THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: December 18, 2023

BLACKBERRY SMOKE – Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime

December 18, 2023 /

This is a reissue of the band’s 2003 album on their own label, 3 Legged Records. I think country rock sums them up nicely, they are definitely southern fried. Although, they have a huge roadhouse barroom boogie about them as well.

Nothin’ For You is just one of those songs, and Steve Earle would have been proud of that one. They certainly get a huge guitar sound. Train Rollin’ sounds massive and is definitely my favourite tune. I definitely like them more when they crank the power up and they get locked into a southern groove, but Charlie Starr has one of those great storytelling tones to his voice that all the great country singers have. This comes through on Sure Was Good, which is a great song. There are three live songs tagged on and they just rip it up. As a bonus there is a killer rendition of Scare The Devil Outta You, which is a close to being my favourite tune.

You can’t beat some honest rock n’ roll and these guys sure deliver.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

BLIND VENGEANCE – Taste Of Sin

December 18, 2023 /

This album is the beginning of Harry Hess and Darren Smith’s recording adventures. Both went on to form Harem Scarem and would join Jake E Lee in Red Dragon Cartel.

This album sounds nothing like the polished grooves that Harem Scarem record. It sounds like four young kids got let loose in a studio for the first time. It’s mostly old school heavy metal with the occasional gem thrown in like Manikan. This track shows what power Harry has in his voice. It has a great sense of composition with actual melody and is a step up from most of the other songs on the album. I’m going for the close out song Leave Me Tonight as my favourite. It’s just full of youthful enthusiasm and the joy of having been able to record an album.

This is definitely for collectors, as it goes for silly money.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

HEAVENS EDGE – S/T

December 18, 2023 /

Heavens Edge are yet another killer “hair” rock band that basically just released one killer record and then because of kids falling in love with flannel lumberjack shirts, it all went south. For sure these guys would have been a lot bigger if this album came out five years earlier. But we can’t dwell over the what ifs, can we?

What a great opening track with Play Dirty. Those ascending chords for the riff are a sure fire winner, and with those party anthem lyrics, you just can’t lose. It’s my favourite tune on the album. Skin To Skin follows and it’s another banger. Similar format to the opener with a killer riff and groove with lots of geeetar! Find Another Way is next and would have been a killer single. It’s a slightly softer track with what is essentially a power ballad, but with more balls. Great hook and chorus! Up Against The Wall is up next and a tad of funk is added to the mix to give the song a nice swing to the groove. It’s real ballad time now with Hold On To Tonight. Side 1 closes out with Can’t Catch Me. This baby bombs along at the speed of sound and has some Guns N’ Roses attitude thrown in.

Bad Reputation kicks Side 2 into action nicely. The track feels a bit like Def Leppard with the huge hook and chorus. Great tune! Daddy’s Little Girl follows and I really like the riff and groove, plus the middle section is really cool. A live track is next with Is That All You Want. It has a slow blues acoustic build up before the band explodes with an Aerosmith-style romp. Superb vocal harmonies at the intro of Come Play The Game; a power ballad with a massive hook and chorus. The album close out with Don’t Stop Don’t Go, a superb uptempo fun track and a great end to an awesome record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

TALAS – High Speed On Ice

December 18, 2023 /

I think this line up of Talas only existed for a very short time, and this is the only album they are on. This was recorded at L’Amour club in New York, although I’m sure the crowd is dubbed on afterwards.

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard an album where the bass is so prominent in the mix. That’s not to say that it’s over powering (because it’s not). Billy has quite a clean treble tone to his playing that is very noticeable, you can hear what an incredible player he is.

Mitch Perry on guitar is a revelation, his playing throughout the album is superb. The instrumental track, The Farandole sees both Sheehan and Perry trading some killer licks. Highlights from the album are Do You Feel Any Better with some great guitar from Perry, and the blowout ending of Shy Boy which flies along at a mean pace.

Talas are a cool band, and not your typical rock band.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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