THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 171 of 479)

VOI VOD – Angel Rat

April 25, 2023 /

There is no doubt that Voi Vod has had a huge influence on some of today’s biggest Prog metal bands. They are known for bringing lots of strange outside elements and mixing it with more traditional metal values. Possibly Quebec’s greatest export to the world of rock for sure, this is the bands sixth album, released back in ’91.

After the brief and weird intro we burst into the quite straightforward Panorama with its killer riff and groove. Clouds In My House is a wonderful amalgamation of styles. Punk, New Wave, Metal, and hints of Rush all spring to mind while listening to this awesome song. That new wave vibe seeps on into The Prow, until we get to the middle eight where the groove and vibe changes into something more sinister and cool. Best Regards is driven along by a great sounding bass groove, and I love the way the main riff just chops away and again the middle section and instrumental pieces are just superb. Twin Dummy has a split psych, punk, metal crossover groove going down and this is what Voi Vod do so well. Side 1 closes out with the title track and you have to wonder if grunge was having an effect on the band as the vibe is very Seattle.

Side 2 kicks off with Golem and that huge clear bass sound and musicality that King Crimson would be proud of. The Outcast has (for Voi Vod) a quite straight forward heavy riff and groove. Nuage Fractal has a huge post punk feel, very reminiscent of some of Magazines output with added Prog weirdness. Freedom has a laid back vibe and is like nothing else on the album, that is until they turn on the amps. The album closes out with None Of The Above, and those Rush vibes are creeping in again.

There is no one like Voi Vod, and long may it be so.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

RICK GODDESS – Hell Hath No Fury

April 24, 2023 /

It was tough being a female rock band in the early eighties, especially if you were British. The whole NWOBHM movement was an all masculine, chest thumping bravado and the one thing that was levelled at female artists was “they can’t be good because they’re women” – nonsense. A couple of British bands did cut through however, one was Girlschool and the other was Rock Goddess.

This was the band’s second release that came out the same year as their first in ’83. The production values were very high on this album and the only band that were doing something similar at the time were Def Leppard.

The title track opens up the album and the first thing you notice is it sounds HUGE! A hands in the air anthem and the vocal harmonies are superb. Back in ’83 Gary Glitter wasn’t known as a full on sleazebag pervert, so I will forgive them for their cover of I Didn’t Know I Loved You. Next up is Kiss-style rocker Gotta Let Your Hair Down. The vocals and harmonies are superb, it’s the basic 12 bar blues riff that lets it down somewhat. In The Night opens up with huge vocal harmonies over a somewhat basic chord pattern. Hold Me Down closes out Side 1 and this is my favourite track. There is a harder edge to this one with a Thin Lizzy vibe to the harmony guitar, and as with the rest of the tracks it’s the vocals that drives the song.

An impressive dramatic keyboard intro opens up Side 2 with The Visitors Are Here, a track that has a mid-seventies Sweet vibe. You’ve Got Fire follows and is a typical NWOBHM riff and vibe. It Will Never Change is the big production number on the album and I like the dramatics in the quieter sections, but there is something missing and it doesn’t quite work. Quite an uptempo intro to Don’t Want Your Love and the basic song structure is not bad. The album closes out with God Be With You and it’s the heaviest track in the album.

I’m afraid time hasn’t been to kind to this album and it does sound somewhat dated.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

BURNING TREE – s/t

April 24, 2023 /

Burning Tree are another band that burned brightly, albeit very briefly. Burning Tree existed for only this album, and then disappeared. Into the mists from whence they came. Some of you may be familiar with Marc Ford who went on to join the Black Crowes. This is a killer blues rock romp with plenty of groove, and their retro sound was (I guess) ahead of its time as every man and his dog are now releasing albums with the same vibe.

The album opens up with their namesake track and this sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the album. Kick ass blues groove that swings in all the right places. Wigs Blues And High Heeled Shoes blows in with a killer riff and man does this track groove. It’s favourite track time next with Fly On. An absolute monster of a tune. A dirty blues riff with a killer hook and chorus, plus Ford really rips on the guitar. Superb song! The tempo slows right down with Bakers Song, a melancholy country blues ballad that builds into a barroom groover. Side 1 closes out with Playing In The Wind. That country blues vibe continues with a much harder edge.

Side 2 kicks your ass immediately with the killer Hendrix influenced groove of Masquerade. Crush is more of that country blues vibe that harks back to the late sixties. Last Laugh has a great simple riff and beat with some Hendrix inspired flourishes, it is different to the rest of the album and it stands out because of this. Love the intro to Mistreated Lover, an oh so smooth pop blues with accompanying Hammond from Booker T. The album closes out with Turtle, a monster dirty riff groover that is very close to being my fave track.

That’s it, one and they’re gone.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

PRETTY ROUGH – Got The Fire

April 22, 2023 /

Another Canadian band that didn’t do a whole bunch outside of Canada. Hailing from Edmonton, Pretty Rough released two albums of which this is the second, and was released in ’84.

You have to wonder why record companies sign bands sometimes, as they obviously don’t know what they have. For example, I think the only single that was released was Don’t Bite. Now, it’s not a bad track and it got to #14 in the charts, but the far better track was Hold On. Now this tune rocks, and was a much better piece to be released as a single but for some reason it wasn’t meant to be. In fact, Tearin’ Up would have also been better, as the similarities to Brian Adams are quite evident and it’s a great tune to boot.

The album sounds very of it’s time, and if they would have concentrated on the rock tunes instead of pop tunes like Trouble Boy, then they may have done more.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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