THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Month: June 2024 (Page 6 of 6)

KISS – Lick It Up

June 6, 2024 /

Lick It Up along with Creatures air The Night are my two favourite kiss records. After the disappointment of The Elder and problems with Ace’s addictions, Kiss were struggling and the double whammy of taking off the make up and the introduction of one Vinnie Vincent on guitar saw the band’s fortunes take a turn for the better.

Spawning two huge singles in Lick It Up and All Hells Breaking Loose, this album was winner winner chicken dinner for all involved. This is one of the only Kiss albums I can play all the way through as every song is on the money. Other than the two singles, Young And Wasted is the track I like the most and it’s one of the heaviest songs Kiss have done. Quite a simple riff with a pounding high tempo groove and a short but killer solo.

With Vinnie, Kiss found out how to rock again and if this was the only Kiss album you buy then you can’t go wrong.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

WARRIORS – The Warriors

June 2, 2024 /

These guys are a sort of one and they’re done band. Originally formed in Yugoslavia in ’82, they recorded a self titled EP. After a few line up changes including the introduction of Canadian guitarist Doug Platt, they again recorded a self titled album. They then relocated to Canada and again recorded “this” self titled album which was released on Attic records.

They play aor/melodic rock and I bought this purely because of the cheesy cover. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, and this album isn’t that great. I think the problem is they needed a decent producer to to help them with the songs as the some of the basic ideas are good. Also, I’m not a fan of the vocalist Niko. If you’re playing this type of music you need a singer that can pull it off and I’m afraid I find his vocal style annoying. The only track that I really like is Diana. It has a nice fat guitar sound and the groove is cool.

I would not recommend you buy this album.

5/10 from The Grooveman.

LED ZEPPELIN – 1

June 2, 2024 /

I’m sure everyone who will be reading this will have heard this album before, and with all the tracks still be being played on classic rock stations everywhere it doesn’t feel like a record that was released way back in 1969. That’s right Led Zeppelin 1 is 55 years old.

Where blues meets rock. I know the Stones had been doing the blues and putting out as their own but Zeppelin were adapting it to create their own sound. Sure, there are a couple of blues standards here but tracks like Good Times Bad Times, Dazed And Confused, Communication Breakdown, and Your Time is Gonna Come were taking the blues into a whole different universe. My favourite tune is the photo metal riffage of Communication Breakdown.

Did Zeppelin ever get better after the first two albums? We can debate that one forever and a day.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

IRON MAIDEN – Powerslave

June 2, 2024 /

I remember buying this back in the day and was somewhat disappointed. I love the first two albums, with that raw energy, but by the time this album came out all that raw energy and power had been replaced by a much more slicker sound. This is a 2014 remaster and they don’t even sound like a metal band to my ears, as it’s been polished so  much.

They were always good at doing a single and 2 Minutes To Midnight is the big one on this album, although that main riff was lifted from another NWOBHM outfit. (Bonus points for guessing who and what song.) I’m a sucker for a big sprawling centrepiece track and Rime Of The Ancient Mariner is my favourite tune on the record. Steve Harris is a genius at coming up with these type of tunes and I guess that’s comes from his love of old school Prog. In fact, maybe this should be classed as a Prog album instead of metal as it has much more in common with the Prog handle.

Do I like it anymore than when I first heard it? Well, yes I do and that’s because I accept it more as what it is than what I wanted it to be.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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