REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: July 4, 2022

VAN HALEN – 5150

I’ll get this out of the way, I’m not the biggest Sam The Sham fan for numerous reasons that I won’t get into here. The first six VH albums are classics. They had that edge that made them unique, and every rock band that came out after ’78 wanted to be them. So, when I heard Dave had left the band to be… well, Dave, I was soooo disappointed. When Hagar was announced as the new singer it felt like someone had stolen my favourite thing and got away with it.

As soon as the needle drops and you hear that stupid “Hellooooo Baby”, you know it’s all over. Musically I like Good Enough, as it feels old VH and the band sound tight, especially Alex’s drums that sound so good. Get Up is really good and Ed’s playing is epic (as it usually is). I like the main riff to 5150 and the breakdown in Summer Nights is really cool, but that’s it for me. Nearly all the other tracks just sound like some other corporate rock act of the day and that edge they had is gone. The Inside is ruined by dipstick’s attempts at being Dave, and failing miserably. It got even worse after this album, as what I loved so much had gone.

7/10 from the Grooveman.

CROBOT – Something Supernatural

For some reason I always think these guys are from deep down in the southern US, when in fact they are from Pennsylvania. This is the band’s debut album, released on Wind Up records in 2014. They live in that very retro rock groove space; with the emphasis on the groove. The nucleus of the band is vocalist Brandon Yeagley and guitarist Chris Bishop; Yeagley has one hell of voice. They sort of remind you of everybody and nobody at the same time, if that makes sense.

This is a great album for a debut and the first three tracks, Legend Of The Spaceborne Killer, Nowehere To Hide, and The Necromancer are all high octane uptempo groovers with great riffs and epic vocals. The pace and groove slow down for Le Mano De Lucifer, with a very dirty retro almost Sabbath-style riff, but what a killer vocal. Skull Of Geronimo starts with some nice squealing guitar until we settle down with a slow brooding heavy groover. Side 1 ends with Cloud Spiller a very heavy funk riff with a great hook and melody.

Fly On The Wall kicks off Side 2 and the funk vibe continues with a massive riff but with a slower groove. Next up, Night Of The Sacrifice has that early seventies Sly Stone vibe, but heavier. Chupacabra is more of the same; they have found that groove and they’re sticking to it. Wizards has a very heavy psych groove going on. The last track, Queen Of The Night, is the only song with a change of dynamic; adding a bit of light and shade. I maybe would have placed it in the middle somewhere. Great debut album!!!

9/10 from The Grooveman.