THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: February 2022 (Page 10 of 12)

SPIN DOCTORS – Pocket Full Of Kryptonite

February 7, 2022 /

This is a killer album that came out in ’91 and was definitely against the trend at the time. For some reason, the band attracted an awful lot of hate and derision, especially in the UK which I just don’t understand. I guess when you’re successful and it’s not what was trendy at the time, all the hip journo’s and mags will hate you no matter what.

This is one of the grooviest records you will hear, and it sure is a fun record. We have all heard the singles Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong, and Two Princes, both are great tracks with great melodies and sing-a-long chorus’, but it’s the deeper cuts I love. What Time Is It is just awesome with a killer funky groove and some great guitar from Eric Schenkman. If you catch them live these tracks just extend into great jams. Refrigerator Car is another awesome tune with a killer riff and bass with a wicked groove.

They are still around playing live and are a fixture in the jam band circuit – although they don’t release a whole bunch. This is the MOV reissue and it sounds superb – as do the majority of there releases. This is a killer album, and yes, everyone should own one.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

TALAS – Sink Your Teeth Into That

February 7, 2022 /

Hailing from Buffalo, on the border with Canada – this is the band’s second outing. Talas are mostly known for having virtuoso bass player Billy Sheehan in their ranks, and there is no doubting whose band this was – it was all about Billy. His playing dominates the whole record and there is an Eruption style solo piece NV43345.

A fun fact – the original version of Shy Boy is on this album, which would later appear on David Lee Roth’s first solo album, Eat ‘Em And Smile.

Song wise, the album is really strong – it’s just the production that lets it down as it’s sounds a bit flat. The title track is a kick ass track that really rocks and has a killer groove. Shy Boy is not that much different from the DLR version – it just needs filling out. King Of The World is a cool stomp rocker with some great guitar – and may be the only track that’s not overloaded with bass. Ironically the only track that is a full band written track (as Billy wrote everything else) is Outside Looking In, and other than the solo, its one of the weakest tracks on the album.

Not a bad album, and it’s cool to hear early albums from muso’s who went on to have great careers.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

TREAT – Scratch And Bite

February 5, 2022 /

This is the band’s first album released in ’85 and this a lovely sounding Japanese copy. I’m a big fan of all things from Sweden in the rock and metal category, as everything that usually comes from there is on the money.

As you can tell by the cover, glam is the order of the day here and nothing too taxing on the old brain lyrically. Changes is a pretty good opener with a good groove and sing-a-long chorus. The title track is almost a power pop vibe and very commercial sounding. Hidin’ tries its best to be a commercial sounding Rainbow, with the addition of an Hammond organ, but it’s tracks with the big hair and LA vibe that they do best – Too Wild being the perfect example.

The tracks that don’t work are We Are One, where they suddenly decide to be a cut price Journey. Always stick to what you’re good at, and No Room For Strangers brings things back to normality after that brief blip. The commercial Rainbow vibe returns with Run With The Fire – and then we’re at the end. Their best album is Dreamhunter, which would be a couple of years later – still not a bad first attempt.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

KICK AXE – Welcome To The Club

February 5, 2022 /

This is the band’s second album, and is a slight change in style compared to their hard riffing debut, Vices. This is a much more slick commercial sounding record, and whether this was the record company giving them advice or not I’m not sure, but the album after this (Rock The World) was back to the metal and riffs.

Anyway, it doesn’t detract away from what is a still a fun record and very typical rock record of the time (when Def Leppard were riding high). Highlights for me are Feels Good Don’t Stop, which has a large dose of the Leppard formula, the stomp grooves of Make Your Move, and the only real metal sounding track on the album, Too Loud Too Old – this is the direction the album should have gone in.

It sucks when bands are maneuvered to do things that aren’t necessarily are in their best interests. By the time they recorded the next album, all the momentum they hard worked hard to build up had gone.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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