REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: September 3, 2022

FROST – Day And Age

I always look on Frost as a studio project and not a band, because they have only ever played a handful of gigs. Mastermind Jem Godfrey, who is a songwriter to many of British Pop and reality show artists namely Atomic Kitten and Shayne Ward, wanted a release for his more proggy and heavier tastes. So, Frost was born.

Drummer Craig Blundell left the band prior to these recordings and was replaced by three sessions guys for the recordings, Pat Mastelotto being the most famous. I’m a big fan of John Mitchell’s vocals and his Lonely Robot project, he doesn’t disappoint here.

Opening track Day And Age is wonderfully proggy, and yet it keeps a very poppy vibe to the hook and main chorus. The instrumental section is just awesome with a a simple fat riff and groove, and the keys and samples over the top are killer. Terrestrial sounds huge and very cinematic, the keys are really driving the song. Waiting For The Lie has a beautiful soft vocal and it’s not until the final section that the tempo and groove increase. The Boy Who Stood Still starts with a narrated spoken word, but explodes in the middle with huge vocal harmonies and some epic grooves. This does remind of some late eighties pop. Island Life has a very Peter Gabriel feel to its proceedings. Skywards feels almost like the twin of Island Life, in feel anyway. Kill The Orchestra starts off almost like a lullaby. Of course that vibe is destroyed with some really heavy keys (or guitar, I’m unsure which). Repeat To Fade is a very eighties Trevor Horn vibe, and as with all the tracks on this record it sounds huge due to its monster production. Day And Age is my favourite track it’s just a monster tune.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

CHEAP TRICK – Dream Police

This my favourite early album by Cheap Trick. The musical landscape was changing at the time, and rock music was becoming heavier with bands like Van Halen and AC/DC having a big influence.

Rick Neilson seems to play way more guitar on this than usual, especially on tracks like Gonna Raise Hell (which is epic), Need Your Love, and the wonderful The House Is Rockin’ (which is my favourite on the album and Rick is really showing his chops). Of course there is their usual patented brand of power pop with tracks like Dream Police and I’ll be With You Tonight, with the infectious hooks and grooves. Voices sounds like something from the George Harrison song book, and the sleeper track that no one mentions is I Know What I Want. Cheap Trick are one of America’s greatest exports and they have this knack of writing amazing catchy pop/rock songs, and long may they continue. Would you say they are America’s Beatles?

9/10 from The Grooveman.