THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 396 of 487)

MR BUNGLE – s/t

August 3, 2021 /

To say that this album came out of left field would be a complete understatement. This is Faith No More’s front man Mike Patton’s side project from a variety of his perversions maybe? Who knows, but it’s very intriguing and musically stunning at times. Combining a variety of styles – and believe me, anything goes here – and interspersed with lots of weirdness (including someone doing number two’s on the porcelain palace).

You could say they took lots of references from Zappa and other avant-garde experimentalists, but you would be hard pushed to find another band like this. The putting together of lounge lizard crooning, along side metal mixed with funk, and country on Slowly Growing Deaf is total genius. The perversions are out in force on Squeeze Me Macaroni, as apparently Betty Crocker needs to be knocked up via her butter gutter. Hilarious and disturbing all at the same time.

The guitar playing of Trey Spruance is a revelation – at this point I had not heard him before. Other awesome tracks are Stub A Dub, and Love Is A Fist (I guess you can work out what that’s about), and my favourite is the absolute insanity of Carousel. Heavy metal funk avant-garde jazz at its best.

This album is not for the faint hearted, but it’s a whole lot of fun and enjoyment.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

UFO – Live In Youngstown 1978

August 3, 2021 /

For those of you familiar with UFO’s live album Strangers In The Night, you will be familiar with some of this recording. Strangers was captured over five nights and cobbled together to make the classic album we all know and love. This album is one of those nights in its entirety and in the correct running order. One thing you notice is that this album is a lot more raw and in your face, begging the question how many overdubs were layered onto Strangers? That doesn’t bother me that much if I’m honest, as I like this album a lot. Mr. Schenker is on fire, and it’s cool to hear this version of the band again after all these years playing their asses off. Plus, you get to hear tracks not on the original release namely, Pack It Up (And Go), Cherry, and On With The Action.

UFO were one of the best live acts around and this album is a great testament to a once great band. There are not many tracks that I don’t like by this band and all this album is killer. My favourites are Let It Roll, Natural Thing, Lights Out and the usual sing-a-longs Doctor Doctor, and Shoot Shoot. If you want a lesson in how to do hard rock, then buy yourself this (or Strangers) – you won’t regret it. It’s worth it just to hear how good Michael Schenker was around this time.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

ZZ TOP – Deguello

August 2, 2021 /

RIP Dusty Hill!!! It’s super sad news and he held the bottom end so tight in this band.

This is the band’s 6th album and quite possibly their best. This album was released after the band went into exile after the Taking Texas To The People tour, which was not that great of a success. When they returned, the image that we know and love today was born. This is still the lil old band from Texas, but they are experimenting with sounds and tones – especially with the guitars, as lost of effects are used to create moods. I Thank You highlights this perfectly, as the opening guitar riff and tone is a joy and sets up the whole album. She’s My Automobile is old school ZZ paying homage to their Texas blues roots. I’m Bad I’m Nationwide is a mix of the old and new. The old being the main sound and chorus, but the new is the killer middle eight, and the ending with Dusty and Frank holding down a funky groove while Billy G lays the sauce on the top. Killer!!! One of the best ZZ Top tunes of all time is next with Fool For Your Stockings. This is blues – but not as we know it Jim. We get the lonesome guitar and the simple bass and beat. and then that funky simple riff with that awesome dirty vocal. It’s worth the price of the album just for the instrumental section. Manic Mechanic closes out Side 1, and the experimenting is in full flow both with guitar and vocals. Great track!

Side 2 starts out with Dust My Broom, a great version of the old Robert Johnson tune. Lowdown In The Street has a dual lead vocal from Dusty and Billy and a short sharp burst blues done Texas style. Hi Fi Mama has Dusty on lead with a burst of boogie – complete with horns. Another favourite ZZ tune is next with Cheap Sunglasses. Man, this song is freaking awesome! What a stunning riff and groove. This is my favourite ZZ tune – such a dirty funky track. Great vocal, superb guitar, and killer rhythm. The album closes with Esther Be The One, which I think is as close as the band get to a love song – although maybe not. Step away from Eliminator and come down to the real ZZ Top.

I love this album and it gets a 10/10 from The Grooveman.

THE CULT – Electric

August 2, 2021 /

The magic third album from The Cult saw them teamed up with hotshot producer, Rick Rubin, and he dually waved his magic dust over said opus – and boom – away we go. After dabbling in goth and indie styles before this, Rubin saw the band as a meat and potatoes rock band. Everything was stripped back to the bones to give the album that super raw feel. It worked, as this was the album that really broke the band in the US.

Three singles were released from the album, Wild Flower, Lil Devil, and Love Removal Machine – and they all scored big as they were super simple. Catchy riffs, simple beats, and sing-a-long choruses – boom!!! Easy isn’t it? I know this simple stuff is not everyone’s cup of Joe, but it played to the band’s strengths as they weren’t the most technical of musicians and Rubin worked wonders. The three singles are my favourite tracks on the album, especially Lil Devil which has a great groove and swing.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

« Older posts Newer posts »

Archives

© 2025 THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑