THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: March 1, 2022

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – Out Of The Blue

March 1, 2022 /

Sometimes everything just aligns perfectly for a magic musical moment, and for ELO, this was it. Yes, they had some hits before this, but this was pure gold for them and it sold by the squillion. Jeff Lynne was now the only songwriter by this point and it was basically a solo album for him. The album before this (A New World Record) had spawned 3 hit singles with Lovin’ Thing, Rockaria and Telephone Line – and you wondered how the hell would they top that? Well, this is the answer – the best album they ever did.

This is a superb pop rock record from the opening smash Turn To Stone, to the equally massive Wild West Hero and everything in between. It’s such an enjoyable record that it takes you back instantly to where you were at the time. The perfect pop/rock record? I think so!

10/10 from The Grooveman.

BPMD – American Made

March 1, 2022 /

Sometimes records are made just so the musicians can have fun, and this is just one of those records. A coming together of some American metal friends to pay homage to some old school rock songs – given the metal treatment. Mike Portnoy ex-Dream Theater and a million other projects, Blitz from Overkill, Phil Demmel of Machine Head, and Mark Menghi.

Ted Nugent’s Wang Dang Sweet Poontang is first up and it’s not a bad cover with a decent solo. Toys In The Attic sounds a lot heavier for sure and it’s a fairly copycat cover. Evil on the other hand does sound really good and has been beefed up a lot. It’s quite easy to beef up old ZZ Top songs as they are quite simple songs and sparse, so Beer Drinkers sounds great. It’s not until we get to Blue Oyster Cult’s Tattoo Vampire that we get a song that they have totally given the metal treatment to – it’s the best song on the album. The only song that sounds worse than the original is Van Halen’s D.O.A. It’s not a bad attempt, but the original is just so damn good.

Like I said, it’s a fun record but it’s not gonna change the world.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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