THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: June 2022 (Page 10 of 14)

CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM – 662

June 10, 2022 /

You don’t get more blues than Kingfish – it’s deep in his soul. He is from Clarksdale Mississippi, right at the crossroads. This is his 2nd and latest album. Not only is he a killer guitar player, but he has such a warm tone to his voice. This album will appeal to the whole blues community as we have more traditional arrangements alongside some modern heavy blues – with hints of RnB and funk.

One of my favourite tracks is the slow groove of Another Life Goes By. Lyrically, it has a very strong message, mixed with a super cool groove and some great clean guitar. I’m a sucker for a good shuffle, and My Bad is a seriously killer tune. He is the king of the clean tone, and album closer Something In The Dirt is as traditional as it gets – the guitar sounds just superb. It’s great to see young blues guys breaking through.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

NIGHT RANGER – Big Life

June 10, 2022 /

Album number four in the band’s catalogue, and they were on a roll having sold 10 million records up till now – the record company loved them. They even put the band with hotshot producer, David Foster, to produce and co-write the soundtrack to the film, The Secret Of My Success. At this point, they had an embarrassment of riches in the band with two main vocalists in drummer Kelly Keagy and bassist Jack Blades, and two great guitar players in Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson.

The album starts with a bang with Big Life, and it’s the only track where Brad Gillis gets a writing credit – it’s no coincidence it’s the most rockin’ track on the album. Basically this is an aor/melodic rock fans wet dream. The songs are all high on melody, and the hook and chorus mean everything. Occasionally the guitars get a look in like on Carry On where the main riff is a beast, but on the whole it’s a very polished record and what could be described as corporate rock.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

TESLA – Mechanical Resonance

June 9, 2022 /

This is without doubt Tesla’s finest hour – a great, no nonsense, hard rockin’ record. Not bad for your first album!

I have to say it’s one of the better openings to an album with Ez Come Ez Go and the wild guitar intr. It’s a great uptempo groover, then they top that with Cumin Atcha Live, a near blueprint copy of Ez Come with even more wild guitars that drive along at a great pace. Gettin’ Better has a very Americanized Zeppelin vibe to it. 2 Late 4 Love starts with a choo-choo train drum groove and settles into a more straight ahead rocker with a great hook. Rock music is quite simple really, all you need is a great riff, and a great groove, hook, and chorus and away we go. Tesla really got it right with this album and Rock Me To The Top is a perfect example. Side 1 closes out with We’re No Good Together and it’s the only disappointment to what is a killer album so far.

Side 2 kicks off with the track that made them in the US, Modern Day Cowboy. I’m sure there’s a Def Leppard track it reminds me of, but it’s still a killer track in its own right. Changes is next and it’s definitely a power ballad, but the emphasis being on the power with some nice guitar from Frank Hannon. The only cover on the album, Little Suzi, is up next and this has hit single written all over it. Love Me is a slow stomper – a lighters in the air kinda tune. Cover Queen is next and has a really nice different groove with a couple of main riffs going on, and another hands in the air hook. The album closes out with Before My Eyes which is my favourite track on the album. This track builds and builds into a very dramatic piece. A great album that any fan of 80’s rock should own.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

ROBIN TROWER – No More Worlds To Conquer

June 9, 2022 /

To say Robin has found a rich vein of material in his latter years, would be an understatement. This is studio album number 26, and it’s a real quality record. Don’t want to go on about age too much, as Robin is now 76. There are musicians who are a lot younger and more in the mainstream who complain about making new music as they don’t make any money – and here’s me thinking artists did it for the art.

For a while, Robin was handling vocals himself, but on this album he is joined by Richard Watts whose tone compliments Robin’s beautiful guitar sound. Robin’s never been one for throwing in a million notes that don’t mean a whole bunch, it’s all about what’s right for the song. Check out the slow funk groove of Deadly Kiss to see what I mean. It’s a simple riff and groove, great vocal, and some sublime playing from Robin – a great song! There is not a bad moment on the album and I love it all. There is even a nod to earlier days with The Razors Edge, where Robin’s tone feels like Bridge Of Sighs era. This is a very groovy album and deserves your attention.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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