THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 432 of 486)

RED DRAGON CARTEL – s/t

May 1, 2021 /

After being removed from Ozzy’s band (I think you can guess who by), and for being in the excellent Badlands, Jake E Lee all but disappeared from the public eye – only to release a couple of solo albums before returning to the spotlight 20 plus years later with this excellent band, Red Dragon Cartel. The band consists of Jake himself on all guitar duties, ex Harem Scarem drummer Darren Smith on vocals, Ron Mancuso on bass, and unknown drummer Jonas Fairley on drums. There are also high profile guests on vocals.

The album kicks off with Deceived, a monster of a tune with Jake E’s trademark riff to start, and Darren’s vocals on the chorus remind me of Ozzy. Great opening track. Shout It Out is one of the stand out tracks on the album. A great tune with a great chorus and huge riff. Feeder has Robin Zander on vocals and is another monster tune. That’s a 1,2,3 – that’s hard to beat. Fall From The Sky is very Zeppelin IV in style and shows how good a vocalist Darren Smith is. Wasted, the close out track on Side 1, has Paul Di’anno on vocals and is virtually unrecognizable vocally from his Maiden days.

Over to Side 2 we go and Slave gets things under way with a very eerie opening section before a Metallica style riff gets things going. It then settles down into an awesome tune. It’s the stand out track for me so far. Big Mouth is next, with Maria Brink on vocals, and is a very modern sounding rock track. For me it’s the surprise of the album. War Machine is a near lift of multiple Sabbath riffs and is a heavy sounding tune. Redeem Me has the awesome Sass Jordan on vocals, and is a very blues based track which suits her voice perfectly. Last track is the very first song Jake ever wrote when he was trained as a classical pianist, Exquisite Tenderness. It’s good, but I don’t see the point of putting it on here as it’s so out of place.

Anyway, a very good first album and it gets 8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

KING KOBRA – Thrill Of A Lifetime

May 1, 2021 /

After the success of Journey and Foreigner with their softened up brand of rock with big hooks and melodies, record companies were lining up to sign bands that remotely resembled them with dollar signs in their eyes. After Carmine Appice’s brief spell with Ozzy, he put together a melodic rock band with relatively unknown musicians. Mark Free on vocals (who would later transition into Marcie Free), Mick Sweda on guitar (who would later be a founding member of the Bulletboys), and Johnny Rod (who would join W.A.S.P, among others).

Song wise, it’s what you would expect from a very American radio friendly record. It takes no risks and it’s melodic rock for dummies. Second Time Around is a decent opening tune with a big chorus and melody. Dream On is a little lighter in approach and the emphasis is on the song, and it was written by Russ Ballard. Feel The Heat would have made a great single if the record company were paying attention. Title track, Thrill Of A Lifetime, follows and is the best track so far. Very Foreigner in style with some nice playing by all concerned, and an earworm of a chorus. Last track on Side 1 is Only The Strong Survive and is the big ballad that was part of the contract for all these bands at the time.

Side 2 opening track is Iron Eagle (Never Say Die) the theme song to the movie Iron Eagle. It was written by outside writers and it sounds like a different band to me. Home Street Home follows and starts with the eighties signature over processed drum intro, and then comes a very average attempt at rapping by Mark Free – the word “cheesy” comes to mind. Overnight Sensation is next, and is the first really up-tempo rocker on the album so far, with a nice solo from Mick Sweda. Raise Your Hands To Rock is next, and I have to ask which one? Granite, Limestone which is the best? Seriously though, it’s probably the best track on the album and rocks quite hard. Album close out track, Party Animal, is again a rocker. The album goes out on a high with the last three tracks. The band would record one major album and then disappear until the early toonies, when one of the small boutique European labels would resurrect the name to record a couple of albums.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

RECKLESS – Heart Of Steel

April 30, 2021 /

A Canadian band, from Ottawa, on a British record label called Heavy Metal America. Identity crisis or what?! I admit to not knowing a whole bunch on these guys as they had disappeared after this album was released in ’84. Style wise, I would describe them as glam/pop/rock. Somebody obviously saw the image of the band and thought they would be a great band – let’s sign them. The music is ok and they have some great ideas, they just needed a mentor as a producer and not just a knob twiddler to help them get their ideas on wax.

Songs like Feel The Fire and Need You Next To Me are good and would have been great with a little nurturing. In The Night does suffer from flat production, it needed dirtying up to give it some oomph! Only After Dark is quite an interesting song as they were willing to try a few different things, and Shadows Of You should be loud as hell and in your face, but it’s way too back in the mix. Anyway, it’s not a bad album, but with a little bit of love it could have been a whole lot better.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

LENNY WHITE – Venusian Summer

April 30, 2021 /

Lenny White was one of the founders of Jazz/Rock pioneers, Return To Forever. Other than the band and his solo records, he has been involved with squillions of recordings whether as a producer (Chaka Khan) or sideman (Stanley Clarke) – Lenny has been very prolific. This album was Lenny’s first solo outing away from Return To Forever, and I’ll admit, the only thing that drew me in was the involvement of guitarist Ray Gomez. Differing quite a bit from the fusion of his day job, this album goes from the out and out funk of Chicken Fried Steak, to the way out ambient Prog noodling of The Venusian Summer Suite. He, it was the seventies and anything was possible as record companies gave artists time to breath.

There is no doubt that Lenny is an absolute monster drummer and he has groove attached to his soul, and this a very interesting release for a drummer’s solo album. Definitely no extended drum solos, just killer grooves and beats that drive the tunes along. My favourite track is Mating Drive, which features Ray Gomez on guitar and is fusion at its finest. Everything about this track is awesome multiplied by ten. Lots of improv which I love. Special mention to Prince Of The Sea, which has Larry Coryell and Al DiMeola on guitar – another epic track. Fusion is way under the radar today, which is a shame, as the seventies guys open the door to a lot of great music.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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