THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

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EDGE OF PARADISE – The Unknown

January 29, 2022 /

This band were described to me as a rockier version of Halestorm with Lizzy Hale. Now I’m sure Miss Hale is a wonderful person, but that cold-manufactured -in-a-studio Rock does absolutely nothing for me. I thought this band were new on the scene, but this is their fourth album and I have to say I am very impressed. Big fat huge riffs wrapped around the three octave vocals of Margarita Monet. It’s very commercial sounding as tracks like Digital Paradise and My Method Your Madness would have made great tracks to release to the rock charts. I actually thought they were European as they have that sound, but nope, they are from California.

The track, False Idols, has a Metallica vibe to the riff and intro, and you have to wonder if their biggest asset is also their biggest drawback. Margarita has an unreal voice, but when she goes really high it can be quite off-putting. Dave Bates is a really good guitar player, his riffs and leads sound killer, but they seem to have a revolving door of drummers and bass players. They are on their sixth of both and you wonder if this is a band or a project. The best track by quite by a mile is My Method Your Madness. This is when it all comes together. The song and the melody are so strong, and Margarita’s vocals seem to be tailor made for tracks like this.

I hope they do find the niche they are looking for, as when it works, it’s really good.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MANZANERA – K-Scope

January 29, 2022 /

I guess Phil is mostly known for being the original guitar player in Roxy Music, but he has done a few solo things as well as a ton of collaborations. He is also a very successful producer having worked with Dave Gilmour among many.

This is his second solo album released in ’78 and is a mixture of instrumentals and vocal tracks. Tim Finn from Crowded House supplies the vocals. It’s very of its time as there is a punk-new wave vibe to a lot of the tracks, but also mixed with a heavy dose of Prog. I remember buying this at the time as I loved his 801 project and I was looking forward to seeing this live, but if I remember rightly Roxy Music reformed not long after and Phil went back to them.

Musically the whole album is all over the map reflecting Phil’s many influences like the wild King Crimson style tracks like the intro to Hot Spot, and the pure reggae of Cuban Crisis, to the very indie sounds of Remote Control. You even get a bit of Roxy Music with Slow Motion TV. My favourite track is N Shift as I love all the layered guitars with echo used to great effect.

Another artist that is off most people’s radar, but if you like weird and wonderful records then this could be for you.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

LIZZY BORDEN – Give ‘Em The Axe

January 28, 2022 /

Thanks to Metal Blade Records for putting these great early reissues out as the originals are going for ridiculous money.

Other than a demo, this is the band’s first recording, a four track EP. Very influenced by NWOBHM bands of the time, especially Iron Maiden, as you will hear on Kiss Of Death which is a ringer. I remember thinking at the time that all the American bands had taken the whole NWOBHM thing as an inspiration and improved on it.

For a first EP, this is pretty impressive, and No Time To Lose is a really great track with awesome twin guitar leads. I have to say I was surprised (and still am) that they put a cover as the last track on a four track EP, but at least it’s a good one with Rainbow’s Long Live Rock n Roll. Although they never quite made it per say, they had a decent career in the eighties.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

LOUDNESS – Disillusion

January 28, 2022 /

A mind blowing fact to start with is that Loudness have released 26 studio albums and at least 9 live albums. This is album number four (which was also recorded in Japanese) and was released in ’84. Of course the main interest for me in the band is guitarist Akira Takasaki who is the EVH equivalent in Japan.

This album is very NWOBHM in style and sound, with a little bit of thrash thrown in – but with insane guitar breaks on every song. The first two tracks, Crazy Doctor and Esper, blast by with some ripping guitar. The third track, Butterfly, is a bit of a left turn with a funky guitar pattern and choppy riff that seems totally out of place, until the instrumental section where the song almost goes Prog, and then we get a Maiden gallop. A totally weird arrangement! Side 1 ends with a full on metal assault of Revelation.

Side 2 opens with Exploder, which is Akira’s Eruption moment as he entertains us with this little shred fest. Dream Factory is next and is my favourite track on the album. It has killer guitar throughout, and I love the picked chorus effect guitar in the verse. Milky Way has a nice riff with an odd drum pattern to change things up and a killer middle eight. Satisfaction Guaranteed has a stock Judas Priest riff and groove. The album closes out with Ares Lament, which I would describe as a metal ballad…and we all know how I love those. This is my favourite of the early albums.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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