THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 2 of 492)

RECKLESS – No Frills

July 23, 2025 /

Not to be confused with the Canadian band of the same name who recorded an album called Heart Of Steel. These guys are from New York, and this album originally appeared in ´87 and was produced by Jay Jay French and Mark Mendoza from Twisted Sister.

They have lots of riffs and grooves that you swear you have heard before, it’s all very familiar. They are competent musicians that’s for sure, and Bob Gam is a decent guitar player with a great tone but they just don’t have that killer tune. The best of the bunch are Nitty Gritty which has a huge AC/DC vibe, Crazy Over You which is Kiss around the Animalize period, and the best for me is Holdin’ On which is a hidden power pop gem.

If I’m being honest, it’s not a bad album and it has some memorable moments.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

LIONS & GHOSTS – Velvet Kiss, Lick Of The Lime

July 21, 2025 /

There were a squillion of these alt/pop/rock guitar bands around in the late 80’s. Every record company thought that they could make a quick buck without doing too much work to promote them. I think the problem with Lions & Ghosts was that they looked a little too rock with more of an alt/pop sound, and the indie crowd hated most rock bands. Plus, they never quite had that “ONE”song to kick off from.

Mary Goes Round is a great song with some epic power pop grooves but the record company went for a softer single with Passion, I think it was part of a movie soundtrack. It’s all very melancholy and sullen whereas maybe they should have grooved it up a bit. The album has a great production and sounds crisp, it just seems to be wasted here.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

HAWAII – The Natives Are Restless

July 18, 2025 /

This is the third and final Hawaii album to feature one Marty Friedman on guitar, before he would leave and form the legendary Cacophony with Jason Becker. There is not a whole lot on here that would give you a clue as to what Marty would do next. Sure, there are some great leads he flies off but this is just straight up, basic, heavy metal sounding like Keel and Kiss at times.

It’s okay and no new ground is being broken, but you can see that this band had run its course. In fact, my favourite song is Unfinished Business which could be a Keel song. It’s just a straight up and down hard rocker with a decent hook and chorus.

Strangely this sells for way more than it should and I guess it’s down to Marty being on it.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

DERAPS – Viva Rock N’ Roll

July 16, 2025 /

When I first came across the band’s debut album I was blown away. How can these guys exist in today’s plastic AI generated musical landscape? Deraps are Jacob Deraps on voice, guitar and bass, and Josh Gallagher on drums, percussion, and vocals. They are unashamed Van Halen fans, that vibe oozes from every groove. Jacob’s guitar sound and feel is pure early days EVH and the vocals have that DLR swagger but with a bit mote melody.

Now, the first album was 10/10 all the way to the bank for me and the pressure is certainly on with this one to equal its predecessor. It’s doesn’t quite hit the max score but it’s close ,and it’s not all about the VH sounds this time as we get a hint of Jacob’s love of AC/DC (he’s from AUS) with the song The Legend Of Larrikin Laddie. There is a big hint of funk added to the mix this time with Solitaire, Blindside, and The Dawg Stomp which are all great tunes but I’d say my favourites are the rocker Born To Die and the totally awesome title track Viva Rock N’ Roll.

This band deserves your support so go and grab a copy of both albums and support true talent.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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