THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: March 2022 (Page 7 of 14)

DEF LEPPARD – On Through The Night

March 17, 2022 /

We all know how the future turned out for Def Leppard, and when you hear this album now you can see all the elements were in place to make a great rock band. They just needed the right producer, and boy did they get the right one – but not on this album. This album as produced by long time Judas Priest producer Tom Allom. I think I mentioned in a previous review that I saw them at a pub in Sheffield completely by accident just before their Getcha Rocks Off EP came out. That EP was raw but killer, and you knew that they had a shot. Now those songs appear on this album, albeit re-recorded. It shows that if you have the right record label it means everything.

I remember the song Hello America caused a bit of a stir when renowned rock journalist Geoff Barton accused the band of selling their souls to the USA and waving bye bye to the fans in the UK. He sought of had a point as they became huge because of the US, but there is no way anyone could have guessed how huge they would become.

There are some good songs on this album namely Rock Brigade, Wasted, Overture, Hello America, When The Walls Came Tumbling Down, and the classic Getcha Rocks Off. Any one of those songs would not be out of place in a modern Leppard set if they chose to play them. Of course, the “Getcha” is missing from this album and it’s been shortened to just “Rocks Off” but it’s still a great tune.  Still a fun record.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

FIST – Turn The Hell On

March 16, 2022 /

I remember buying the single Name Rank And Serial Number on Neat Records after I heard it on the radio, so when the album came out I bought it straight away. After playing the album I was a bit disappointed as the production/mix were not that great – the whole album sounds really flat. The drum sound is pretty bad as it sounds as though the drummer is playing cardboard boxes. Now I know they were a great Live band as I saw them supporting UFO – they seemed to have a great energy and I liked their songs, plus Dave Irwin was a really tasty guitar player.

The songs that shine through (despite the bad mix) are You’ll Never Get Me Up In One Of Those, which is the best song the band did with double kicks all the way and a killer hook and melody. One Percenter, which is a tribute to biker gangs and is so NWOBHM, and the song that got me into them, Name Rank And Serial Number. There were so many bands from this period that never made it out of the bottom division, and Fist are one of those. MCA weren’t the best of labels when it came to NWOBHM bands as they ruined a few (Tygers, Diamond Head etc.).

7/10 from The Grooveman.

DAN REED NETWORK – The Heat

March 16, 2022 /

After having moderate success riding on the wave of the funk rock boom of the late eighties/early nineties (especially in the UK and Europe), Dan called it quits, shaved his head, and disappeared off the map. I was super sad as they wrote great tunes, were a killer live act, and Dan was a superb frontman.

This is the third album and the last studio album for nearly 25 years. I know there was a best of, a live album, and some little side projects – but that’s a long time between albums. To emphasize my point about writing great tunes, the opening song Baby Now I is a superb opener. It has a killer groove, beat, and one of those ear worm choruses that you can’t get out of your head. The heavy funk groove keeps a comin’ with Blame It On The Moon, and if you want to know where Max Martin got it all from – you need to hear this, a superb track. Mix It Up has an urban vibe (before that became a thing) and you definitely need your groove shoes on. The title track is next up and starts with a messed up Beatles style riff mixed up with the trademark funk rock groove – it works so well and a shout out to Brion James for a killer solo. Then the mood and vibe slows right down with the ballad Let It Go, before normal service is resumed With Love Don’t Work That Way with the return to funky town.

Sometimes covering an iconic track just doesn’t work, and that is the case here with their cover of Pink Floyd’s Money. Floyd’s version is so imprinted in my memory that any messing around with it is a no-no for me. Side 1 closes out with the unusual acoustic barroom blues of Chill Out. So if you’re counting, that’s 8 tracks on Side 1 and I think we could have jettisoned a couple of them. Life Is Sex brings back the funk and groove and we are back up and running. Ballad number two is next with The Salt Of Joy and it’s straight from the Bon Jovi book of ballads. Take My Hand would be best described as soft rock and it sort of feels lost. The Lonely Sun feels like a Dan Reed tribute to Led Zeppelin with the main riff of the song. Thy Will Be Done is one of my favourites on the record as the groove is killer, and I like the indie sounding guitars mixed with the usual Network sounds. Wake Up and Long Way To Go close out the album.

I would agree with the general assessment of the album that it’s the weakest of the first three. If they had culled some of the tracks (say by 4) then it would have flowed a lot better…but hindsight is a beautiful thing.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

PANTERA – Power Metal

March 15, 2022 /

This is the last album of the so-called glam years, and was the first album to feature Phil Anslemo.  Phil is full on Rob Halford on this album with the high screams done to a T – and he has the full on bouffant hairdo as well. I love this record – warts an all – as it’s the missing link. It’s still a big stretch from this to Cowboys From Hell though and it was some transformation.

The thing that makes this whole album amazing is Dime. His solos are just incredible. The song, We’ll Meet Again, is just a straight up late eighties power ballad (ish) but the guitar sound and solo are incredible. The title track and Over And Out are double kick pounders but straight out of the Judas Priest groove book. Dime’s love of all things Kiss and cheese is evident in tracks like Proud To Be Loud, which is straight from the “How To Be Kiss In 2 Easy Steps” book. P*S*T*88 sees Dime singing and doing his best James Hatfield impression (very suspect lyrics) and the guitar is killer.

It’s worth getting all these old Pantera albums if you can just for Dime’s playing. The guy was a one off and is greatly missed.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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