THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 116 of 483)

MAMMOTH WVH -2

November 23, 2023 /

Well, it doesn’t seem even five minutes ago since I reviewed Mammoth WVH’s first album. By now, everyone should have the message that he is his own man and not riding on his dad’s coat tales. The most dumb comment I have read online was someone saying “Why are you using the Van Halen name to promote yourself?” I mean, it’s his freaking name for god’s sake.

Once again, Wolf plays all the instruments himself and writes all the tunes. This album is the schnizz! The music lives in that modern rock vibe and groove. It rocks hard while never losing sight of the huge melodies that are in each song’s DNA. I’m not sure who Wolfie’s favourite bands are, but I hear the odd reference to Blink 182, Anthrax, Tool, and I’m sure I have missed a few in the mix. I’m going for Optimist as my favourite tune, as it borders on Prog territory at times, with odd grooves and beats, there may be a hint of Karnivool in there as well.

He really does have the gift of writing killer tunes that’s for sure. I look forward to the next album.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

GRAND FUNK – All The Girls In The World Beware

November 21, 2023 /

There was a time back in the early seventies when Grand Funk seemed to be middle America’s favourite band. This was the band’s ninth album that came out in ’74 and is regarded as one of their weaker albums, even though it reached #10 on the Billboard charts.

You can split the album in two: Side 1 is very average (apart from Runnin’), and Side 2 is epic. Runnin’ has the added horn section to lift that funk sound up from the ordinary. The title track blows the cobwebs clean off with an instant burst of uptempo rocking R’n’B. Good & Evil has a really dirty bass and hammond blues groove that I really like.

This band goes against everything that the majors were all about. They played with the sequencing of songs so that all the strong tunes are on the flip side. In fact, the last two songs were the real big hits. Bad Time was a single with a really cool soul groove. One of the band’s biggest songs was Some Kind Of Wonderful. It is three minutes and thirty seconds of pure pop soul genius, it’s my favourite track on the album.

The album does sound very dated, but then again it does have some serious high points.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

WILDLIFE – s/t

November 21, 2023 /

Before FM burst onto the scene, the Overland brothers were cutting their teeth in Wildlife, a band they put together in 1980. Wildlife released two albums and this is the second self-titled album that was released on Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label. This release unfortunately led to their demise, as the label went bust around this time.

If you are familiar with FM’s AOR sound then this doesn’t stray too far from that path. It maybe has a little more crunch added to the mix, thanks in most part to a crisp production by Bad Company’s Mick Ralphs. The band are at their best when they get into that mid tempo groove, like in Taking A Chance. It’s a great little tune with a nice riff accompaniment to that four four groove, as well as a great hook and chorus, it’s my favourite tune on the album. It’s a shame the album wasn’t released in the US because a track like Midnight Stranger with its cool laid back groove would have done really well on FM radio.

It’s cool to look back on bands’ early days. This is an enjoyable listen.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

DREAM THEATER – Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence

November 21, 2023 /

This is the album where Dream Theater pushed everything as far as they could. The main album is just five songs, and the second disc is all one song split into eight parts. I hope they go back to this type of record now that Portnoy is back in the family.

I have seen this band more than any other live. I remember the release of this album very well and the tour that followed, I hope that they can rekindle a bit of that fire. The Glass Prison is one of the heaviest tunes that the band have ever done and it’s one of favourites. It as a lot of D-tuned riffing and heavy grooves to keep the die hard metal fan happy while pushing that progressive boundary. The title track is just freakin’ epic, and it’s hard to comprehend that it’s just one song.

In their day, no one could touch them. They have done a few 10/10 records, and this is one. Ytsejam forever!

10/10 from The Grooveman.

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