THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: October 23, 2021

MASTERS OF REALITY s/t

October 23, 2021 /

This is the first album from Upstate New York’s finest. It’s often referred to as The Blue Garden as that is the name of the art piece on the cover. This is a 2012 reissue with a different running order and a bonus live album, Live At The Viper room. Now this band are somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me. I really like their brand of retro blues rock and this was way before it became fashionable.

The track, John Brown, is very reminiscent of Led Zeppelin with the groove and Chris Goss’ voice. Gettin’ High has a superb sleazy blues groove that just swings. Domino is the best song on this record, and I’ll stick my neck out and say it’s one of the best tracks the band ever did. It has an Iommi style riff with a pumping beat, and a fantastic melody and hook that seriously hit the spot. Kill The King is a glorious romp, and an homage to all things seventies. The live album has never been available on vinyl before, and Scott Weiland makes an appearance on Jindalee Jindalie, and there is also an incredible version of John Brown.

A great album. I do believe it’s quite hard to find on vinyl, but if you do find it, grab as it’s a wonderful record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

TOUCH – s/t

October 23, 2021 /

The very first band to play the Castle Donnington Monsters of Rock Festival, and if you were like me at the time and were thinking how the hell did they manage that?! Then the real reason is quite simple. They had the same management as the headliners, Rainbow, but the rumour at the time was that Mr. Blackmore was a big fan of their brand of AOR. Touch were nothing more than a rebranding of their previous band, American Tears, with the addition of bassist, Doug Howard.

This was something of a flagship album for the AOR crowd as they played on the softer side of the spectrum. However, they did rock out as well, as the awesome track, Black Star, demonstrates. This could almost be a different band as the Queen vibes are strong on this track, as guitarist Craig Brooks brings out his inner Brian May. The lead off track on Side 1, Don’t You Know What Love Is, was released as single, and along with Black Star, it’s the best track on the album.

So one album and they were gone. This was released in 1980, and that was it until this year when 2 albums were released under the Touch name. They are quite a hard band to pin down, and I think this was the reason they never went any further. They are all over the map for the press to get a handle on. However, this is not a bad album and an enjoyable listen.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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