REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: December 11, 2021

VINNIE MOORE – Time Odyssey

This was released at a time when there were a ton of guitar instrumental solo albums being released to capitalize on the success of Joe Satriani – and to a lesser extent, Malmsteen. Now, latterly more well known for being the final occupier of the guitar position in UFO, Vinnie was a shredder of some repute. Just like Yngwie, inspiration here is directly from the classical handbook, although I would say Vinnie does have more of a melodic feel to his interpretations. This is his second release on Mercury records – although he was a stock Mascot player.

To highlight the difference between himself and Malmsteen, listen to the track Beyond The Door – this is where his sense of melody and playing to the song comes into its own. It’s always hard to review these type of albums as you either like them or you don’t, and as I have mentioned I am a guitar nerd. My favourite piece on the album is the album close out track, April Sky, where he shows what great control and feel he has to his playing. An honourable mention goes to his cover of George Harrison’s, My Guitar Gently Weeps. It doesn’t sound much like the original but it’s still a great take.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

BILLY IDOL – s/t

Back in the mists of time when the punk sounds of Generation X had run there course, Billy’s career was at a crossroads until a very fortuitous meeting with guitar whizz Steve Stevens. Whereas the album after this was pure gold, this album is when the seeds of the classic Idol pop rock sound were made. They hit gold instantly with the singles, White Wedding and Dancing With Myself, and they are without doubt the best tracks on the album. Although there are some unusual moments, especially the very Adam Ant sounding, Love Calling, and going back to his roots with inspiration from Siousie and The Banshees with Hole In The Wall, the album is still an enjoyable romp though early eighties pop.

8/10 from The Grooveman.