THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: April 14, 2024 (Page 3 of 3)

UFO – Misdemeanor

April 14, 2024 /

The line up and album that no one remembers. It’s a weird one. Phil Mogg is the only ever present member on the album and I think it’s safe to say this is UFO’s AOR album. The keys are the dominant force here, giving it that AOR sound, although Atomik Tommy M does his best to give proceedings a much needed dose of rock, it’s a losing battle though as the production is very clean sounding.

The songs are all quite commercial with an eye on American radio diluting what made UFO so good. Occasionally they do shake their heads and deliver a somewhat rockin’ tune that befits their name and Meanstreets does its best with Tommy ripping it up on the guitar. Somewhat contradictory though, I go for Name Of Love as my favourite tune as they bring together the crunch with the radio friendly sounds to create a great track.

If you’re an AOR fan then you may get off big time on this album, but I like my UFO with, well more UFO if that makes sense.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

LA GUNS – Waking The Dead

April 14, 2024 /

This is a RSD reissue of the 2002 release, with three quarters of what is considered the classic line up. Of course it has all turned into a bit of a farce with various versions of LA Guns on the circuit, which doesn’t do the fans any favours at all. Anyway, enough of that malarkey and what does this bad boy actually sound like?

Well, the short answer is not bad at all. When this band are on, boy are they on and with OK Let’s Roll they have delivered huge. It’s a kick ass beast of a tune with a riff and groove to die for that tells everyone they are more than the LA sleaze and grind boys that they would have you believe, and it’s definitely my favourite tune.

Of course there are the patented Sunset Strip anthems like Don’t Look At Me That Way, Hellraisers Ball, and Waking The Dead but they can also masquerade as a great power pop band with tunes like Revolution. They always throw in a punk/sleaze/glam blast and Psychopathic Eyes fills that void on this record.

A very enjoyable record.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

TURKISH DELIGHT 2 – Khalil Turk and Friends

April 14, 2024 /

Not satisfied with having one volume celebrating his 30 years involved in music, Escape head honcho Khalil Turk thought why not make it two. Again, it’s a who’s who of the rock community guesting on a collection of original songs and like its predecessor, it kicks big time. I’m assuming this was recorded in bits and pieces all over the world and big props to Frederick Folkare who not only wrote the majority of the songs here but did a great job mixing the album.

So many great songs and performances on the album but the stands outs are No One Knows Your Name with Ralp Scheepers on vocals showing he is not just a screamer rockin’ the album into gear, my personal favourite Crazy with Mr. Jeff Scott Soto on vocals and some kick ass guitar from Mr. Folkare. This one rips along at a great pace. James LaBrie delivers a good performance on Hold Your Future, not too far out of his wheelhouse. It’s great to see a Dan Reed song with Future, adding some groove and swing to proceedings.

These albums are fun to listen to but must be a nightmare to put together. Very enjoyable listen.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

TNT – X111

April 14, 2024 /

I find TNT the most strange band. They had huge success with the Tony Harnell line up, the melodic rock vibe, and the darker metal overtones. Then, there was the Tony Mills period, which I really loved because Tony was a perfect match, but sadly Tony passed on. Then, there is the line up that recorded this album ,which was released in 2018 and is the only album to have Baol Bulsara on vocals, because we all know now that Harnell has returned again for the 4,000,000th time (slight exaggeration).

I have to say this feels more like a Ronni Le Tekro solo project, much akin to a Vagabond release than a TNT album as the music does tender to wander. Now, that’s not a bad thing as I find this to be a very interesting and cool record with some great arrangements and melodies. A perfect example of this is Its Electric. A brilliant song with a quirky riff and groove, but with a hook and chorus to die for. I’m sure Ronnie is a big Brian May fan as the main sound of the intro to Where You Belong is pure Queen, and that’s not the first album he has done that.

My favourite track is the hectic People Come Together with its monster intro riff and groove that really swings along. 17th Of May is just awesome, that killer dirty riff and vocal line is sooo cool and you could pick this also as a favourite tune. It’s tunes like this with that quirky vibe that no else does that makes me love this band so much. Of course, if it’s meat and potatoes melodic sing alongs like on Intuition, then Tears In My Eyes should make you more than happy.

Ronni is a rare talent and there are not many of his kind around. Long may TNT make records.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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