REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: October 14, 2021

CHEAP TRICK – Standing On The Edge

These guys a have been around since ’77 and have recorded about 2,000 records -and that’s not including live albums. I joke of course, but it sure feels that way as every Record Store Day that comes around they seem to release something. I’d like to say the quality is still there and they consistently put out great records, but unfortunately that’s not the case – they have put a few stinkers since their heyday.

This album of course is not one of those – imho this is as good as the band got. This record is superb and every song is an absolute belter of a power pop/rock masterpiece. Tonight It’s You has to be one of the best songs that the band have ever recorded, and every time I hear it I still get goosebumps. The band’s love of the Beatles is well documented, and the opening track, Little Sister, takes lots of inspiration from the Fab Four – especially the vocal. The title track and the opener of Side 2 is such a great song and the melody, hook, and chorus are just superb. Even when they drop the tempo down and the songs become more insightful, like on Love Comes, they hit it out of the park – this is another track that reminds me of John Lennon.

I can’t praise this album enough. Buy it or miss out on an a classic.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

HUGHES/THRALL – s/t

Cards on the table straight away – this is the best album that Glenn Hughes has put out, and the same goes for Pat Thrall. I know Hughes was involved with some great Deep Purple albums, but he wasn’t the main focal point. Thrall was on some great Pat Travers records, but he was just a part of a machine. It’s mind blowing that they only made the one record when you hear how good this album is. The main reason is that they were both off there faces with every exotic substance known to man, and they both agree if they had stayed together they would both have probably died. I know there were rumours a few years ago that they were going to get together again, but alas, nothing so far apart from the odd track.

This is superb eighties rock that came out in ’82 and I can guarantee that every song is winner. Straddling the lines between rock, funk and pop, this album grooves in every possible way. The highlights for me are the superb opening track, I Got Your Number, which rocks, grooves, and swings all in three and a half minutes of pure genius. The heavy groove of Muscle and Blood which has a killer riff by Pat. The amazing funk rock of Hold Out Your Life which is my favourite track on the album. If someone had their head screwed on right at the record company, this should have been released as a single. And finally the big close out number, First Step Of Love – that’s how you finish a record!

The music business is a strange thing – this album should have been huge. Every home should have one, and it’s a 10/10 all day, every day from The Grooveman.