THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: August 11, 2024 (Page 1 of 2)

GUARDIAN – First Watch

August 11, 2024 /

The whole Christian rock scene was looked upon with ridicule in most of the rock mags in the early to mid 80’s, and if you tagged yourself as a Christian band it was the kiss of death for you career until Stryper came along. This was Guardian’s first release that appeared in ’89 and this version was released on Roadrunner, primarily a metal label at the time.

This album got my attention because of the killer guitar playing of Tony Palacios, who has to be one of the best guitarists you’ve never heard of. He embellishes every song with the right amount of awesome to lift the songs above the average. Mystery Man being a fine example of this as it’s a decent enough melodic rock tune with a nice groove and hook but the guitar lifts it to a great song. That’s basically the whole album. As what are mostly ordinary songs are elevated by some very cool guitar. My favourite song other than Mystery Man is Saints Battalion. If you can get past the lyrics, the song and melody are cool and the solo is so good.

So, if you’re interested in great guitar playing then check this out.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

DIRTY LOOKS – Turn Of The Screw

August 11, 2024 /

For some reason when Dirty Looks first appeared on the scene I passed them off as a poor mans AC/DC. Musically, they are definitely drinking from the same cup. They play that blues laced dirty rock n’ roll but with a tad more commercial vibe.

This album came out in ’89 and was the follow up to the successful Cool FromThe Wire. Nobody Rides For Free is that basic DC formula, but with a great hook and chorus. The title track and C’mon Frenchie are sleezed up glam fests with the latter grooving along at a great pace. Take What Yo Get is my favourite tune. It’s a great boogie driven song with a great riff, and the hook and  chorus are killer. Sometimes the DCisms are a bit close, like the opening riff and groove to Love Screams which steals the main riff to Let There Be Rock. Great song  though!

I do like my rock n’ roll simple with plenty of riffs and grooves, and Dirty Looks tick all those boxes. A great fun record.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MACHINE HEAD – Through The Ashes Of Empires

August 11, 2024 /

Now, Machine Head have released two genre defining albums. Burn My Eyes (their first release) was a killer addition to the groove metal academy with fat huge riffs and grooves a plenty. They lost their way for a while until the release of album number six, The Blackening, which is an absolute beast of a record. However, the album before that (Through The Ashes Of Empires) laid the groundwork for The Blackening and is often overlooked when talking about Machine Head.

The groove and riffs returned on this monster and what a way to open up a record with Imperium. Everything I love about the band in one song. Huge pounding grooves with accompanying mighty riffs and Rob snarling his way through the vocals. Bite The Bullet is an immense track. Again, crushingly heavy with both groove and riff. There are still hints of the Nu-metal mash up with tracks like Left Unfinished on the border of both but overall the heaviness and brutality win out.

Vim crushes everything in its path with the run to the end being a monster groove fest. I know this may sound weird, but there are definite comparisons with the Chili Peppers on All Falls Down in the quieter moments that are welded onto the crunch. Imperium is my favourite tune as it just doesn’t get better than that.

If this one passed you by, give it a chance. Great record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

VAN HALEN – 2 Mo-Fi edition

August 11, 2024 /

When Mo-Fi announced that they were issuing the first six Van Halen albums on their super hi-def ultrasonic format I was intrigued to hear what they would sound like, but at $125 US each album I thought I would give them a miss. The first one appeared and my curiosity got the better of me and I splashed out and got one. Yep, it sounded incredible and that was my curiosity placated. Or so I thought!

When VH2 appeared a few weeks ago, like a moth to a flame I caved in and bought this one too. This was the one album of the original six that I listened to and I thought the pressing I had wasn’t up to scratch. The one I had was a tad muffled in places so I have always wanted to hear it with more clarity. There was a hi-def mix that came out a few years ago that sounded great, but it’s nowhere near this version. I can’t see this record ever sounding better in an analogue format.

I already adore this album and you can read my previous review. Just a stunning mix and pressing, it’s as though you are in the room with them. The stereo separation is so good and the clarity is incredible. I know it’s a lot of money, but if you love early VH as much as I do then this has to be a must have.

Here’s to trying to ignore the Mo- Fi Women And Children First when it comes out.

1,000/10 from The Grooveman.

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