THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: February 2022 (Page 8 of 12)

U.S. METAL – Vol. 1

February 11, 2022 /

After the initial burst, the NWOBHM was starting to diminish somewhat, so it was back to America in my search for killer new tunes – Mike Varney and his label Shrapnel Records provided just the fix I was looking for. Mike loves his metal, but he also loves hotshot guitar players and that was the perfect match for me.

The album starts off with the band Chumbi playing the title track with a great guitar player in Em Kay. Killer track! Look Into The Light is next up by Exxe who remind me of mid-era Ted Nugent. Of course there are tracks that don’t cut it and No Time by the Giles Meblin Assault is one of those tracks. There are some now familiar names also added to the line up here, namely The Rods whose first album made a big impression on me, with their track Gettin’ Higher. For Van Halen fans there is a track by Reddi Killowatt who played the same back yard party scene around Pasadena that the Van Halen’s did, and guitarist Terry Kilgore would later play with Dave Lee Roth’s solo band.

I look on this the same as the Metal For Mutha’s compilation’s in the UK, as they gave a voice to unheard metal acts. I still play this a lot today as it’s a fun album to put on.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

WASP – s/t

February 11, 2022 /

If you’re a new band and you want to get people to pay attention to your music, what’s the best way of doing that? Well, you can always rely on talent and great songs – or you can shock the public into gaining attention. Wasp chose the latter!

I think we are all aware of Animal (F**k) Like A Beast and the all the furor that surrounded it. It certainly worked – as fans turned out just to see what all the fuss was about. Then there is guitarist Chris Holmes’ antics, most famously the scene of him in the swimming pool smashed out of his face drinking vodka. Next there was the cheese grater on the back of the guitar of (I think) Randy Piper, where he would allegedly shred his hands. All that seemed to detract away from the music, even though it was designed to gain attention.

The songs are mostly really good, and Blackie Lawless knew how to write a great rock song. The album starts off with with two killer songs that were released as singles, namely I Wanna Be Somebody and Love Machine, highlighting my point about Blackie’s songwriting. Both great songs with a big hook and chorus. Other notable tracks on the album are the pure LA rock of Hellion, and the gallop of The Torture Never Stops. This is just straight rock n roll. This was as good as they got as the image started to overtake the music.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR – Still Life

February 10, 2022 /

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!

February 10, 2022 /

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.

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