THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: May 2022 (Page 11 of 13)

Y&T – Mean Streak

May 7, 2022 /

The best three Y&T albums are Earthshaker, Black Tiger, and this – ironically, the three worst selling of that classic period. I know they are a band, but it’s all about Dave Meniketti who has a superb voice and is a killer guitar player.

The title and opening track is trademark Y&T, with that huge voice monster riff and a great hook. Straight Through The Heart has a slight funk feel to the groove and main riff, but what a solo and vocal! Lonely Side Of Town has single written all over it, but I don’t think the record company released it as single. Side 1 closes out with Midnight In Tokyo, which was released as a single and is a superb track. The intro alone is worth the money paid for the album.

Breaking Away opens up Side 2 and it’s the weakest track on the album. Hang ‘Em High is an uptempo groover in the same vein as Hurricane. Take You To The Limit starts slow, but boy what a riff and groove when it kicks in! Sentimental Fool was the second single released and has a nice chorus and hook. The album closes out with Down And Dirty, a typical Friday night rocker with the big sing-a-long chorus. It’s two tracks away from being a ten.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

VEGA – Anarchy And Unity

May 7, 2022 /

Since the collapse of most of the melodic labels in Europe, it seems as though Frontiers have now cornered the market with only Escape Music who is left of the originals. On this, their latest release, it’s nice to see they wrote all of the songs this time – I think on the last album outside writers had been brought in. My only gripe with this album is that the mix sounds very quiet and I have to really crank it.

If you’re new to Vega, they write super catchy hard rock belters. Beautiful Lie kicks things off nicely with a great groove and a super catchy hook. Sooner Or Later is even better with a killer groove and melody. End Of The Fade starts with a slow brooding vibe, and then normal service is resumed with another great hook and chorus. You get the picture right? This is the whole album!

I will give a special mention to Bring The Riot which brings the melody in spades, but is done in a very modern sounding way. I also love the sleazy barroom vibe of C’mon. Vega are a great band who deserve to be heard, and in this market how does a band like them actually break through? Frontiers – over to you.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

YES – Relayer

May 6, 2022 /

I have a love/hate relationship with Yes. I like the cap called classic period, and I love the Trevor Rabin era. I am totally confused as to what constitutes as Yes these days, as there seems to be too many variants doing the rounds. This version is part of the box set of Steven Wilson remixes and sounds incredible. You may think this is an easy album to review as there are only three tracks, but as with all things Yes, it’s a lot more complicated.

Rick Wakeman had jumped ship prior to the recording of this album, and was replaced by Patrick Moraz on the keys. Side 1 is given over to the massive The Gates Of Delirium, and everything you associate with Prog music in the 70’s is is all crammed into this one track. Odd time signatures, strange arrangements, and over indulgent playing are here in abundance, and up you can just smell the patchouli oil escaping from the speakers – this is what l love about Yes!

Side 2 is a bit more normal in the fact that we have a whole two tracks, but it’s more of the same with a most strange (almost jazz) intro to Sound Chaser. To Be Over sees the band being influenced by far Eastern instruments, and that vibe carries on for all of the track.

You either love them or hate them, and this album is no different. The mix and sound is awesome though and is a great listening experience.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

VANDENBERG – Heading For A Storm

May 6, 2022 /

This is the follow up release to their hugely successful self titled first album. It’s easy to see why old Cover-version stole him to be part of the Whitesnake set up, as Adrian sure knew how to write a hook and melody. This album is not as hard hitting as the first. The aim here was to consolidate and to make inroads into the US, so the songs were aimed in that direction. Unfortunately, the sales did not improve much and the single, Friday Night, only made it to number 29 on the Billboard chart.

Unusually, this album seems to be loaded up with the better songs on Side 2. This Is War is my choice as best track on the album, as it’s the most uptempo track. I’m On Fire is a typical Kiss style stomper of the period, and the title track is a close second for best track. If Side 1 was better, this would have been a killer album. I don’t play this album a lot and I’d forgotten what a great player Adrian is.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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