THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: June 2023 (Page 5 of 10)

PINNICK GALES PRIDGEN – s/t

June 21, 2023 /

More often than not, these side project albums can be a bit hit and miss as the tunes don’t live up to the hype. Now, I’m a huge fan of KingsX. The first five albums are all pure gold, I love Eric Gales’ playing, and I have only heard of Thomas Pridgen through his work with Mars Volta, so to say I was I was intrigued by this get together would be an understatement.

Opening track Collateral Damage has a sort of fusion groove going down, which is cool but it’s when the blues/funk vibes kick in that this album really comes into its own. Angels And Aliens is super cool with a great groove and solo. Hang On Big Brother is superb and really floats my boat. Killer groove and main riff plus Eric lets those fingers fly. Hate Crime is a close run for favourite track as the groove and feel are epic, plus it sounds so deep and heavy. This is what I was hoping the whole album to be like.

Lascivious sounds like a song that Hendrix would write if he was around today. Been So High is the big blues workout with Eric showing that he is the most underrated player around today. Killer stuff! The Greatest Love sounds freakin’ incredible. That echo and stereo split on the guitar is outstanding and is my favourite by a mile.

When these guys are on, boy do they cook!

9/10 from The Grooveman.

PRETTY BOY FLOYD – Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz

June 21, 2023 /

Wam bam thank you glam! I think you’d agree this is as glam as it gets. This is Pretty Boy Flloyd’s debut release, which came out in ’89 and was their most successful, in terms of sales.

There is nothing here that is gonna change the world, all you get is every night is party night and that’s okay with me as sometimes music should be about having fun. The title track opens up the album and if you’re not singing along to this by the end your fun muscle needs a tune up. Seriously though, it’s a great song with a huge hook and chorus. A power pop glam mash up is next with the single Rock N’ Roll Is Gonna Set The Night On Fire. Again, good time party rock n’ roll.

It’s ballad time next with Wild Angels, and I guess if Poison can do it…! 48 Hours is back to the glam slam pop template, which I guess Kiss pioneered way back in the day. Toast Of The Town wraps up Side 1 and it’s more of the same, really simple riff and groove with the big sing along gang chorus with lots of “Hey Hey Hey’s” thrown in.

Side 2 is basically a carbon copy of Side 1. The best of which is Your Mama Won’t Know, a fun uptempo glam pop punk three minute blast.

When glam is good like this it’s fun, but there are too many wannabes who give the whole scene a bad rap. If you want nothing more than a fun record, then this is for you.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

PROPHET – s/t

June 20, 2023 /

So, this is album number one from New Jersey’s finest underground pomp rockers and it was actually released way back in ’85. If you haven’t heard these guys before, think Styx mixed with Kansas and you get the vibe. The only person you may have heard of is drummer Ted Poley, who would later go on to be the front man of Danger Danger. He does actually get to sing here on the more aor sounding tunes.

High points for me are opening and favourite tune Street Secrets, which at times is close to Prog territory with a killer arrangement and some superb soloing. Next, Heart Of The Night is one of the more melodic tunes with Ted singing as the hook and chorus are huge. And lastly, the hard rockin’ vibes of Sail Away where the vocal harmonies are killer. I’m sure they were big Yes fans as some of the keyboard intros are akin to what Rick Wakeman does.

Quite frankly, this is an AOR fan’s wet dream and if you are that way inclined, then you should definitely track this down.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

LAAZ ROCKIT – City’s Gonna Burn

June 20, 2023 /

Back in ’81, these guys were regarded as one of the big bands to come out of the Bay Area metal scene, right up there with Testament, Exodus et al. This is the band’s debut album and a classic of the time. ’81 was such a fun time if you were a metal or hard rock fan as killer bands were creeping out of the woodwork seemingly at random. Whereas a lot of the bands were latching into the whole thrash phenomenon, Laaz Rockit were coming in with a more traditional sound, albeit with everything beefed up to the max. The guitars of Phil Kettner and Aaron Jellum are high in the mix and sound freakin’ huge.

The title track opens up the album and straight away it’s kick ass, all riffage all the way. Caught In The Act follows and is my favourite tune. Monster sounding guitars and a riff and groove that will have you bouncing your abode. Take No Prisoners is up next and the foot is firmly to the floor for this one. Old school thrash par excellence with a monster middle section. All too soon side one comes to a close with Dead Mans Eyes. Iron Maiden definitely springs to mind as I’m getting huge Prisoner vibes from the main riff and groove, and just wait for those gallops kick in.

Side 2 blasts your ears immediately with the patented bay area thrash of Forced To Fight. Old school evil sounding riffage to the intro of Silent Scream follows, and the vibe feels very British. Prelude is the odd track on the album, a weird choppy riff with matching groove until the thrash kicks in and then you feel as though you are listening to a different tune. Major props to drummer Victor Agenello, who is giving it the beans without the aid of triggers. We close out the album with Something More and I guess it would not be an album from this period unless we had a song with “THAT” riff.

I love this period of rock and metal so much as everything seems new and fresh. A great fun record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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