THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: August 4, 2021

ARGENT – Encore

August 4, 2021 /

One of the great forgotten British rock bands from the seventies, and they are the writers of some great tunes that have been covered by many. This live album was recorded back in ’74 in St. Albans and Swansea – the rock and roll capitals of the UK. The main protagonists in Argent are ex-Zombies keyboard whizz, Rod Argent, and songwriter to the world, Russ Ballard.

The first time I heard of them was the single Hold Your Head Up whilst I was at school, and there is a great extended version here. I’m sure everyone will have heard of God Gave Rock And Roll, which Argent did release as a follow up single, but more famously released by Kiss. Also on here are two Zombies hits, I Don’t Believe In Miracles, and Time of The Season. I mean you know whose band it is when the band opens with The Coming If Kohoutek, which is basically a keyboard solo.

My favourites are Its Only Money Parts One & Two – they rock with a great riff and melody and is greatly extended. There are lots of extended musical workouts here as that’s what the band were all about Live, namely the aforementioned It’s Only Money, Music From The Spheres and Dance Of Ages. So all in all, a great live album that often gets overlooked.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

ELECTRIC BOYS – The Ghost Ward Diaries

August 4, 2021 /

Yet another band back from the dead, having disbanded after the release of Freewheeling back in ’94. Known for their love of all things funky, people forget what a great rock n roll band they were – and boy could they write a tune (and still can). Formed by frontman Conny Bloom and bassist Andy Christell, the pair are still together today, and in this release from 2018, the band are back writing great records.

I’ll forgive them for stealing an AC/DC riff for opening track, Hangover In Hannover, as it’s a great song. Second song in, There She Goes Again, is one of the best songs they have ever recorded. A brilliant catchy melody and chorus coupled with a great riff, make this an awesome tune. You Spark My Heart is another great tune, a great up-tempo love song that’s slightly different from the norm. Love Is A Funny Feeling is the first visit to funky town on this record, and is a throwback to classic seventies funk. Gone Gone Gone closes out Side 1 and is the highlight of the album so far. That’s mighty praise indeed, as there has been a freakin’ awesome selection of songs on the album so far.

The delightfully named Swampmotofrog opens up Side 2 and it’s an instrumental romp with a killer riff, great slide playing, and a very heavy groove in the middle section. Next up is First The Money Then The Honey and it’s a good old rock n roll tune, with the big sing-a-long chorus with a nice heavy chunk towards the end. Rich Man Poor Man follows and starts with a great southern swamp style riff, and the main hook and chorus is really dirty with an awesome groove. Knocked Out By Tyson is the penultimate track and dirty funk rock part two. It’s a nod to older Electric Boys – with a little psychedelic twist – and another huge middle riff to blow your mind. The album closes out with One Of The Fallen Angels, a big epic number with a great riff and superb melody and chorus.

It’s great to have them back and with an album as good as this. They will be around for a long time.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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