REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: May 12, 2025

ROXX GANG – Mojo Guru’s

Released nine years after their classic album Things You’ve Never Done Before, this one is a bit strange as it was released under The Mojo Guru’s name.

This project has one foot in the blues and one in the bottom of a whiskey bottle. For most of the time Kevin Steele’s vocals sound as though they were recorded through a 1930’s telephone in a swamp in the Deep South. Now, I get they are going for a vibe but most of the time it’s sounds as though they are dicking around. The only song that plugs me in is the title track and even then the guitar sound bugs me.

Not the band’s best effort.

6/10 from Grooveman.

Y&T – Down For The Count

This record was released in ‘85 right when hair bands were ruling all before them and Y&T were one of the best exponents of the rock anthem. Yet, they never quite made it into the top half of the premier league.

The trio of Earthshaker, Black Tiger, and Mean Streak are Y&T at their best, but the band’s biggest charting single Summertime Girls is on this album and that should tell you a lot about this record. It’s definitely the most commercial record the band made and they had both eyes firmly on FM radio with this one. Whether that’s pressure from the record company or just the way they were going at this point I’m not sure.

I find the keyboards quite off putting on some of the songs. Y&T are about the crunch and the worst offender to my ears is Anytime At All where the keys are front and centre. Thankfully, they still remember how to rock and Anything For Money is a prime time Y&T belter.

This is where the band went full AOR, and if you entered the Y&T universe with Earthshaker then this record is a tad disappointing.

7/10 from The Grooveman.