed A Light, and leaves us in a more upbeat happy note. A pretty good album while not being outstanding.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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