THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: April 23, 2022

RACER X – Extreme Volume Live

April 23, 2022 /

I could save everyone’s time by just writing BUY THIS ALBUM and that would indeed be correct but a tad lazy on my part.

The band are filled out on this recording by the addition of a second guitarist in Bruce Bouillet. Just to prove how over the top this band are, this is a single disc recording and there are four solo spots on the album – everyone in the band is a virtuoso musician in their own right. I’m a big fan of all things guitar, and I’m a huge fan of Paul Gilbert and he is all over this, but Bruce Bouillet is a revelation here also.

This is one band I would have loved to have seen live, and this is as close I’m going to get. This recording represents a live testament to the first two Racer X albums, which are great, and it’s awesome to hear how tight the band are.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

NEAL SCHON & JAN HAMMER – Untold Passion

April 23, 2022 /

I always found the two Schon/Hammer albums quite unusual. At the time, Journey were bigger than a big thing on a big train to big town, and to disappear and squeeze this project in seemed a bit off to me. I thought that maybe these songs would be leftovers from Journey, but no, these were all originals composed by Schon, Hammer, and bass player Colin Hodgkinson.

There are five tracks with vocals which Neal sings. He has a very distinct voice that may not be to everyone’s taste, but I think it fits the music really well. Let’s face it, if you bought this album you were either a Journey die hard or you wanted to hear Schon rip it up – I fall into the latter category. He can really rip with the best of them, and the solo on I’m Down is right up there as one of the best solo’s he’s ever laid down. It’s a monster piece of playing and I absolutely adore it.

The album itself is the best of the two albums they did, and Wasting Time is a killer song with a superb solo thrown in. There are some oddities like Hooked On Love that don’t work, but on the whole this is an enjoyable album and it’s worth buying for THAT solo alone.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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