REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: February 10, 2022

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR – Still Life

I was put onto these guys whilst I was at school and they sort of past me by at the time. Their music is not very immediate and you have to give it time, but at the time, I was more into the bands where the riff ruled.

They are another one of the seventies Prog giants that are unbelievably back together today after being apart for some 27 years. The main man, Peter Hammill, is doing also solo material and collaborations. Of course, it’s Hammill that dominates proceedings as his voice and lyrics are such a dark dominating force within the band. If you’re a fan of Hammond organ then Hugh Banton’s ivory tinkling will be of delight to you, as along with Hammill, they vie for your attention. Only comprising of five tracks, the longest of which is Childlike Faith In Childhood’s End, which comes in at 12.19 and is the epic showpiece of the album.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

JOHN MAYER TRIO – Try!

Everyone seems to have an opinion about serial shagger John Mayer, and nearly all of them are somewhat derogatory (See…even I’ve done it!). His brand of soft rock is not to everyone’s taste, but I guarantee if you are a guitar nut this album will be something of a surprise for you.

See, Johnny boy is a bit of a blues nut and he has a love of power trios. Together with Mr. Pocket Steve Jordan, and Pino Palladino on bass, you have Mr. Mayer tackling some of his own tunes and a selection of covers. The Blu-ray of Where The Light Is shows just how incredible the band is. I would highly recommend getting that as well. On tracks like Wait Until Tomorrow, young Johnny boy reminds me of The Spin Doctors with the tone of his voice and the groove of the tune – he really lets fly on the guitar. For me, I much prefer this three piece set up to his usual format and it’s a very enjoyable album.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.