THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 401 of 492)

ELECTRIC BOYS – The Ghost Ward Diaries

August 4, 2021 /

Yet another band back from the dead, having disbanded after the release of Freewheeling back in ’94. Known for their love of all things funky, people forget what a great rock n roll band they were – and boy could they write a tune (and still can). Formed by frontman Conny Bloom and bassist Andy Christell, the pair are still together today, and in this release from 2018, the band are back writing great records.

I’ll forgive them for stealing an AC/DC riff for opening track, Hangover In Hannover, as it’s a great song. Second song in, There She Goes Again, is one of the best songs they have ever recorded. A brilliant catchy melody and chorus coupled with a great riff, make this an awesome tune. You Spark My Heart is another great tune, a great up-tempo love song that’s slightly different from the norm. Love Is A Funny Feeling is the first visit to funky town on this record, and is a throwback to classic seventies funk. Gone Gone Gone closes out Side 1 and is the highlight of the album so far. That’s mighty praise indeed, as there has been a freakin’ awesome selection of songs on the album so far.

The delightfully named Swampmotofrog opens up Side 2 and it’s an instrumental romp with a killer riff, great slide playing, and a very heavy groove in the middle section. Next up is First The Money Then The Honey and it’s a good old rock n roll tune, with the big sing-a-long chorus with a nice heavy chunk towards the end. Rich Man Poor Man follows and starts with a great southern swamp style riff, and the main hook and chorus is really dirty with an awesome groove. Knocked Out By Tyson is the penultimate track and dirty funk rock part two. It’s a nod to older Electric Boys – with a little psychedelic twist – and another huge middle riff to blow your mind. The album closes out with One Of The Fallen Angels, a big epic number with a great riff and superb melody and chorus.

It’s great to have them back and with an album as good as this. They will be around for a long time.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MR BUNGLE – s/t

August 3, 2021 /

To say that this album came out of left field would be a complete understatement. This is Faith No More’s front man Mike Patton’s side project from a variety of his perversions maybe? Who knows, but it’s very intriguing and musically stunning at times. Combining a variety of styles – and believe me, anything goes here – and interspersed with lots of weirdness (including someone doing number two’s on the porcelain palace).

You could say they took lots of references from Zappa and other avant-garde experimentalists, but you would be hard pushed to find another band like this. The putting together of lounge lizard crooning, along side metal mixed with funk, and country on Slowly Growing Deaf is total genius. The perversions are out in force on Squeeze Me Macaroni, as apparently Betty Crocker needs to be knocked up via her butter gutter. Hilarious and disturbing all at the same time.

The guitar playing of Trey Spruance is a revelation – at this point I had not heard him before. Other awesome tracks are Stub A Dub, and Love Is A Fist (I guess you can work out what that’s about), and my favourite is the absolute insanity of Carousel. Heavy metal funk avant-garde jazz at its best.

This album is not for the faint hearted, but it’s a whole lot of fun and enjoyment.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

UFO – Live In Youngstown 1978

August 3, 2021 /

For those of you familiar with UFO’s live album Strangers In The Night, you will be familiar with some of this recording. Strangers was captured over five nights and cobbled together to make the classic album we all know and love. This album is one of those nights in its entirety and in the correct running order. One thing you notice is that this album is a lot more raw and in your face, begging the question how many overdubs were layered onto Strangers? That doesn’t bother me that much if I’m honest, as I like this album a lot. Mr. Schenker is on fire, and it’s cool to hear this version of the band again after all these years playing their asses off. Plus, you get to hear tracks not on the original release namely, Pack It Up (And Go), Cherry, and On With The Action.

UFO were one of the best live acts around and this album is a great testament to a once great band. There are not many tracks that I don’t like by this band and all this album is killer. My favourites are Let It Roll, Natural Thing, Lights Out and the usual sing-a-longs Doctor Doctor, and Shoot Shoot. If you want a lesson in how to do hard rock, then buy yourself this (or Strangers) – you won’t regret it. It’s worth it just to hear how good Michael Schenker was around this time.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

ZZ TOP – Deguello

August 2, 2021 /

RIP Dusty Hill!!! It’s super sad news and he held the bottom end so tight in this band.

This is the band’s 6th album and quite possibly their best. This album was released after the band went into exile after the Taking Texas To The People tour, which was not that great of a success. When they returned, the image that we know and love today was born. This is still the lil old band from Texas, but they are experimenting with sounds and tones – especially with the guitars, as lost of effects are used to create moods. I Thank You highlights this perfectly, as the opening guitar riff and tone is a joy and sets up the whole album. She’s My Automobile is old school ZZ paying homage to their Texas blues roots. I’m Bad I’m Nationwide is a mix of the old and new. The old being the main sound and chorus, but the new is the killer middle eight, and the ending with Dusty and Frank holding down a funky groove while Billy G lays the sauce on the top. Killer!!! One of the best ZZ Top tunes of all time is next with Fool For Your Stockings. This is blues – but not as we know it Jim. We get the lonesome guitar and the simple bass and beat. and then that funky simple riff with that awesome dirty vocal. It’s worth the price of the album just for the instrumental section. Manic Mechanic closes out Side 1, and the experimenting is in full flow both with guitar and vocals. Great track!

Side 2 starts out with Dust My Broom, a great version of the old Robert Johnson tune. Lowdown In The Street has a dual lead vocal from Dusty and Billy and a short sharp burst blues done Texas style. Hi Fi Mama has Dusty on lead with a burst of boogie – complete with horns. Another favourite ZZ tune is next with Cheap Sunglasses. Man, this song is freaking awesome! What a stunning riff and groove. This is my favourite ZZ tune – such a dirty funky track. Great vocal, superb guitar, and killer rhythm. The album closes with Esther Be The One, which I think is as close as the band get to a love song – although maybe not. Step away from Eliminator and come down to the real ZZ Top.

I love this album and it gets a 10/10 from The Grooveman.

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