THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: March 2022 (Page 8 of 14)

PORTNOY*SHEEHAN*MACALPINE*SHERINIAN – Live In Tokyo

March 15, 2022 /

I love all these projects that Mike Portnoy has been involved with since his departure from the band he founded – Dream Theater. He certainly keeps himself busy that’s for sure.

What you get here is a selection of tunes from each of the member’s careers and this group’s take on each of them. You also get the obligatory solos from each of the members which takes up a chunk of the record. There is also a DVD of this event and it’s worth buying for the surround sound. I love this type of release and I can listen to this all day. 4 musicians at the top their game? Yes please!

Highlights (and there are many) include a superb version of Lines In The Sand, a superb cover of Billy Cobham’s Stratus which is always a favourite of Jeff Beck, and a perfect ending to the gig – a version of Shyboy by Talas/Dave Lee Roth. If only these type of projects would tour more often as it’s great to hear these songs in a less structured environment.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

GUILD OF AGES – Rise

March 14, 2022 /

I was quite surprised when I saw the release of this album on Escape Music. I thought they had called it a day after releasing three albums for MTM records at the end of the nineties. They also released three albums under their previous name, Caught In The Act, or CITA for short. So what do they sound like? Well, it’s melodic hard rock – a bit like Journey but with a slightly harder edge.

The album starts with a nice instrumental intro that leads into Deep In Heaven, which the title suggests, does reflect the faith of some of the band members. The lyrics on some of the songs are of a Christian leaning. This track is one of my favourites as it weighs in at over 8 minutes with the intro, and its more on the heavier side. Around The Sun is slightly more poppy in feel and has a section that reminds me of Kansas. Addicted has a killer riff and groove and it swings along nicely – the guitar gives it that bit of oomph! Every Road Leads Me Home is power ballad number one and the harmonies are really cool – a great guitar sound! All Fall Down closes out Side 1 and we go out with a bang. A big fat heavy riff drives the song along, and has a big hook and nice harmonies.

Side 2 opens up with Awaken with a Prog metal style riff and an off-groove that sets this track apart from the rest of the album. This weighs in as my favourite track on the album. Another killer riff starts Love Rules All, and this track also has a different vibe and feel – not your straight 4/4. I’ll Keep Burnin’ has the double kicks pounding and I really love the harmonies on this one. Rise Another Day is a straight up melodic rock tune and the vocal sounds a bit off on this one. Then we spoil it all by finishing with the ballad, Hearts Collide. Always go out with a bang and leave them wanting more. All in all, not a bad album.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

MOTÖRHEAD – No Sleep Till Hammersmith

March 14, 2022 /

This is yet another version of an early Motorhead album that Sanctuary keep milking from the Bronze Records catalogue (which they consumed when Bronze went under). I was told by Lemmy himself that they don’t get a penny from the sales of these albums as they got stiffed when Bronze went bust. They only get publishing from these songs. I’m not sure if that’s still the case, but it’s outrageous if it is.

Anyhoo, this is the 40th anniversary edition of this Live album when Motorhead were at the peak of their powers, I have to admit it’s a nice package with extensive liner notes and it’s spread over three discs. The first is the original release, and the other two are the full recordings from the Newcastle City Hall gig from the same tour. I was at a few shows on this tour – the highlight of which was the Port Vale Heavy Metal Holocaust. What a great day out that was. I managed to snag a backstage pass for the show and got to meet and talk with all the bands on the day. Epic day!

This is as close as you will get to being at a classic Motorhead show, and it’s a great live album. As you will probably notice, keeping time was not Motorhead’s strong point and some of these songs fly past at break neck speed compared to the album versions.

I miss this time as it was so much fun and Motorhead were a huge part of that. It still brings a tear to my eye that none of the classic line up are with us anymore. This album is pure nostalgia for me.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

TKO – Let It Roll

March 12, 2022 /

Five years before the awesome In Your Face album, the band released this, Let It Roll, and it bears little or no resemblance to In Your Face other than the attitude vocal style of a Brad Sinsel. It’s a very 70’s sounding album with a hint of glam, but the overriding influence is The Who.

Believe it or not, this album sold over 150,000 copies, which today would put them at the top of the charts. The only song you could hang your hat on and say this is TKO is Rock N Roll – and thats only the intro. The beginning to Bad Sister sounds like old Rush, and the rest of the album is just OK.

It’s amazing what five years and a hot shot guitar player called Adam “Bomb” Brenner can do.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

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