THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 292 of 480)

THE DREGS – Unsung Heroes

April 25, 2022 /

For some reason on this album, they removed the Dixie from their name and shortened it to The Dregs. The Dregs are in a long line of great instrumental fusion bands to come out of the US, and it’s not often you get a violin player in a rock environment where it actually works and doesn’t sound gimmicky. This album was released in ’81. I’m sure everyone is familiar with Steve Morse, whose guitar skills were recognized by Deep Purple as the replacement for Blackmore after his last departure from the band. Rod Morgenstein should also be known to fans of Winger, as he was the drummer in that band as well as numerous other fusion projects.

This is not my favourite Dregs album, as that honour would go to Night Of The Living Dregs. The playing (as you would expect) is top drawer and my two favourite tracks are Cruise Control, and Attila The Hun, both killer pieces and Morse shows he can really play. The style is all over the map, from chicken pickin’ country, to classical and beyond. If you like to be challenged by your listening experience then this would be a cool addition to your collection.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

RACER X – Extreme Volume Live

April 23, 2022 /

I could save everyone’s time by just writing BUY THIS ALBUM and that would indeed be correct but a tad lazy on my part.

The band are filled out on this recording by the addition of a second guitarist in Bruce Bouillet. Just to prove how over the top this band are, this is a single disc recording and there are four solo spots on the album – everyone in the band is a virtuoso musician in their own right. I’m a big fan of all things guitar, and I’m a huge fan of Paul Gilbert and he is all over this, but Bruce Bouillet is a revelation here also.

This is one band I would have loved to have seen live, and this is as close I’m going to get. This recording represents a live testament to the first two Racer X albums, which are great, and it’s awesome to hear how tight the band are.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

NEAL SCHON & JAN HAMMER – Untold Passion

April 23, 2022 /

I always found the two Schon/Hammer albums quite unusual. At the time, Journey were bigger than a big thing on a big train to big town, and to disappear and squeeze this project in seemed a bit off to me. I thought that maybe these songs would be leftovers from Journey, but no, these were all originals composed by Schon, Hammer, and bass player Colin Hodgkinson.

There are five tracks with vocals which Neal sings. He has a very distinct voice that may not be to everyone’s taste, but I think it fits the music really well. Let’s face it, if you bought this album you were either a Journey die hard or you wanted to hear Schon rip it up – I fall into the latter category. He can really rip with the best of them, and the solo on I’m Down is right up there as one of the best solo’s he’s ever laid down. It’s a monster piece of playing and I absolutely adore it.

The album itself is the best of the two albums they did, and Wasting Time is a killer song with a superb solo thrown in. There are some oddities like Hooked On Love that don’t work, but on the whole this is an enjoyable album and it’s worth buying for THAT solo alone.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

FIREWIND – Few Against Many

April 22, 2022 /

Most people will be familiar with Gus G for his time as Ozzy’s guitarist – but this is his day job. This is the Greek outfits 7th album released back in 2012, and it continues with the band’s brand of melodic power metal with great riffs, killer guitar, and some epic vocals.

Opening track, Wall Of Sound, is a beast of a tune with a killer riff, groove, and a superb hook and chorus. Losing My Mind slows the pace down to start with before a huge epic riff and groove kicks in that reminds me of Metallica – Gus G’s solo is nuts. The title track is next up and rips in with a great drum groove and a huge riff – a big shout out to vocalist, Apollo, who is the owner of a great set of pipes. The Undying Fire follows and its more of the same, although this track doesn’t have so much to latch onto riff wise, but it dips its toe into thrash territory. Side 1 closes out with Another Dimension and it’s the fastest track yet with a super choppy riff and blast beat drums.

Onto Side 2 we go and Glorious slides into a huge chugga riff with a superb hook and melody. Edge Of A Dream is next (with a guest appearance from Apocalyptica) and we are in power ballad hell my friends – the only redemption here is Gus’ guitar. Normal service is resumed with the opening riff to Destiny with chugga’s a plenty and quite a commercial hook and melody. Long Gone Tomorrow is up next and has a really evil riff that I like, and then it’s into lots of chugga’s. The album closes out with No Heroes, No Sinners and they definitely believe in going out on a high – this could be my favourite on the whole album. It has lots of peaks and troughs, and it builds very nicely into quite a nice ending. A really solid album.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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