REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: March 11, 2022

THE JOE PERRY PROJECT – I’ve Got The Rock N Rolls Again

For five years after Perry had left Aerosmith, the project released three albums and toured sporadically. They had pour album sales until the inevitable happened and he rejoined the Smiths and they all became super rich. This is the second album they released, and of all of the three albums, this is the one that shows what Aerosmith would sound like if Joe was in control.

I actually really like this album – especially Side 1. The opening track East Coast, East Coast is a great sleazy rock n roll tune. No Substance For Arrogance is another great tune with a great riff. The title track has another great riff and motors along at a great pace. Buzz Buzz is just a fun dirty rock n roll song. Soldier of Fortune has a killer sleazy sloppy punk riff that I love as its car crash rock n roll at its best.

Side 2 starts with TV Police and it sounds like an idea that Aerosmith threw away. Listen To The Rock has a typical Perry sloppy riff with a nice funky under groove, and I’m a big fan of Charlie Farrens vocals. Dirty Little Thing is quite a cool pop song with a nice hook and chorus. Play The Game follows and it’s a slow ballad and is the weakest song on the album. South Station Blues closes out the album and is a beast of a tune. It’s easily my favourite track on the album and I love the acoustic intro – boy does this baby swing.

If you took all the best tracks from the three Project albums and put Steven Tyler on vocals, you would have a killer old school Aerosmith record.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

SAXON – Power & The Glory

Me and Saxon go way back before they were Saxon. I saw them play a few times at working men’s clubs around the Doncaster area. So when they got a deal and had success it was like one of our own had made it.

The first 5 studio albums are all must haves for me as they define a point in time – I have very fond memories of this period. This album is the last of the great Saxon albums, as the decline started to set in after this album as a certain member started to take control of the band.

There is not a bad second on the album, it’s the perfect mix of crunch and melody with big hooks and it’s what I love the most about the band – plus it’s what makes them different to all the rest of the NWOBHM bands. From the opening crunch of the title track, to the epic ending of The Eagle Has Landed, this is one hell of an album. If I’m pushed to pick a favourite then it would have to be This Town Rocks, with the double bass drum salvo of new boy drummer, Nigel Glockler.

Yes, you guessed it, every home should have one! Happy days!

10/10 from The Grooveman.