THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 258 of 492)

SANTANA – Abraxas

August 30, 2022 /

This is Santana’s second album released in 1970. After an amazing performance at Woodstock, the band were on a roll as that latin groove hit the spot perfectly. This early incarnation of the band were all about the jam and extending tunes to the max, and I didn’t realize that he didn’t write a whole lot himself. The only thing he writes on here is Samba Pa Ti, which along with Black Magic Woman, were the two songs on this album that everyone was familiar with.

Other than Carlos himself, the other band member that catches your attention is keys and vocalist, Greg Rollie, whose Fender Rhodes and Hammond playing are a distinct feature of the band. Carlos’ ability to arrange Classical Latin tunes into a Rock environment is genius. Oyo Como Va and Samba Pa Ti being cases in point. These early albums are very of their time, but still a fun listen.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

BATON ROUGE – Shake Your Soul

August 30, 2022 /

This is another album I thought would never make it to record, but thanks to those good folks at Real Gone Music – here we are. This is the first album that came out in ’90. It was a bad time to be putting out melodic rock records no matter how good they were. The man that some of you will of heard of, is vocalist Kelly Keeling who has been with MSG, King Kobra, and Eric Norlander (amongst others).

Things get moving with opening track, Doctor, with a great fat huge riff and a slight Trampled Under Foot vibe, but it’s the huge hook and chorus that gets your attention. Walks Like A Woman follows, and what a great riff with a slight funky vibe, and the hook and chorus are huge – great fade out as well! Big Trouble is Glam Rock 101 – a simple repeating riff with a four to the floor groove, and that big sing-a-long chorus. It’s About Time is ballad number one. Bad Time Comin’ Down is my favourite track, as I love the choppy riff and the hook and chorus are really infectious. Side 1 closes out with the instrumental, The Midge, which is just a short acoustic piece.

Side 2 opens things up with Baby’s So Cool – what a great riff and groove, and the hook and chorus are really good. Young Hearts has a huge hook and chorus, and I love the middle section with a killer solo. Melanie is a lot more laid back and more AOR sounding. Ballad time is here again with There Was A Time. The riffs return with Hot Blood Movin’, and what a huge drum sound. This would have made a great single. Side 1 closes out with Spread Like Fire – a great uptempo groover. Another band that came too late, but still a great record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

INFECTIOUS GROOVES – The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move

August 29, 2022 /

Funk Metal and Funk Rock were fun and relevant for all of five minutes it seems. There were some great bands in the Rock genre that were great at the Funk, Dan Reed, Stevie Salas and the Electric Boys (just to name a few), but in Metal there were not that many, but the Suicidal Tendencies offshoot, Infectious Grooves, were a whole lot of fun and they were really good. Mike Muir and Robert Trujillo thought it would be fun to play a few shows, and they ended up doing a few records as well.

I will stick to the killer tracks here as there is a bit of filler (mainly added for comedic effect). Punk It Up is just a killer Metal/Hardcore crossover with not much Funk at all. Therapy, on the other hand, is a ripping Funk/Metal hybrid, which even has Ozzy on the chorus. Stop Funk’n With My Head would not have been out of place on a Funkedelic record . The title track is another perfect crossover with killer grooves and a monster riff. You Lie And Yo Breath Stank is just freakin’ awesome. It’s my favourite track on the album due to the killer vibe and groove with a wicked sense of humour.

This is better than anything Suicidal did in their day job. A little word of warning – this is the third record I have. I returned it a couple of times as it is a very noisy pressing. I really like this record as it’s just a whole bunch of fun.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

QUEENSRYCHE – The Warning

August 29, 2022 /

The UK rock music press are an odd bunch – they are quick to criticize bands for non-original ideas and seemingly being copycats of other bands. They forget every band is inspired by what came before. Queensryche were often written off as Iron Maiden clones – as were Dream Theater and Fates Warning – due to their first EP. I prefer to look at it as Maiden inspired them to find their sound. I mean, nobody could have predicted them serving up Operation Mindcrime, and that’s what they came up with just a couple of albums later. They took what Maiden were doing and added that progressive edge. Yes, Geoff Tates vocals are very close to what Bruce was doing in Maiden, but musically I think they were a bit more adventurous – after all, this was their debut full length record.

Warning is a great opening tune and it lets you know what the band are all about – and Tates vocal range is very impressive. En Force reminds me a lot of Judas Priest, with the riffing and the lower tone in Geoff’s voice. Deliverance’s layered harmony vocals are very impressive with a very basic riff. No Sanctuary could be the first prog metal tune, as the arrangement is pretty epic with amazing vocals – although slow in pace – it’s going places others weren’t. Remember it’s ’84 and Dream Theater were just a twinkle in Mike Portnoy‘s eye. Side 1 closes out with NM156, and this is my least favourite track on the album – it’s a tad disjointed.

Side 2 kicks off with Take Hold Of The Flame and it’s my favourite on the album. It’s a totally different vibe to anything else and has a great riff and groove, but what a monster vocal. The pedal goes straight to the metal with Before The Storm, it has a great odd beat and groove. There is a version of this on a Greatest Hits somewhere and it’s straight pedal to the metal – totally different! Tribal drums announce the arrival of Child Of Fire, and the riff is straight out of the Judas Priest songbook. Roads To Madness starts with a very evil doomy main riff – this song is full of light and shade and is the big epic of the album. This was about as metal as they got as they started to change and find their own voice after this.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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