THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Category: Vinyl Reviews (Page 437 of 492)

BE BOP DELUXE – Axe Victim

May 5, 2021 /

I absolutely adore this album. It’s such a thing of beauty to the ears, and yet Bill Nelson doesn’t care for it that much. In fact, by the time the album came out, he was already changing the image and the personnel of the band. Forever the maverick, Bill wasn’t prepared to play the record company game. At the height of the band’s popularity (especially in America), he folded the band and formed the alt/art rock combo, Red Noise.

Anyway, the Be Bop Deluxe albums that were records, are all different and you can hear the progression from glam to Prog and alt rock. The title track opens up the album and is amazing. Right from the first chord, Bill’s guitar just holds you with the sheer brilliance of the playing. The solo is timeless and I never tire of hearing this one. Yes, there are big Bowie overtones – especially with the image and the lyrics – but this to me is so much better. Bill is not just a great frontman, but a true guitar hero. Love Is Swift Arrows follows and lyrically is amazing – “Rules to be broken by reckless and young men”. I’ve always loved this song and that line in particular. Bill plays his amazing guitar lines all over the track, but it compliments rather than takes over. Jet Silver And The Dolls has deep Bowie influences with the subject matter alone, and musically it’s very similar in style to the Ziggy period. Third Floor Heaven is the closest he comes to actually mimicking Bowie. From the phrasing of his voice to the Mick Ronson style rhythm playing – its so close. The delightful Night Creatures is the last track on Side 1 and tells a tale of glams new children. It’s such a beautiful track and Bill’s vocals and phrasing are just perfect.

Side 2 starts off with Rocket Cathedrals and is souped-up old school rock n roll tune. Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape is a song that means quite a lot to me as I was brought up in a community like that. I lived about 10 miles away from where Bill Nelson grew up and lived, and the pictures the song paints are fresh in my memory. Jets At Dawn is a song that appeared on the Smile EP and is a re-working of the original. It is also the longest track at 7.20. It contains a brilliant solo from Bill as the tempo picks up towards the end of the song. No Trains To Heaven is the big rock track on the album. It’s quite simple in its style with the interplay with Bill’s vocal and the guitar answers, but kicks ass as the speed picks up. Final track Darkness (L’immoraliste) has strings, orchestra, and everything – one can only speculate the subject matter. This is a great album and comes highly recommended.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

THE MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA – The Inner Mounting Flame

May 4, 2021 /

Often cited as the founders of the whole fusion movement, the band blazed a trail for all that followed them. Formed in New York in ’71 by Yorkshire guitarist, John McLaughlin, he assembled hotshot musicians around at the time. Billy Cobham on drums, Jan Hammer on keys, Rick Laird on bass, and Jerry Goodman on violin. This was the band’s first release way back in ’71. This is the Speakers Corner reissue and sounds superb.

The music on offer here ranges from the pure improv of the opener Meeting of The Spirits, to more structured tunes like Dawn. As you would expect, there is tons of experimentation with sounds and tones – especially with McLaughlin’s guitar and Hammer’s keys. My favourite track is Side 2 opener Vital Transformation, with its manic groove and incredible playing. This is the album that gave McLaughlin almost god status in the guitar world, and lifted Cobham’s credibility in drumming circles. It’s not an album for the casual listener as you have to give it repeated listens to appreciate all what’s going on.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

JASON BIELER AND THE BARON VON BIELSKI ORCHESTRA – Songs For The Apocalypse

May 4, 2021 /

For the uninitiated amongst us who are unaware of who Mr. Bieler is, he was the musical driving force behind Saigon Kick. Most of the strange musical interludes of that band can be attributed to him, and the vibe here is very similar. Other than a ton of special guest appearances (playing mostly solo pieces), Jason sings the majority of the songs, plays most of the guitars, and plays the keys. The cover and artwork scream Steampunk and it’s a great image for the concept.

The opening tune is an eerie musical piece that introduces the album properly with the heavy riff that accompanies Apology. A great tune with superb melody and lyrics. Bring Out Your Dead is another cracking tune with a great D-tuned riff with fantastic melodies and vocals. Very melodic but in a different way that is refreshing and has me wishing that Saigon Kick were still with us.

Side 2 starts with a ticking clock as the intro to Annalise before a great off beat drum groove takes you to Prog territory. Yes spring to mind at first, but it’s a lot more than that – such a fantastic unusual tune. Stones Will Fly follows and has Extreme’s Pat Badger on bass. It sort of carries on from the previous song as it has that Prog vibe to it. I love music that challenges the listener and is away from the norm, and this is definitely that – both strange and familiar at the same time. Down In A Hole closes out Side 2 in fine style with a heavy groove and staccato drumming, but it’s the vocal melodies that get you, and I love the middle section.

Over to Side 3 we go with the power pop tune, Anthem For Losers. This a great tune, and the type of song that I wish the charts were full of. Horror Wobbles The Hippo is a short jazzy connecting piece with brings is into Beyond Hope – another fantastic oddity of a tune. There is a reggae/rock groove, a Jamaican style vocal from Benji of Skindred, and a solo from Bumblefoot. Epic stuff – more please! Crab Claw Dan brings Side 3 to a close, and starts with a Victorian fairground vibe and those wonderful layered harmonies.

A killer riff starts off Side 4 opener, Born Of The Sun, and we’re in Prog metal territory. Another killer tune – when will the pleasure end! Baby Driver is next, and is another wonderfully strange instrumental piece. Then we have Alone In The World with Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, and it’s another delightful oddity. Very Fine People is an acoustic driven piece, but again it’s the vocals and harmonies that soar above the music. A strange little piece FKSWYSO closes out the album and the line “You’re still a fat kid swimming with your shirt on” is stuck in my brain. It’s a joy to hear that such challenging and beautiful music is still being made, especially in the melodic rock world where every band seems stuck in 1983.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SONS OF APOLLO – Psychotic Symphony

May 3, 2021 /

Now, no one can accuse Mike Portnoy of being lazy. Since his departure from Dream Theater in 2010, he has been involved in 706 different projects and none of them sound like Dream Theater…until this one. Personally, I’m surprised its taken 7 years for him to make an album like this. I’m aware that he did the 12 steps suite with Haken and Eric Gillette as his backing band. He always wanted to do them as a whole with Dream Theater, and for obvious reasons that never happened. So if you’re going to do a Prog metal record to rival what you have done before, then you’re going to need some kick ass musicians right?

Bumblefoot is on guitar, and what a great and innovative player he is. Billy Sheehan on bass is a monster player in his own right. Portnoy’s old DT band mate, Derek Sherinian, is on keys. He was my favourite DT keyboard player as he brought the rock big time – I was sad to see him leave. On vocals, Jeff Scott Soto, who has been around the block a few times, and to me, is the best possible vocalist for this band. He has great tone and range to his vocals. I’ll get this out of the way here: I was a huge DT fan and have seen them 36 times, but over the last couple of albums they have been coasting and all of the creativity and challenging music seems to have gone. So, this album is a shot in the arm for me. To see Portnoy still wishing to push himself and create challenging music is a joy.

Gods Of The Son is a monster opening tune, and whether MP admits it or not, it’s a big F-U to his former band. This has everything and will blow you away. Coming Home keeps the quality very high, and has the bonus of a killer chorus and vocal from Jeff. The opening riff and groove to Signs Of The Time is just epic, and you can see that the main difference between SOP and DT is the melodies as well as Jeff’s vocal tone. Of course, the music is top notch and all of them are out doing each other. Parts of this song remind me of the fusion bands of the seventies. I’m drooling…and that was just Side 1!!!

I’m going to skip to the final track – Opus Maximus, but take it from me, every song on this record is just amazing. The opening instrumental section is eerie and doom inducing before exploding into instrumental heaven. There are a thousand different riffs and grooves to keep the fidgety amongst us happy. One hell of album! My only gripe about this record is that Side 4 is one of those pointless etched sides. Yeah it looks pretty, but when I’m paying $50 for a record I’d like music all the way please.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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