THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: album review (Page 62 of 469)

JETBOY – Feel The Shake

May 9, 2024 /

Same title as the album that broke them, but this is NOT that album. There are two versions of Feel The Shake, an ’87 one and another from 2007. The rest  are a collection of waifs and strays that haven’t been on vinyl before.

Side 1 has a demo vibe and feel about it, and is quite raw. I find the punky sleaze vibe quite endearing and Don’t You Mess Up My Hair shows that the band has a fun sense of humour. The best song on the album is a Bullfrog Pond.

The production has gone up another notch as we go over to Side 2 and sounds huge compared to all of the tracks on Side 1, and that Aerosmith vibe suits them.

These Deadline bits and pieces albums are ok for completists, but I’m not sure any new fans will be attracted.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

ALIAS – S/T

May 9, 2024 /

Alias are a Canadian AOR supergroup, would you believe. There are members of Sheriff and Heart, so I’ll give them that. All joking aside, it’s a very good album that is high on big hooks and has loads of melody but was released at the moment of doom, so I guess they were destined for failure.

They did have a number one single in Canada and number two in the US with More Than Words Can Say, and Waiting For Love didn’t do to bad either. If you’ve read a lot of my ramblings you will know I’m not too partial to the ballad and my brain locks in to the the rockier tracks and Say What You Wanna Say is that track in this record. It’s a great uptempo rocker with a killer hook and chorus and Freddy Curci has a great set of pipes.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

PLINI – Mirage

May 9, 2024 /

This the latest five track EP from one of the most prolific musicians around today, Plini. There is such a thriving progressive music scene in Australia, I may just have to emigrate.

The word fusion gets thrown out whenever Plini releases any new music and with opener The Red Fox that is what immediately springs to my mind. There seem to be two differing time signatures going at once, with the bass and hi hat following one path and the kick and snare following the other, and Plini soars over the top. Beautiful piece!

Five Days Of Rain is a deceptively chill song that musically captures the title perfectly, with heavier bursts to describe the more stormy aspects. Very clever track! Still Life is another killer sonic masterpiece with an awesome groove that goes really low to wake up your internal organs with an added bonus of Tosin Abasi lending a solo.

Aqua Vista starts with that heavy low end bass and the guitar soundscape is sooo spacey. I love the guitar on this one and it is my favourite tune of the record. The EP comes to an end so quickly with Ember. There is quite an upbeat vibe to this piece with almost folk guitar runs played underneath that heavy groove.

I’m a massive lover of instrument music and when it’s played and written as well as this there is nothing better.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

VICIOUS RUMORS – Digital Dictator

May 7, 2024 /

Having been existed since ’79, it wasn’t until ’85 that Vicious Rumors recorded their first album. This chunk of awesome was album number two for the band and came out in ’88 through good old Shrapnel, who at the time released all the ripping guitar metal music. I actually thought the band would break out of smallsville onto to a bigger stage, but sadly that did not happen. That double guitar onslaught of Geoff Thorpe and Mark McGee and the soaring vocals of Carl Albert should have been a home run.

This record was voted album of the year in a lot of metal magazines and they were hailed as the new power metal kings. They have been continuously releasing albums and are still going today, they just sort of slowly slipped down the ladder. Nevertheless, this is still one hell of a record with some epic guitar solos, crushing riffs, and high octane vocals.

Favourite tracks? Well, the title track is a bonafide speed metal classic, and the full on gallop of Worlds And Machines is top notch, but I’m going for the more classic sounding Towns On fire for top track. It has killer solos and a hook and chorus that is infectious.

If you’re a guitar freak then you really need this one. Great band and a great album.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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