REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: February 14, 2022

TOMMY SHAW – Girls With Guns

The problems with Styx are well documented, and especially with Tommy Shaw. He felt he was being pushed more into the background as De Young took more control. Tommy channeled that frustration into collaborations with Damn Yankees and Shaw/Blades, and three solo albums in which this was the first.

On the whole, this is a great pop rock with a couple of Styx style ballads thrown into the mix. The title track and lead off track is a great power pop romp and a great song. Come In And Explain has a big rock and big riff opening and reminds me of Billy Squier. Heads Up is a typical 80’s pop song. Fading Away has very funky Toto groove and feel. Little Girl World is the most Styx sounding song on the album with lots of vocal harmonies.

Not a bad album. It sounds very of it’s time and the Mike Stone production is crystal clear.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

KK’s PRIEST – Sermons Of The Sinner

Before we get down to the music, I have a few observations here. It was KK’s decision to leave Judas Priest as he no longer believed in the music and the direction they were going – he was going to sit down and open his golf course. The Priest got a great replacement in Ritchie Faulkner, who is a much better player than KK. KK saw that him leaving had no impact on the band, and he then seemed to bash the band at every opportunity. When they announced their 50th anniversary and he was not asked to take part, I think that drove him over the edge. When he announced he was doing a solo project (calling it KK’s Priest), I was a bit dismayed to say the least.

I have to say it’s as heavy – if not heavier – than anything he did whilst he was in Judas Priest, and with really good production. All the clichés are here in full, and he’s trying to tick all the boxes to please as many metal lovers as possible. We have songs about bikers and truckers, and we have anthems like Raise Your Fists and Metal Through And Through – there even are digs at his former band with Return Of The Sentinel. For a guy pushing his 70’s, he sure acts like a teenage schoolboy. It’s all a shame really, as the songs are really good and it’s a great old school metal record – he just needs to move on.  My favourite on the album is Wild And Free – a great old school romp with fists in the air lyrics, and a great riff.

It gets 9/10 from The Grooveman for the tunes.