THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 382 of 492)

BIG COUNTRY – The Crossing

September 18, 2021 /
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When Skids fell apart and went their separate ways, Stuart Adamson took that very Celtic guitar sound with him and formed Big Country. It was the same guitar sound, but flavoured with all sorts of other Celtic influences to form a very unique band. Weirdly enough, the record company released Harvest Home first as a single and not In A Big Country, which the American’s released as the first single over there. Of course it was huge, and the Brits had to release it over there as well.

This being the first album, it still has the raw punk edges to some of the tunes like on Inwards and Lost Patrol. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, who became synonymous with the whole new wave scene with his production. I have a Scottish chum who loves this band, as they make him feel like he’s home even though he is a few thousand miles away. This is a great album. Fields Of Fire is a great tune and my favourite from the album.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

FOZZY – Judas

September 17, 2021 /

What started out as a bit of a joke and a means to just play covers and have a laugh, has turned out to be the main musical outlet for the majority of the band. Rich Ward was the main man in Atlanta groove core outfit Stuck Mojo, and as their fortunes waned, Fozzy’s has grown quite big compared to Mojo. What started out as a pretty standard metal outfit, mixing originals with covers, has changed into this modern rock sound. Now whether that was a natural progression or they have just gone with what’s new to make themselves popular, that’s not for me to say.

I like Rich Ward’s full fat guitar sound and he has a great ear for a groove and a riff, and he has become a pretty good songwriter as well. Now as far as Jericho’s vocals are concerned, it’s quite hard to hear them properly as they have been multi tracked and put through lots of tricks to fill them out. Anyhoo, the songs are where it’s at and the title track Judas leads the album. It’s a great modern rock track with lots of groove and melody. Drinkin’ With Jesus is ok – not a bad track but nothing grabs you. Painless starts with a lot of that already mentioned vocal trickery, and it feels like a mirror image of the previous track. There are plenty of fat chords, but there is no main riff to speak of, and a lot of the album is like that – it feels like a backing track for the vocal. Weight Of The World is just ok, and the side closes out with Wordsworth Way. It’s not a bad tune, apart from a short solo piece from Mr Ward that changes the vibe – it seems he’s been practicing his lead playing. Burn Me Out is what passes for a metal pop song today, and although the main riff is cool, the song sounds as though it was made in a lab.

I will stop there as you can get the feel of the album – it’s all generally the same. Chasing The Grail is when they changed their style and that wasn’t a bad album, but this isn’t my favourite for sure. I hope Rich Ward has a change of heart and steers the band back to be less robotic sounding, and a more natural groovy band.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

STATUS QUO – On The Level

September 17, 2021 /

I feel old in reviewing this album today, as I remember buying it the week it came out in ’75. This was the band’s 8th studio album and contains the classic, Down Down, which almost everyone has loosened their dandruff to – it actually went to Number 1 in the charts. This album (and the one after) was Quo at their peak. They could do no wrong and sell out concerts wherever they went. They had found a formula with Paper Plane and they ran with it, and kept it going for all their career. I mean, how many times can you do a fast boogie? The answer is quite a lot apparently, as nearly every major hit they had (until the cheese set in) was a variation on the same chords and sound.

Quo are the perfect example for that old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. I have a big soft spot for the Quo and this album and Blue For You are my favourites – the nostalgia factor is very high. The best tracks on the album are obviously Down Down, and a great cover of Chuck Berry’s Bye Bye Johnny. Happy days!

8/10 from The Grooveman.

DOKKEN – Under Lock And Key

September 16, 2021 /

This is their third album released in ’85 and the band were flying by this point. They always managed to get the balance between the melody and the crunch just right. George Lynch is one of my favourite players and boy can he write a riff. I know his name is on the cover and it’s his band, but Don is definitely the weak link in the band. He has always struggled with his voice, but his vocal melodies are really good here I’ll give him that. A killer rhythm section in Pilson and Brown – this band should have been bigger.

I always thought that Unchain The Night was a single as the melody and hook are good – but it wasn’t. The singles were The Hunter, In My Dreams, and It’s Not Love. To be honest, there isn’t a bad song on this record. If I’m pushed I would say this is my favourite Dokken record. Not only are the songs strong, but George really plays killer all over the album. This was the record where he really made a name for himself. I never tire of hearing the whole album as it’s class, but It’s Not Love stands out for me – its just the icing on the cake, a superb track. They definitely don’t make albums like this anymore.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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