THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: December 2021 (Page 5 of 6)

SAMSON – Shock Tactics

December 3, 2021 /

If you were like me and around when the NWOBHM hit, then Samson were thought of as something as a goof band – especially the first 2 albums and Live. They hammed it up quite a bit and you got the impression, especially from Bruce, that this was something he did as a giggle until he got a proper job. Then they released this album, and then I guess they thought they might have a shot.

Opening track, Riding With The Angels, is the best thing they ever put out. I guess it made certain people in the Maiden camp take notice as he was poached shortly after. The best thing about the next track, Earth Mother, is the sheer power of Bruce’s vocal. Nice Girl is a typical blues rock riff but with a very suspect lyric. Go To Hell is a fast shuffle and is ok. Communion could have been Bruce’s audition for Maiden, and I’m sure Steve Harris heard this and thought of the future.

It’s an ok album, but there were a lot better bands around at this time. You can see how Samson never reached much farther, though it would have been interesting to see what the next Samson would have been like if Bruce was still on vocals.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

BOSTON – Don’t Look Back

December 3, 2021 /

Imagine the pressure that the band (and especially Tom Scholz) were under when they had to follow up what was one of the greatest debut albums of all time. It took almost exactly two years for them to come up with this – their follow up. As much as the record company wanted you to believe that Boston were indeed a bonafide band, you didn’t have to dig far to realize that everything revolved around the genius that is Tom Scholz.

When you hear the opening notes of Don’t Look Back you think “wow”, it’s as though they never stopped after the first album – a killer track. A cool little instrumental piece, The Journey, leads into Its Easy, and this is the first weakfish track for me. Side 1 closes out with the big power ballad and single, A Man I’ll Never Be, which when it gets going, is a great song.

Side 2 kicks off with another single Feelin’ Satisfied, which I would class as a typical Boston song heavy on the melody. As is the track after, Party, which is nearly a mirror image. Of course Tim Scholz’s guitar playing is fantastic, but when you look at how long it took him to record to get that perfect sound, then it should be. The album plays out with Used To Bad News and Don’t Be Afraid – both are good tracks but nothing stands out and grabs you.

I guess if this was their first album then people would have hailed it as a good album, but when this is your second album and it follows an absolute monster of a first album then it’s going to disappear somewhat.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

TROUBLE – Manic Frustration

December 2, 2021 /

It’s great to see these albums reissued from these doom/stoner metal pioneers. They obviously take reference from classic era Sabbath as their blueprint, even with a heavy groove thrown into the mix as well. Eric Wagner also influenced a lot of vocalists in the way he sang, and I’m sure Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder had Trouble records in their collection.

I’ve always loved this album as they were on fire at this point. Come Touch The Sky is a great opening tune, but the following track Scuse Me is absolutely epic and grooves hard with a monster riff. Then you get smashed with The Sleeper which is as groovy as hell, and is a contender for best track on the album. A big mention to Rick Rubin for a stellar production and Brendan O’Brien as engineer. The album does go a bit trippy and psych on tracks like Rain and Tragedy Man which is interesting, but its when they bring the heavy that this band really excels. A lot of these roots rock bands would have died for the riff in Hello Strawberry Skies and is the definite highlight of Side 2.

Psalm 9 is still (IMHO) the best thing they did, but there are some definite killer moments on this album.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MOTORHEAD – Aftershock

December 2, 2021 /

This is studio album Number 21, and the the penultimate one at that. They probably will keep wheeling out live recordings and endless substandard things just to cash in on what was (at their height) a killer band. I thought this album and the two before (Motorizer and Kiss Of Death) were really good albums and a return to that old spirit, mainly thanks to a great production by Cameron Webb. Let’s be honest here, there are a bunch of mid period albums that aren’t that good and the band suffered because of these. I don’t think you can beat the Lem, Phil and Eddie days as they were untouchable. I’m glad I got to witness that line up numerous times. However, in Mickey Dee, Lemmy had found the best drummer he had, and he is a great driving force on this record. Phil Campbell’s contribution to this record are probably the best in terms of riffs and leads.

As well as the usual double kick sledgehammer songs, there is a bit of subtlety as well with tracks like Lost Woman Blues, which starts off as an almost traditional blues standard but ends in ZZ Top style boogie. End Of Time could have been a classic line up tune – it’s a belter. One of my favourite modern Motorhead songs is Going To Mexico. It’s a killer track which has Phil playing his ass off and a typical desperado lyric from Lem. The close out track, Paralyzed, is one of the heaviest tracks the band had done at this point.

The sad thing about this is that you can hear Lem struggling on some of the songs. On the album after this, Bad Magic, you can tell the end is not far away. If this album would have been the last album, I think it would have been a fitting end as they would have gone out on a high.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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