THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: April 2023 (Page 3 of 7)

BURNING TREE – s/t

April 24, 2023 /

Burning Tree are another band that burned brightly, albeit very briefly. Burning Tree existed for only this album, and then disappeared. Into the mists from whence they came. Some of you may be familiar with Marc Ford who went on to join the Black Crowes. This is a killer blues rock romp with plenty of groove, and their retro sound was (I guess) ahead of its time as every man and his dog are now releasing albums with the same vibe.

The album opens up with their namesake track and this sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the album. Kick ass blues groove that swings in all the right places. Wigs Blues And High Heeled Shoes blows in with a killer riff and man does this track groove. It’s favourite track time next with Fly On. An absolute monster of a tune. A dirty blues riff with a killer hook and chorus, plus Ford really rips on the guitar. Superb song! The tempo slows right down with Bakers Song, a melancholy country blues ballad that builds into a barroom groover. Side 1 closes out with Playing In The Wind. That country blues vibe continues with a much harder edge.

Side 2 kicks your ass immediately with the killer Hendrix influenced groove of Masquerade. Crush is more of that country blues vibe that harks back to the late sixties. Last Laugh has a great simple riff and beat with some Hendrix inspired flourishes, it is different to the rest of the album and it stands out because of this. Love the intro to Mistreated Lover, an oh so smooth pop blues with accompanying Hammond from Booker T. The album closes out with Turtle, a monster dirty riff groover that is very close to being my fave track.

That’s it, one and they’re gone.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

PRETTY ROUGH – Got The Fire

April 22, 2023 /

Another Canadian band that didn’t do a whole bunch outside of Canada. Hailing from Edmonton, Pretty Rough released two albums of which this is the second, and was released in ’84.

You have to wonder why record companies sign bands sometimes, as they obviously don’t know what they have. For example, I think the only single that was released was Don’t Bite. Now, it’s not a bad track and it got to #14 in the charts, but the far better track was Hold On. Now this tune rocks, and was a much better piece to be released as a single but for some reason it wasn’t meant to be. In fact, Tearin’ Up would have also been better, as the similarities to Brian Adams are quite evident and it’s a great tune to boot.

The album sounds very of it’s time, and if they would have concentrated on the rock tunes instead of pop tunes like Trouble Boy, then they may have done more.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

CONCEPTION – The Last Sunset

April 22, 2023 /

This is the Norwegian band’s first album, released back in ’91. They were a more straight ahead metal band at this point, before the huge progressive vibes came to the fore. Nice to see that they have remastered these reissues specifically for vinyl, as they were originally CD only releases, and I have to say they sound great.

Prevision kicks things off, then it’s straight in with Burning A Force – the double kicks blasting in with a suitably metal riff to match. It has an interesting middle section with some killer playing. War Of Hate has a very odd intro with Spanish guitar flurries before the metal arrives, and Khan supplying the drama with that oh so distinctive voice. The Spanish influence returns in the instrumental middle eight. Bowed Down With Sorrow is up next and the pace slows right down with the slow riff repeating over and over.

Side 2 opens up with Fairy’s Dance, a metal take on a folk themed vibe – a very cool tune. Another World starts with a great choppy riff that sounds a tad like Metallica in places, and towards the end it turns into a Sabbath-style doom fest. Elegy follows and it’s an instrumental track with a Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here vibe. The title track is up next and it’s my favourite track. It’s the one song on the album which points to what is to come. Killer vocal!! Live To Survive starts with some old school thrash riffage in fact it’s what drives the whole tune. Among The Gods is the last proper track on the album. Great riffage with the return of the flamenco influence, mixed with that slight Metallica vibe. Side 4 is given over to three demos: Midnight Sun, Bound To Suffer, and By Dawns Early Night – which are all killer.

A great band that thankfully are back together again.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

ALTER BRIDGE – Pawns & Kings

April 21, 2023 /

This is album number seven from these Floridian melodic metallers. Arguably much better than Creed Alter Bridge, who are now Marc Tremonti’s main focus. Myles Kennedy does his side gig with Slash, but I personally think that Alter Bridge is when it works the best. Kennedy’s voice is superb and compliments Tremonti’s huge riffing guitar crunch perfectly.

This Is War opens up the album with a huge riff and groove, and the hook and chorus is killer. More of the same with Dead Among The Living. That drop tuned guitar sounds awesome. It’s favourite track time with Silver Tongue. An absolutely monumental riff rips your ears, and the vocal melody is superb. The vibe and mood changes completely with the intro to Sin After Sin with a very eerie sounding tone. A huge sounding track with a killer vocal. Stay closes out Side 1, a quite commercial sounding track that would have made a great single.

Side 2 slams straight in the with the huge riff to Holiday. Great vocal harmonies to this one. Fable Of The Silent Sun is the big centrepiece of the album that builds and builds. A very dramatic musical landscape with that epic voice over the top. Season Of Promise has that very modern rock vibe going down and would have made a good single. Last Man Standing is killer with a Prog metal sounding groove and riff. Epic vocal from Myles. The album closes out with the title track. Lots of twists and turns musically, that keep the listener engaged because it feels as though you are listening to many different songs at the same time.

Alter Bridge don’t do bad records, and you won’t be disapointed with this one.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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