THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 359 of 493)

CINDERELLA – Long Cold Winter

November 15, 2021 /

For a band that had such a following at the time, they only made 4 albums and only two of which are worth owning: their first album, Night Songs, and this beauty. This was a bit of a left turn for them at the time as Night Songs was a glam rock masterpiece, but this album has a much more bluesy roots feel to it. Sure, it still rocks hard, but there is a huge tip of the hat to bands like The Faces and traditional blues.

Don’t Know What You’ve Got (Till It’s Gone) was a huge single from the album and made them stars due to heavy MTV rotation. It’s the rockier tracks that are my favourites, namely Bad Seamstress Blues, Gypsy Road, and the superb Second Wind which is the big up-tempo track on the album. It was the title track that got every critics attention, as it’s a big nod to traditional blues and a flagship for the whole album.

Two slightly dodgy follow up records, health issues, and grunge unfortunately put an end to the band, as it did a lot of a others, but still they left behind two kick ass records.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

THE ENID – In The Region Of The Summer Stars

November 13, 2021 /

I remember buying this when it first came out in ’76, and there was a big buzz around the band and about them being Prog saviours. This was at the end of ’76 and punk was about to ravage the Prog and rock scene, ousting all that was grand and overblown. This album is definitely that and draws from classical influences – mostly from the delightfully twisted brain of Robert John Godfrey, who up until a couple of years ago was still performing with the band until ill health sidelined him.

Instrumental albums can be hard for a lot of people to grasp, but I love them – the longer pieces especially. The Last Judgement and the title track which closes out the record are just fantastic, with amazing arrangements and superbly played. I haven’t listened to this album in such a long time, and playing it now brought back memories from when I first heard it with a friend of mine and we raved about it. Take it from me, no one sounds like The Enid, they became Prog gods one second, and then threw quirky little pieces like The Devil at you which are such a joy. I know this is not for everyone, but it’s such an enjoyable record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

RICK JAMES – Street Songs

November 13, 2021 /

I have guilty pleasure of old school funk records, especially with the full horn section. This album was released in ’81, but it has that mid-seventies feel to it. This album was his best selling record with tracks like Give It To Me Baby and Super Freak, which had great crossover appeal.

There are disappointments on this album, namely Make Love To Me and Fire And Desire, which slow things down and both are a bit of a vibe killer, but the highs out weigh the lows for me. The best track IMHO is Below The Funk, which really grooves. Back in the day these were the types of songs that filled dance floors.

There are a few live shows on YouTube that show you what a great live act Rick and his band were.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

VANDEN PLAS – Colour Temple

November 12, 2021 /

This is the first album by Germany’s finest purveyors of Prog/Metal. Before they truly found their sound on the absolutely stunning The God Thing, they were a cross between Dokken and Dream Theater with slightly more radio friendly material.

The opening to Father is seriously dramatic, with the classical instruments giving way to a crushingly heavy riff and a fantastic song. The riff to Push is pure melodic rock heaven, and it leads into another killer song with some nice guitar from Stephan Lill. This is basically the whole album: great songs with some great playing, and a killer in your face production. My favourite track is Judas, it’s a superb song with everything that I love in a rock song all squeezed into its 6.04 minutes.

This album was originally released in ’94 and still sounds great today. Another band that don’t mean a whole bunch once you leave Europe, which astounds me, but what do I know. If you love hard rock played well and with great attention to detail, this will not disappoint you.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Archives

© 2026 THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑