THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: November 2022 (Page 10 of 13)

FUNNY MONEY – s/t

November 9, 2022 /

We all know the band KIX, right? Well, after they called it a day after the Show Business album, lead singer and frontman Steve Whiteman formed Funny Money and this is their first album, released in ’98.

Opening track Off My Rocker is a killer Aerosmith-style rocker with a great hook and groove. Art Of Persuasion follows and it has a Cheap Trick power pop vibe -another cool tune. Can’t Take The Heat is up next and is a beast of a boogie with a great riff and groove. Love this track! Baby Blues is up next, and I’m guessing Mr Whiteman has the hots for Cheap Trick as this song could have appeared on any of their records. Side 1 ends with For Keeps, which has a hint of the Beatles about it, and an earworm of a chorus.

Boogie Man opens up Side 2 and is a full on FUN tune with a great riff, and the clue is definitely in the title – and yupm it’s my favourite. Pick Me Up starts with a really sleazy cool riff. Love the melody and hook! Suckin’ My Blood is a full on sleaze fest with a dirty Stones-like riff. Monkey See Monkey Do is pure LA glam and I love the descending riff. The album closes out with Dry Eyes Cry and it’s as close as this album gets to a ballad. A great fun record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

LEATHERWOLF – Street Ready

November 9, 2022 /

This is the third album released by these California melodic metallers, in 1989, and would be the last until they reunited in 2006. They would be lucky enough to have a major label supporting them until the original split. The label sure believed in them, as this was probably their final shot, and they pulled out all the stops bringing in mega rock producer Kevin Beamish to produce and Michael Wagener to mix. It sounds awesome, as it should, but there was a lot of competition around at the time.

Opening track Wicked Ways is a solid opening track with riffs aplenty. Street Ready follows, and is a sure fire winner. Killer riff and guitar sound, and the hands in the air hook and chorus make this a monster of a tune. Hideaway is half ballad and half rocker, a sort of by the numbers track of the time to change the pace of the record with the three axe attack having a chance to show off. Take A Chance is a standard uptempo groover with a four to the floor beat. Side 1 closes out with Black Knight, an instrumental speed/thrash metal blast with plenty of groove changes and lots of guitar, it is my favourite track on the album.

Thunder opens up Side 2 and it has a slight feel of Iron Maiden about it with an added hands in the air hook and chorus. Great tune! The Way I Feel is a bit of a let down after the onslaught of Thunder and this where this album fades. I mean the solo is killer but, will the real Leatherwolf please stand up? Too Much on the other hand is supercharged in comparison. A fast metal romp with a killer riff and double kicks giving it plenty. Then we go from that to a big production keyboard intro for Lonely Road, which is hair band love song-o-rama. Spirits In The Wind closes out the album and it’s back to the Maiden comparisons with the main riff and groove. I love the middle section, it’s a great song to go out on. Overall, it’s a good solid album but I can see why they were dropped.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

ANVIL – Hard N’ Heavy

November 8, 2022 /

It’s hard not to like Anvil after all they went through. But that’s all in the future, and this is in the past, where it all started. This album was released back in ’81 in prime NWOBHM time, but these guys were from Canada. They were obviously a big influence on Anthrax as they have said so much, and other bands in the thrash scene, but that’s in the future.

The album opens up with School Love. Yup, the lyrics are well dodgy mentioning peaches and beaves, but the music and production is top notch with a great guitar sound. AC/DC is another lyric masterpiece – NOT. I’ll get this out of the way now as ALL the lyrics on all songs are pretty bad. I did not realize how similar Ted Nugent and Lips’ lead playing is, you could swear that Ted was playing on AC/DC At The Apartment has an AC/DC style riff with that plod groove. I Want You Both With Me is a straight up boogie. It was written by Dave Allison, who also sings lead vocals and it is the only track with no Lips involvement on either of those things. Bedroom Game closes out Side 1 and it’s the most metal track on the album with double kicks all the way through. and is my favourite on the record.

Ooh Baby opens up Side 2 and it’s a rehashed Ted Nugent riff and groove. A cover of the Stones’ Paint It Black follows and it’s an ok rendition, nothing great. Oh Jane is next up and it’s the only self penned lyric that is not a sleaze fest as Lips is saying how much he misses his one true love whilst out on the road. Hot Child has a nice riff and a cool gallop groove. The album closes out with Bondage and it’s another Nugent-inspired riff and groove. I’m sure Ted would approve of the lyrics as well. To be fair, the middle eight on the track is pretty killer. It’s amazing that the next album Metal On Metal, would do so well for them, but it was head and shoulders above this one.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

RIVAL SONS – Before The Fire

November 8, 2022 /

This is a reissue of the band’s self-financed debut from 2009. Dirty fuzzed up rock n’ roll – I don’t usually associate these type of grooves coming from California.

Tell Me Something is tipping the hat to Zeppelin, especially the guitar and drum sound. Lucky Girl has a killer riff and groove, and I love the hook and verse melody. I love the intro to Memphis Sun and we are in deep blues territory, maybe with a little Keef thrown in as well. I love the riff and the vocals are killer. Angel takes an even deeper turn into the blues, but with a heavy Zeppelin influence as well. Pocketful Of Stones has a riff that sounds slightly out of tune, coupled with that heavy Bonham drum groove. Side 1 closes out with the beautiful The Man Who Wasn’t There; just minimal instrumentation and a superb vocal until the very Beatles section.

Pleasant Return has a killer fuzzed up intro with a heavy psych vibe to the whole tune. On My Way has a heavy Americana vibe, with a hint of Seattle, and a bass line a lot of you will be familiar with. A superb, killer, groovy opening to I Want More, which tips the hat to many tunes that have gone before and reminds me of so many but keeps its originality and is my favourite tune on the record. Flames Of Lanka is the big number of the album and it starts really weird as though we have been transported back to the late 60’s with that whole psych vibe. The album closes out with Nanda-Nandana, a very grooved up psychfest. Great band that have really grown with each record and don’t sound much like this anymore.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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