THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 378 of 492)

DIO – Holy Diver

September 28, 2021 /

Could this be Dio’s finest hour?…Yep! I know he made great albums with Rainbow, and the two Sabbath albums are great, but his name was on the cover here and had to be amazing as a big FU to his previous employers. I’m not a fan of all the dragons and demons nonsense, and it wears a bit thin after a while, unless you are a hobbit from Hobbiton, but there is no denying this album is a bonafide classic.

The opening track alone is just immense. A killer riff and guitar from Vivian, a brilliant heavy groove from Jimmy Bain and Vinny Appice, and Ronnie sings his ass off. Now that ladies and germs is how you do an opening track! Even the slower tracks like Rainbow In The Dark are amazing. He was out to prove a point and boy didn’t he just. For a diminutive little fellow he sure could belt out a tune, what a set of pipes he had. I don’t have to say too much about this album other than everyone should own at least one Dio album and my money is on this one.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

DWEEZIL ZAPPA – My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama

September 27, 2021 /

This is Dweezil’s second full length album released in ’88. His first single released in ’82 was produced by Eddie Van Halen. I guess it was inevitable that with all of the music around him that he would be a musician. Compared to his dad, this is quite a normal album with verse, chorus, and four four beats with quite an 80’s pop vibe. Frank does make an appearance by producing and writing the title track. His vocal style reminds me of Nick Lowe and Dave Edmonds, and with the guitar buddies he has it was inevitable he would be a bit of a shredder.

The title track is one of my favourite tracks as there is lots of guitar and it’s quite a rocking track – compared to his dad’s version. Comfort of Strangers is a cool track too as I love the chord progressions, key changes, and there is a really nice solo. Bang Your Groove Thang has a great sleazy groove and riff. Your Money Or Your Life is as good as any LA glam band of the time. This album holds up really well. I haven’t played it in a while and was surprised how good it is.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

THE STRUTS – Young & Dangerous

September 27, 2021 /

This is the second album from this four piece from Derby, England. They play the finest pop rock since the 70’s, and they do remind me of the days where every band was doing this glam pop schtick. Every song is a pop rock masterpiece with big hooks and melodies, and the all important sing-a-long chorus, which when played live, is one big party.

Nothing groundbreaking or new here, no political message to pound your brain into depression, just good old rock n roll played for fun. My favourite tracks are the opener, Body Talks, which is a great up-tempo groove rocker, and the remix of the same song with Kesha on vocals. There are a couple of surprises like Who Am I, which has the groove and rhythm of Do You Think I’m Sexy by Rod Stewart, and I Do It So Well, which has a Brit pop vibe to it. Overall a great record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

AEROSMITH – Done With Mirrors

September 25, 2021 /

So this is the so called comeback album for Aerosmith, as Joe Perry and Brad Whitfield rejoined the band after their short lived solo careers and Aerosmith’s declining fortunes. This album did not do a whole bunch commercially either, and they were at the last chance salon until the Run DMC collaboration saved the band – the rest is history.

Ironically the opening track, Let The Music Do The Talking, was the title track from Joe Perry’s first solo album. Tyler loved it so much he wanted to put his stamp on it, and acknowledging Perry had made some great music away from the fold. This album is what critics say “the last true Aerosmith record”, as after this the band used a whole bunch of outside writers to come up with the hits. My Fist Your Face is a typical simple rocker that the band could write in their sleep. Shame On You has an off-funk vibe and groove – it’s a great tune. There are not many Brad Whitford tunes, but Sheila is a cool one with a great repeating riff. She’s On Fire is quite an interesting song as the band would revisit this vibe albeit in a different song on Pump with Monkey On My Back. The Hop is the only full band contribution on the whole album and is an up-tempo blues shuffle.

Not the best album they ever done, but nowhere near as bad as people make out.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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