THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: blog music (Page 24 of 40)

TEN YEARS AFTER – Watt

April 2, 2022 /

It’s hard to describe how big Ten Years After were. They had six big albums between ’67 and ’74, of which this and Cricklewood Green (both released in ’70) were top ten albums all over the world.

Alvin Lee’s performance at Woodstock made him a household name – he was just as good as Hendrix at that show. Whereas Jimi was a whole new approach to blues and rock, Alvin and Ten Years After trod a much more familiar path with their take on a more standard heavy blues sound. Although I’m sure Zeppelin were having a big influence on the band at this point.

It’s cool to hear Alvin play jazz on the track Gonna Run, and also the band’s take on Ennio Morricone’s western soundtracks with the instrumental The Band With No Name. However, it’s the heavier tracks that I like best, namely I’m Coming On and Think About The Times which reminds me of Procol Harem.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

LOVE/HATE – Blackout In The Red Room

April 1, 2022 /

A band slightly different in their approach, as the image was anything but LA glam and sleaze, but the music was the same. When you have a song as huge as Why Do You Think They Call It Dope, it sort of defines who you are. Even though the band recorded 7 albums between ’90 and ’99, it’s this one that gets all the attention. Other than Dope, this album has some great tracks making it a killer debut album.

The title track and opener is a great chunk of LA sleaze with a killer groove. Tumbleweed is a favourite of mine as I love the riff and the key changes. She’s An Angel was a follow up single and a poor choice in my opinion. It’s not a bad song, but something like Tumbleweed or the superb Mary Jane would have had more of an impact. Slave Girl is another killer track with an old school picked blues riff and superb melodies.

A really good album and it’s their best, and a great production by Tom Werman.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

GENESIS – And Then There Were Three

April 1, 2022 /

The randomizer is spot on with the this choice today, as Genesis have just played their last concert ever having being together for over 50 years. This was also the first album to have the band reduced to a three piece, as Steve Hackett had left the band in ’77. Of course this was impossible to do live, so they had a couple of session guys help them out; Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson were the two that were with the band the longest.

I guess you can say this was the last full on Prog album by the band as after the chart success of Follow You Follow Me, the band would follow a more commercial path. That was not the only commercial track on the album, as the ballad Undertow was also going in that direction. For me though, the more old school sounding tracks like Down And Out, Ballad Of Big, Deep In The Motherlode, and Say It’s Alright Joe are more of what I like about Genesis – I was not a fan of what came after.

This is a very well produced album and this version is a remaster from 2012 – it sounds fantastic. Another band from my youth bows out, and I have to say it’s sad to see Phil in his current condition, but the band have left a great legacy of music to listen to.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

ULTRAPHONIX – Original Human Music

March 31, 2022 /

A teaming together of Living Colour’s Corey Glover, and George Lynch may not be the a partnership you would think of ever happening, but George has been very active in working with a ton of different musicians over the last few years and this one is one of my favourites. I had this vision of a huge funk rock band with George ripping on every song. The reality is quite a lot different. This is a very cool mature record that covers all bases from Prog to Jazz, and RnB to Rock – blurring all the joining lines.

Baptism is a superb opening with an up-tempo groove, and Corey’s voice is pure gold. Another Day has a very RnB feel that’s been slightly rocked up, and George’s solo is so good! Walk Run Crawl has a riff reminiscent of Dokken and is one of the heavier tracks on the album. Counter Culture is a hard track to pin down with echos of psych/jazz and funk, but it’s one of the coolest tracks on the album. Free is a reggae masterclass with a fuzzed out Led Zep style. This is a track that you hope a project like this will come up with.

Wasteland opens up Side 2, and again, new things are tried with different sounds and effects – the overdriven guitar in the chorus is superb. Take A Stand is the highlight of the record with a very Living Colour funky vibe and groove, a superb vocal from Cory with an awesome chorus and harmonies, and George giving it plenty. The groove on Soul Control is seriously cool and Corey’s vocals are wonderful. What You Say is the dark horse of the album, and has a great swing to the groove with George riffing underneath. The album closes out with Power Trip, and the main riff reminds me of King Crimson.

A killer record, and the title “Original Human Music” couldn’t be more on point.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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