THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: March 2022 (Page 10 of 14)

MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND – Nightingales And Bombers

March 10, 2022 /

After having quite a successful pop career in the sixties with a few hits, Manfred Mann decided to move with the musical times and formed The Earth Band in ’71 and went down a more contemporary path with a very progressive vibe.

I’m sure everyone is familiar with the band’s amazing cover of the Springsteen song, Blinded By The Light, which appeared on the Roaring Silence album, but that was not the first Springsteen track the band covered as they did Spirit In The Night on this album and it was an upgrade on the original. Countdown is an instrumental with a very Celtic feel to the arrangement, mainly due to the main riff. Time Is Right follows and has a very off-time funky groove and a great instrumental section. Side 1 closes out with Crossfade, another instrumental with a jazz fusion vibe.

A cover of Joan Armatrading’s Visionary Mountains opens up Side 2, and I would call this a typical seventies extended album track. Quit Your Low Down Ways was not on European copies of the album. It was added to the US version as the record company thought there were not enough vocal tracks on the album. To be honest, it’s not that great a track. The title track is again an instrumental and is the most progressive sounding piece on the whole album, with big nods to fusion pioneers of the day. The very quirky Fat Nelly is next and uses the intro keyboard pattern that they would use on Blinded By The Light. The album closes out with As Above So Below, which was recorded Live and is another instrumental with a funky reggae groove – its a strange but wonderful track to end with.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

KISS – Destroyer

March 9, 2022 /

I’m not the biggest fan of early Kiss, and I only own Alive and Destroyer. I really like the Vinnie Vincent period as he brought that edge to the band, and those albums resurrected the band’s career. This version is the 45th anniversary reissue with an extra disc of demos and it sounds really good. They have gone to town on this one, and if any of the early Kiss albums deserve that treatment, its Destroyer.

Everything about this album screams comic book hero – especially the cover, and the inclusion of the track God Of Thunder which emphasizes the point. The album opens up with Detroit Rock City – one of Kiss’s best tracks and one of my favourites. King Of The Night Time World is next and Paul and Gene’s knack of writing a catchy hook and chorus is very evident here. God Of Thunder is a very weak track and is all about the image. Great Expectations closes out Side 1 and is another very weak track.

Flaming Youth opens up Side 2 and is not a bad tune with a simple Ace solo. A Gene track follows with Sweet Pain and it’s not a bad tune, again with a nice short and to the point Ace solo. One of the big singles from the record was Shout It Out Loud, and it’s a really good track with the big hook and chorus and a superb melody to the main opening riff – you can’t go wrong with this one. The other big track from the record was surprisingly Beth, not a rocker as you would expect but a ballad and sung by Pete Criss. The album closes out with a typical Kiss bubblegum track, Do You Love Me, with the big sing-a-long take line and it feels very much like a Phil Spector produced track.

The other disc is full of demos and different takes, and if you’re a Kiss fan then you will be in heaven. A word of warning, I am on my third copy as the first two were very noisy pressings.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

RORY GALLAGHER – Stage Struck

March 9, 2022 /

One of the finest blues rock guitarists of his generation. Rory always gave 100% on every show, and I was lucky enough to see him play Live a few times around this period. You just had to see him play as his studio albums always seemed watered down – it was impossible to capture that power and energy in a sterile environment like a studio. Unfortunately, the demon drink took it’s toll on Rory and he died with complications after having a liver transplant.

There are a ton of Live albums out there and a lot of them have crawled out of the woodwork since his death, but this recording was a legit label release recorded at various venues around the world in ’79-’80 and it’s my favourite Rory album.

There are only eight tracks, but it is definitely all killer and no filler. It’s really hard to pick a favourite as Wayward Child, Moonchild, and Shin Kicker are awesome and Rory rips into that faded guitar. If I’m pushed, then it has to be Shadow Play which has Rory at his absolute best as he knocks seven bells out of that sweat faded strat. Great album, and yes, everyone should have a copy.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

THE WHO – Who’s Next

March 8, 2022 /

It always amazes me how people rave about The Beatles and the Stones and how they influenced everyone and their dog, but The Who are equally – if not more – of an influence on modern rock. They actually looked and played like a rock band, plus Pete is one of rock’s great songwriters. This album is their best work beating both Tommy and Quadraphenia. It started out life as the Lifehouse project, which Pete was determined was going to surpass Tommy in its concept and execution. As we all know, that never happened and Who’s Next was the album that came from those sessions.

This is the three disc deluxe edition with the original album, plus songs that were recorded in New York for Lifehouse, and Live at the Young Vic which they played while writing and recording for both projects. Of the original album, there is not a bad moment – every song is just pure joy. It’s interesting to hear the New York recordings and how they differ from the finished songs. The Young Vic Live recordings are very warts and all, but they show what a killer Live band they were. Everyone should own this record.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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