THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 148 of 492)

LEE AARON – Elevate

September 18, 2023 /

So, here’s another blast from the past for ya! Well not actually. She has been around near enough constantly, just taking a break between 2004 to 2012 and giving up the rock to do some jazz. Since 2016 with the Fire And Gasoline album, she has returned to rock. I had the pleasure of seeing her and the band live this Canada Day and she put on a kick ass show, the voice still has all the power. Produced by Lee herself and mixed by Mike Fraser you get ten tunes of melodic rock goodness for you to digest that range, from straight up rock, to pop, and a few diversions in between.

She sure knows how to write a great hook that just drags you into the song. Freak Show is a perfect example of that, a great pop rock groove and believe me you will be singing the hook and chorus for days. Highway Romeo is power pop at its best. A simple chord progression, a flat four groove, and a so infectious hook and chorus; if this was ’85, radio would have been all over this. My favourite track is the last tune on the album, Elevate. I think it’s about the hell that is social media and the evils that it pushes. A slow but sleazy groove seems to fit the subject matter perfectly, and you will singing this baby all day as well.

Since she came back to rock, the records have all been great and this one is no different.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

BLUE OYSTER CULT – Tyranny And Mutation

September 16, 2023 /

This is the band’s second album, which came out way back in ’73. Yup, fifty years ago!

A far different beast from what they came to be. This album is more in line with what the MC5 and the Amboy Dukes were playing, rather than the slick machine that put out Imaginos. They were even called punk rock four years before that became a thing.

Yes, it does sound dated that’s for sure but tracks like The Red & The Black, Hot Rails To Hell, and my favourite 7 Screaming Diz Busters still sound great. It must have been the producer’s favourite as well as it’s a lot louder than everything else, especially the intro riff.

BOC are a very intriguing band and they have a great body of work that is worth investigating.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

ROXY BLUE – s/t

September 16, 2023 /

Another resurrected band from those dark days of the early 90’s. They put out Want Some on Geffen in ’92, then nothing until 2013 when they put out two self financed CD’s, and then nothing again until this appeared on Frontiers in 2019. This is a new Church Of Vinyl reissue that came out early in ’23. They come across as a raw version of GnR mixed with Ratt and early Aerosmith.

Silver Lining is a stripped down almost barroom rocker but Rockstar Junkie is a kickass rock n’ roller that should have opened up the album. Scream keeps the grooves a comin’ with a near funky riff and groove, and a killer hook and chorus. Collide strips things down to acoustic guitars and ballad city. Nice hook and chorus and play out solo. Outta The Blue closes out Side 2 and that descending riff is cool, otherwise it’s straight up sunset strip.

Todd Poole can sure write a good tune and Side 2 opener Blinders has a cool Americana vibe. It’s favourite track time with The Well Runs Dry. A simple crunchy riff, a pounding groove, a simple football chant and we a have a winner. Human Race has a very nineties raw sound that reminds me a little of Alice In Chains. How Does It Feel is about as basic as it comes. A simple muted riff, a simple beat, and bare vocal with harmonies makes this quite an emotive little tune. Back to the crunch with What It’s Like. A killer riff that I’m sure I’ve heard before is the bedrock of this beauty. We close out the  album with Overdrive, a low-fi sounding punkish tune that puts a bit of a downer on what is otherwise an enjoyable album.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

JUDAS PRIEST – Sin After Sin

September 15, 2023 /

I was glad when this popped up today, as I have been meaning to play the 180g version to compare it to the the OG copy I have. Roger Glover did a great job with the production way back in ’77, but I always thought Simon Phillips was a bit low in the mix. I’m not sure who did this remaster, but it sounds a lot brighter that’s for sure.

Killer opening track with Sinner. It has become a Priest metal classic that we all love, but just to show that they wanted to keep a foot in the rock camp, a cover of Joan Baez’ Diamonds And Rust was included. They always came across better live as they sound a bit like Styx, here especially with the vocal harmonies. If you listen to Starbreaker, Halford’s vocals are so good. He was metal way before the band. The track is just a straight forward hard rock romp, whereas the vocal is totally metal. The only two tracks that you could call metal today are the aforementioned Sinner and my favourite track Dissident Aggressor, which would be a perfect launch pad for what came next.

Not their best album, but it’s cool to see how the band developed their sound.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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