THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 413 of 492)

KINGDOM COME – In Your Face

July 7, 2021 /

I could never understand all the nonsense surrounding this band with the comparisons to Led Zeppelin. Now, Lenny Wolf does sound a little bit like Robert Plant, but he also sounds a lot like Geddy Lee, but musically they are miles away. Imagine if Greta Van Fleet had been around 30 plus years, there would have been music journalists who would have had a stroke. This is a great album with killer production from Keith Olsen, it’s not polished too much, just leaving enough raw around the edges.

Do You Like It is a great opening track with just the right amount of melody and crunch – it was the lead off single. Who Do you Love carries on with a nice hook and chorus. The only track that bears a passing resemblance to Zeppelin is The Wind, with the long drawn out middle section – it’s a very dramatic sounding tune. Gotta Go (Can’t Wage A War) follows and is possibly the weakest track on the record. Side 1 closes out with Highway 6 and it has a nice blues acoustic intro before the big blues rock crunch kicks in – and we’re off and running.

Side 2 kicks off with Perfect O, a cool riff and some nice slide playing make this a cool track. Just Like A Wild Rose is a nice change of pace with a nice slow groove, and again, is quite a dramatic sounding tune with a killer middle section. Overrated was the second single from the album and is very AC/DC in its execution – this is my favourite off the album, simple but effective! Mean Dirty Joe has a great opening and has a nice fat riff to drive things along – this is a joint contender for best track. The album closes out with Stargazer, and with a title like that the song has a lot to live up to, and it doesn’t quite manage it but it’s still a nice song to close out the record. If I’m honest, the album does sound a bit dated, but I still like it and that’s what matters.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND – Joyful Noise

July 6, 2021 /

Thanks to the amazing Music On Vinyl for this great pressing of this 2002 release. Before forming the family Tedeschi Trucks Band, and before being part of The Allman Brothers Band, Derek had his own band. The feel is a lot more loose and groovy than both The Allmans and the family band. He is an incredible slide player, probably the best there has ever been, as he puts puts so much soul and feel into everything he plays.

The band that recorded this is a four piece, but the band would expand greatly with members over the albums they recorded. There are no boundaries or barriers to the music that they play, everything from blues to gospel, and from jazz fusion to Latin – everything is on the table. The title track is a superb groove fest in true jam band tradition. Each member has their own little piece, but the focus is always on Derek’s incredible playing. The amazing Kofi Burbridge is a huge part of this record as he had a hand in writing nearly everything – sadly he is no longer with us. There are many highlights throughout this record, but my favourites are the very Latin Santana-esque, Kam-ma-lay, which is just superb, as well as the dirty funky groove of Every Good Boy, and the slow jazz vibes of Frisell where Derek shows the true expanse of his talents.

I would recommend getting any of DT’s albums as they are all a great listen.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

PINK FLOYD – Dark Side Of The Moon

July 6, 2021 /

There is a reason that everyone calls this album one of the best albums ever recorded, and that’s because it is. The ground work for this release was made with the previous album, Meddle, as that was the first proper album where the ghost of Sid Barrett was finally put to rest, and the psychedelia with it. Of course it helps when your record company lets you spend all the time you want in the studio to perfect your music. I’m not sure an album of this magnitude will be ever made again, at least not under a record company banner. Maybe now home recording is much more accessible and cheap, artists might do it with their own dollar, but no record company will ever do it again.

People always look at Floyd as this great technical behemoth, but in reality the songs are quite basic, it’s how all the instruments are layered and separated in the mix that creates this amazing aural experience. The band produced the album themselves with the great Alan Parsons as engineer, and to my ears, it’s one of the great sonic masterpieces of the seventies. 11 pieces of music and 6 songs, every second is perfection. Of course, they were still a band at this point before tyrant Waters wanted to belittle everyone other than himself to take total control.

Most people would agree that Money is the great track from the album, with a superb solo full of feel and tone by Gilmour. In fact, IMHO, all the songs where Gilmour sings are Floyd’s finest moments. One of the great songs not mentioned too often is The Great Gig In The Sky, with the superb wailing vocal from Clare Tory, I absolutely adore this track as it’s full of feel and expression.

So I don’t need to tell you that you should already own this, if you don’t then I suggest you rectify that immediately.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

MASTERS OF REALITY – Sunrise On The Sufferbus

July 5, 2021 /

This is the second album from Andy York’s Masters Of Reality, and is noteworthy for having none other than Ginger Baker on drums. Musically they are quite hard to pin down on this album, as style wise it’s all over the map. Which is no bad thing as the songs are all short and snappy – nothing weighs in longer than 4.19.

She Got Me is a fast shuffle rock n roll delight, highlighting Ginger’s involvement. In fact, the drums are really high in the mix throughout. JB Witchdance is a quirky off beat little oddity that sticks in your brain. Jody Sings feels as though it was a Beatles outtake from Abbey Road. Rolling Green has a reggae feel mixed with Beatles harmonies and is a great pop song. Ants In The Kitchen is my favourite on the record as it has a wicked riff from Goss, and a groovy drum pattern from Ginger. V.H.V is very low-fi and could be a Kyuss desert project.

Bicycle is a short 46 seconds of “what the hell?” before we flip over to Side 2 with 100 Years with its late sixties psych groove and is a very melancholic song. T.U.S.A is next with a spoken word lyric by Ginger about pouring a cup of tea and is a great groovy little track. Tilt A Whirl is a return to a fast shuffle with a simple rock n roll riff, but again, highly addictive. Rabbit One starts with a killer slow funk vibe and a very trippy riff – it’s another contender for best track. Two really short burst tracks, Madonna and Gimme Water are next before The Moon In Your Pocket closes out the record with a barroom crooner style, and continues the trippy vibe that flows throughout the album. As I mentioned, a very hard album to pin down, but enjoyable all the same.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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