REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 415 of 493)

MASTERS OF REALITY – Sunrise On The Sufferbus

This is the second album from Andy York’s Masters Of Reality, and is noteworthy for having none other than Ginger Baker on drums. Musically they are quite hard to pin down on this album, as style wise it’s all over the map. Which is no bad thing as the songs are all short and snappy – nothing weighs in longer than 4.19.

She Got Me is a fast shuffle rock n roll delight, highlighting Ginger’s involvement. In fact, the drums are really high in the mix throughout. JB Witchdance is a quirky off beat little oddity that sticks in your brain. Jody Sings feels as though it was a Beatles outtake from Abbey Road. Rolling Green has a reggae feel mixed with Beatles harmonies and is a great pop song. Ants In The Kitchen is my favourite on the record as it has a wicked riff from Goss, and a groovy drum pattern from Ginger. V.H.V is very low-fi and could be a Kyuss desert project.

Bicycle is a short 46 seconds of “what the hell?” before we flip over to Side 2 with 100 Years with its late sixties psych groove and is a very melancholic song. T.U.S.A is next with a spoken word lyric by Ginger about pouring a cup of tea and is a great groovy little track. Tilt A Whirl is a return to a fast shuffle with a simple rock n roll riff, but again, highly addictive. Rabbit One starts with a killer slow funk vibe and a very trippy riff – it’s another contender for best track. Two really short burst tracks, Madonna and Gimme Water are next before The Moon In Your Pocket closes out the record with a barroom crooner style, and continues the trippy vibe that flows throughout the album. As I mentioned, a very hard album to pin down, but enjoyable all the same.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

BLUES PILLS – s/t

I knew nothing about this band until I stumbled upon them doing a midnight-down-the-rabbit-hole search through YouTube. What a surprise! They are a fantastic young band. They have that retro early seventies power trio vibe down to a T. They were formed back in 2011, but it wasn’t until 2014 that this gem of a debut album was released.

Opening track, High Class Woman, is a wonderful throwback to the early seventies groove rock vibe, and in Elin Larsson they have unearthed an amazing vocal talent. Ain’t No Change is a fantastic groovey guitar fest and is a monster of a tune. Jupiter has a very heavy Hendrix vibe, again with a killer groove and some great playing, and with the ghost of Janice being channeled through Elin’s killer vocals. It slows the vibe right down and has a very trippy feeling to the tune. It’s a bit of a showcase for Larsson’s vocals until the big stoner riff kicks in. Black Smoke reminds me of a Tom Waits drinking song with some nice slide playing. River is all about the vocal and starts with a jazz vibe mixed in with all that retro goodness – Dusty Springfield popped into my head while listening. No Hope Left For Me follows and we are back to the heavy stoner groove with lots of wailing guitar and vocal. Devil Man has an early Fleetwood Mac feel – especially musically, but the vocal is incredible, and with a sleazy blues swagger, this is my favourite so far. Astralplane is a psyched out bluesy trip fest and is very late sixties in feel – complete with spacey guitar. Gypsy is a cover of the Chubby Checker song and grooves along nicely – it’s way better than the original. Little Sun closes out the album and weirdly reminds me of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Unfortunately due to line up changes, the albums after this have suffered somewhat, but that does not take away from what a great record this is.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

WHITE SPIRIT – s/t

Formed in Hartlepool way back in ’75, it wasn’t until NWOBHM became a thing that the band would be given a chance. They were more famous for being the band that would give Janick Gers to Gillan (once Bernie Torme departed) and Iron Maiden for a little while. They were touted as the next Deep Purple thanks to the Hammond playing of Malcolm Pearson and Janick’s obvious love of Blackmore (the influences were obvious).

Opening track, Midnight Chaser, is a great track and could have been a DP track. Red Skies is next up, and again, the keys and guitar are high in the mix – although not the finished article at this point. If there were any albums after this things could have been different. High Upon High, by contrast, almost sounds like Genesis and feels a little out of place. Side 1 closes out with Way Of The Kings and a nice riff from Gers starts things off nicely. It’s not a bad song but the vocals are a little weak.

Side 2 starts with No Reprieve and this is my favourite on the album. Lots of nice instrumentation, interplay, and key changes make this a very cool track. Don’t be Fooled follows and the main riff seems to be a rewrite of Smoke On The Water- even the guitar tone is the same! Gers’ obvious love of all things Blackmore is a little too close here. Fool For The Gods closes out the album and is the band’s attempt at the big epic. A very slow and atmospheric opening leads into an almost pomp rock piece – like Angel and early Styx.

So that’s it – one and they’re done. Other than compilation albums and singles, this would be the band’s only release.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

FOGHAT – Fool For The City

The band were formed when three quarters of the band, Roger Earl, Tony Steven’s and Lonesome Dave Peverett, left British blues based rockers Savoy Brown. They were joined by slide player Rod Price to complete the line up. The band would relocate to the US where success would easily be found. US audiences lapped up heir brand of blues based boogie with that southern edge. Although the band were quite big in the US (nearly every album was certified gold or platinum), the band were virtually unknown back in Britain.

Other than their kick ass live album, Fool For The City is the band’s best loved and it spawned two classic tracks; the title track and Slow Ride, which everyone seems to know. The production on the album is very loud and in your face and adds to that live feel, which they were so good at. This album is a really good mid-seventies rock and roll album and does exactly what it says on the tin. The other stand out track for me is the cover of Robert Johnson’s Terraplane Blues., as it highlights the two contrasting guitar styles of Price and Peverett. Drummer Roger Earl is still touring the band, and if you get a chance go see them, it’s a fun night out.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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