REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: December 4, 2021

BANG TANGO – Dancin’ On Coals

There was definitely a disruption in the force when these guys appeared on the scene. This album never did as well as Psycho Cafe, and I’m guessing grunge had a big impact on that. This didn’t appear until ’91, but I really like this record as it has a killer vibe and groove.

This album saw them trying different things. The opening track is a glam/sleaze funk monster of a tune that is killer – I really love the groove of the song. Well if that track floats your boat, then Untied And True is a glam anthem. It has a killer riff and sleazy groove with a Billy Idol chorus – a great tune! So how do you avoid going down the boring normal ballad route when slowing the pace down? The answer is in Emotions In Gear – a cool sleazy cinematic piece. I’m In Love is superb with the weird Elton Rifles guitar riff and the funky grooves – plus a ripping guitar solo. The funky vibe continues with Big Line, a serious up-tempo groover that has more in common with Fishbone than the LA glam scene. Midnight Struck closes out Side 1 and is a big sleazy barroom blues.

Side 2 kicks off with the power pop blast of the title track. Then we’re back to the slightly weird and funky with My Saltine. There is so much going on musically, it’s all over the map, which I do have soft spot for. Dressed Up Vamp is a sleazy hair metal groove fest, as is Last Kiss which was probably written in The Rainbow washroom. The album closes out with Cactus Juice, and it’s where the majority of the album lies in funky town.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

CHINA – s/t

Switzerland’s other rock band – you know – the one you’ve never heard of.

Krokus are the band that everyone knows, but China seems to dip under the radar. It’s a shame, as this is a great hair metal record – if they would have been from LA they would have made a big noise. A definite candidate for hair metal Monday.

Opening track, Shout It Out, is a superb hair metal stomp with a sing-a-long chorus and great riff. Back To You was actually written by Krokus’ Fernando Von Arb and would have been a great single – it’s just a great fun song. The Fight Is On is a track that Motley Crüe would have died to have written – a great chorus and melody – this track really rocks. Big hair power ballad time is next with Wild Jealousy and it’s a bit of a mood killer for me as we were really motoring, but it’s a decent enough tune. The glam is back up and rockin’ with Rock City with its simple riff and groove, but these songs work so well.

Over to Side 2 we go with Hot Lovin’ Night and it’s a similar vibe and groove as where we left with Side 1. I love the twin guitars of Freddy Laurence and Claudio Matteo – they make a killer pair, and with the vocals of Math Shiverow you wonder why these guys weren’t bigger. Living On The Stage has a nice funky undertone to the groove of the song, and with a fat riff makes a cool change of pace. I Need Your Love has a cool blues boogie swing before it’s back to ballad city with One Shot To The Heart. A nice choppy Van Halen style riff and a Hot For Teacher double kick shuffle announces the arrival of the album closer, Stayin’ Alive – a kick ass way to end the album.

This is a really good album that gets docked a point for double ballad murder – even though the second one does rock more and it turns into a Poison style sing a long.

9/10 from The Grooveman.