REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 273 of 479)

COLOSSEUM II – Strange New Flesh

This is the first of John Hiseman’s Colosseum II project with Gary Moore on guitar.

Dark Side Of The Moog opens up the album with a very busy jazz fusion groove, and features Don Airey on keys. Down To You is up next which is a smooth jazz version of the Joni Mitchell track, and features some great playing by Moore. Gemini And Leo closes out Side 1. A very funky jazz groove to this, and it’s great to hear Gary play other grooves than blues and rock.

Secret Places opens up Side 2 and is the most melodic track on the record, with a vocal by Mike Starrs but it’s Gary’s playing that really turns your ear. On Second Thoughts starts really slow with some off the hook playing from Gary. In fact, this whole track will blow your mind. His playing is just incredible with a very clean tone. Winds closes out the record and this is the best track on the album. This is just everyone going for it right from the get go with a killer drum pattern from Hiseman to start the ball rolling, then Airey has a turn in the spotlight, before Don and Gary trade licks. Projects just usually do the one album and they’re gone, but this one gave us three great records and sadly Jon and Gary are no longer with us.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

DIAMOND HEAD – Canterbury

Diamond Head were the darlings of the rock press, especially Sounds and Kerrang magazines, where they fell over themselves praising the band’s early EPs, self financed first album, and their major label debut Borrowed Time.

When this came out however, the reviews were mixed  to say the least. They had come up with an album that was removed from their metallic sounds to a more experimental, dare I say, Zeppelin 4 vibe. Makin’ Music has a very indie feel to the track, and Out Of Phase does sound Zeppelin until the chorus and middle eight where it’s almost pop. The band go very medieval with the intro to Kingmaker and you have to wonder what they were thinking when they wrote this. The only normal songs on the album are Knight Of The Swords, which is a great song, and I Need Your Love which sounds like The Cult. Of course this album bombed and they basically committed commercial suicide with its release.  If you take it for what it is, it’s a decent album to listen to.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

KING KING – Reaching For The Light

This is the third album from Scotland’s finest blues rock quartet. The main feature of the band is the amazing vocal and guitar skills of Alan Nimmo, that’s not to take anything away from the rest of band it’s just that Alan is visually and sonically front and centre.

Hurricane is a nice opener with a great groove and riff, with a killer vocal. You Stopped The Rain is as near to a ballad as this album gets. Waking Up has an almost country vibe to add to the mix. A really killer tune with a very tasty solo. Rush Hour starts with a picked riff and just Alan’s superb vocal. The dynamic just builds into a monster tune with a huge guitar sound and epic ending. Crazy is all squealing feedback until the funky groove takes over and the middle eight is awesome. Lay With Me is old school RnB. A Stevie Wonder keyboard vibe starts Just A Little Lie with a very funky under groove. Take A Look is power ballad territory with a superb melodic solo. Stranger To Love closes out the album and it’s the best track on the album. Superb vocal, killer groove and riff, man this track just hits the spot.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SAXON – Denim And Leather

This is the third of Saxon’s golden period releases. I remember being a tad disappointed at the time mainly due to the title track, which I thought was pandering to the masses somewhat.

The album opens with prime Saxon with Princess Of The Night. An ode to Biff’s love of steam trains and this is what they did the best. A great riff coupled with a very memorable hook and chorus, and a superb groove. Never Surrender follows, a superb simple riff with a few nice key changes, and that huge hands-in-the-air sing-a-long chorus. They manage to combine early Whitesnake with their own sound with Play It Loud, where the lead riff is very Bernie Marsden. The best single on the album is And The Bands Played On, which is a tribute to the first Donnington and what an awesome day that was. Fire In The Sky is my favourite tune on the album. A great fast paced rocker with plenty of guitar histrionics. I still feel as though it’s the weakest of the four, that’s not to say it’s a bad album, it’s not, it’s just that the other three are so good.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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