THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

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MSG – Universal

August 5, 2024 /

Michael Schenker is another artist I left behind and not bothered with after a few below par records. I think he had spread himself too thin as the amount of records he has put out is astronomical and the quality of songs suffered as a result. Of his solo material, the first MSG album and Assault Attack are my favourites, they are just great records.

Now, I had heard the song Emergency on one of my down the rabbit hole nights checking out music through Apple and I thought maybe it’s time I checked out what Michael has been up to. It’s not as good as those two albums I mentioned, but it’s a solid and enjoyable release. Ronnie Romero handles the vocals and his style suits Michael’s music really well.

Highlights are the already mentioned Emergency, which has a great riff and melody, the uptempo track Long Long Road with its very busy riff, and Wrecking Ball with Ralf Scheepers on vocals which is my favourite tune. Quite a simple riff, a four to floor groove, and Ralf giving balls to the vocal and song.  

As I said it’s been a while and this album feels as though it was recorded back in the good old days.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

VYPER – Afraid Of The Dark

August 5, 2024 /

As far as I’m aware, Vyper only recorded this EP and the album Prepared To Strike (which I have reviewed earlier), which the track Diamonds is from.

The title track opens up the EP in fine form with a kick ass LA style glam anthem and is definitely my favourite here. Diamonds takes references from NWOBHM as THAT riff rears its head again at the intro. Time Flies has the double kick beat of Motorhead’s Overkill but with way more over the top guitar noodling and a sleazy metal vibe. Great fun tune! All too soon the four tracks are over as Daddy’s Girl closes out the record with a Ratt-style rocker.

I remember that conversations with the record companies took place about replacing LP’s with EPs as the main format because it would be easier to keep the quality of the songs higher. I sort of get that point for bands like Vyper, but I do like the album format. Anyhoo, these are a fun four tracks that I haven’t heard in a long while.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

CRAZY LIXX – Two Shots At Glory

August 5, 2024 /

Here we have album number 10 for these Swedish glam rockers, although technically it’s not new at all. Nine of the songs here are remixes of older tracks and only three are new tunes.

Of the new tunes, Two Shots At Glory opens up the album with a sleazy up tempo rocker with a Def Leppard-style chorus. Invincible closes out the first side and the hook and chorus are superb. The best of the newbies is Sword And Stone with a Bon Jovi-style melody and huge sounding chorus.

My favourite of the redone tunes is Ain’t No Rest In Rock N’ Roll. It is an absolute blast of a tune with a kick ass groove and uptempo beat. Now, Crazy Lixx are a celebration of all that was awesome about the mid to late 80’s hair band scene, except with a beefed up sound for a modern age.

Now, my big problem with this record is not the music but with the pressing or the production. The treble is way too high resulting in distortion in places. With it being a Frontiers release, I’m going with the pressing as they don’t have a good track record with past releases. So be warned, you may want to get your hands on the CD instead.

8/10 from The Grooveman. 

DANGEROUS TOYS – Hellacious Acres

August 1, 2024 /

This is album number two from these Texan noise merchants and it was the final album under their contract with CBS. It was actually produced by legendary Queen producer, Roy Thomas Baker. Saying that, the album does sound a bit thin and the volume needs cranking to compensate.

I know everyone raves about their debut but I really prefer this one. The riffs and grooves are more rocking and toe tapping, and it’s much more of a sing along album. Gunfighter, Gimme No Lip, and my favourite Sticks And Stones open up Side 1. That’s not a bad start to the record as the riffs are flying thick and fast. The biggest surprise is their cover of the Bad Company classic, Feel Like Makin’ Love. They have made it into a country blues rocker. I know that may not sound great, but it works.

The band still get together occasionally to play live and have some fun but haven’t released any new material since ’95.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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