REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: April 1, 2022

LOVE/HATE – Blackout In The Red Room

A band slightly different in their approach, as the image was anything but LA glam and sleaze, but the music was the same. When you have a song as huge as Why Do You Think They Call It Dope, it sort of defines who you are. Even though the band recorded 7 albums between ’90 and ’99, it’s this one that gets all the attention. Other than Dope, this album has some great tracks making it a killer debut album.

The title track and opener is a great chunk of LA sleaze with a killer groove. Tumbleweed is a favourite of mine as I love the riff and the key changes. She’s An Angel was a follow up single and a poor choice in my opinion. It’s not a bad song, but something like Tumbleweed or the superb Mary Jane would have had more of an impact. Slave Girl is another killer track with an old school picked blues riff and superb melodies.

A really good album and it’s their best, and a great production by Tom Werman.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

GENESIS – And Then There Were Three

The randomizer is spot on with the this choice today, as Genesis have just played their last concert ever having being together for over 50 years. This was also the first album to have the band reduced to a three piece, as Steve Hackett had left the band in ’77. Of course this was impossible to do live, so they had a couple of session guys help them out; Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson were the two that were with the band the longest.

I guess you can say this was the last full on Prog album by the band as after the chart success of Follow You Follow Me, the band would follow a more commercial path. That was not the only commercial track on the album, as the ballad Undertow was also going in that direction. For me though, the more old school sounding tracks like Down And Out, Ballad Of Big, Deep In The Motherlode, and Say It’s Alright Joe are more of what I like about Genesis – I was not a fan of what came after.

This is a very well produced album and this version is a remaster from 2012 – it sounds fantastic. Another band from my youth bows out, and I have to say it’s sad to see Phil in his current condition, but the band have left a great legacy of music to listen to.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.