THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 156 of 479)

PRINCE – Lovesexy

June 16, 2023 /

This was album number ten for the Princely one and would see the experimental side of Prince coming to the fore, it was one of the least successful album (sales wise) he recorded up until this point. Even so, it’s chock full of groovy goodness and contains one my favourite ever Prince tunes: Alphabet Street.

Compared to a lot of his tunes the sound is quite sparse on this track, but the groove is so cool. In fact, the whole album feels as though it’s an experiment in groove. Dance On is all about that wild fusion drum pattern at the intro. The outro track Positivity has elements of Asian music to add to the feel and vibe of a very percussive focused album.

Not his best work for sure, but I like it and I thought it was cool that he took so many risks.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

ASPHALT BALLET – s/t

June 15, 2023 /

Asphalt Ballet are out of San Diego and this album reminds me of Guns N’ Roses, LA Guns vibe. There was a second album called Pigs, but the record company were putting the squeeze in the band to put out more of a grunge record.

First track in, Hells Kitchen is heavy with the GnR vibe, it feels and rocks hard. Soul Survive follows and is my favourite track. A great groove and swing to this one, with a hint of the south thrown into the mix. Tuesday’s Rain has a killer intro, very reminiscent of The Cult. Unlucky Mr. Lucky is pure LA sleaze with a groove and feel we are all familiar with. End Of My Rope is another kick ass sleazy groover with that swing you can’t help but move to. Heaven Wind Blows starts with a nice, acoustic, stripped back groove and has the same feels as Cats In The Cradle.

Blood On The Highway opens up Side 2 with a serious southern feel and groove. Goodbye Yesterday has a more commercial edge to it with a big hook and chorus. Of course, it’s all done with a sitting at the end of the bar vibe. Wasted Time follows and the vibe and groove are a lot more laid back, but still with that hint of the south. Taking A Walk on the other hand is back to the Faces vibe complete with horns, that is until the pace increases with a race to the finish. Hangman Swing does what it says on the tin: a big, sleazy, blues rocker with plenty of swing. Blue Movie is next up and I love the jazz groove at the intro before the sleaze returns. The album closes out with Do It All Again, and the Everybody Wants To Be Cat vibes are screaming at me.

Within a couple of years nearly all these type of bands were gone, being swept away by the great Tsunami that was grunge.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

ELECTRIC BOYS – Upside Down

June 15, 2023 /

This is album number seven for Sweden’s Funk-O-Metal kings. They disappeared from sight after 94’s Freewheelin’ but were reborn in 2011 with And Them Boys Done Swang.

The album unusually kicks off with an instrumental, The Upside Down Theme. It starts as you would expect, with the Electric Boys and some serious funk rock swagger, but then we visit the Caribbean with some cool reggae vibes added to the mix. Super God follows and we are back to familiar territory with a super catchy hook and chorus with a cool funk groove straight out of the early 70’s. Tumbling Dominoes has more of a commercial vibe with a huge Americana feel. Never Again Your Slave rips in with a killer groove and riff that reminds me of Rage Against The Machine, but as usual with the EB’s that little bit of psychedelia makes it their own. She Never Turns Around follows and it’s a stripped down acoustic intro with a heavy late sixties Pink Floyd groove to the main song. Great track!

Globestrutter bursts life into Side 2 with a heavy, juiced up Faces groove, but that middle eight is super cool. The Dudes And The Dancers is my favourite track on the album. An awesome, weird, bluesy intro with a great sleazy undertone. Love the barroom sing along chorus. Twang Em And Kerrang Em is up next and what a killer name for a tune. An uptempo swing with a late sixties surfs up groove. It’s Not The End follows and that intro guitar melody is so cool in what basically is a ballad. We close out the record with Interstellafella. A good old simple rock n’ roll romp with added weirdness when need.

A good solid album.

8.5/10 from the Grooveman.

JOE BONAMASSA – You & Me

June 14, 2023 /

Going back to 2006 for this one. I think this is where the oh so prosperous partnership with uber producer Kevin Shirley first started. You have to admit the production on this album is stellar. Every instrument is placed perfectly and the clarity is incredible.

High Water Everywhere kicks things off with an old school blues vibe and a killer dirty riff. Next up is Bridge To Better Days. It starts nice slow with a pounding groove and a killer riff, then the switch is flicked and the heavy blues rock groove that Joe is famous for takes over. Asking Around For You is as traditional blues as it gets. When the word blues is spoken, this is what pops in your mind. Very similar groove to So Many Roads, except Joe rips it up right from the get go. Awesome tune!

I Don’t Believe is a kick ass shuffle. I’m a sucker for a shuffle! It’s acoustic country blues time with Tamp ‘Em Up Solid. This one sounds as though he is playing right in front of you. Great production. Django used to be the track he walked out to when he played, and if I’m honest it sounds a lot like Jeff Beck. Tea For One follows and is a cover of early Zeppelin, and you have Jason Bonham on the drums to give it that right feel. Palm Trees Helicopters And Gasoline keeps that Zeppelin feel right along with Jo Bo giving it plenty on the acoustic.

Your Funeral And My Trial takes you on a hard shuffle groove and it’s my favourite track on the album. I said I’m a sucker for a shuffle. The album closes out with Torn Down. A choo choo train main groove while Joe wails over the top vocally, then a quirk burst of speed, and back we go. Repeat and away we go.

You can’t deny Jo Bo has worked his ass off and he deserves all that comes to him. Solid album.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Archives

© 2025 THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑