THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 437 of 486)

GOV’T MULE- s/t

April 21, 2021 /

Formed back in 1994 as an offshoot of the (then) members of the Allman Brothers, Warren Haynes and Allen Woody, they wanted to get back to basics with a good old fashioned three piece in the vein of Free. This is the first album they did, and in my mind this was the best, as after it they would expand their sound and scope of the material they would cover.

The album opens with Warren just singing alone on the track Grinning In Your Face, and the tone he has to his voice is just beautiful. This leads into Mother Earth – a blues based tune heavy on guitar and groove – and that voice! Rocking Horse is up next and has that off funky groove mixed with a good dose of Southern attitude. The production is awesome and super clear – showing the beauty of a three piece with that uncluttered sound. Monkey Hill doth follow with the fuzz vocal and the first glimpse of Warren’s slide playing. Temporary Saint is a slow tune with the guitar dripping in reverb and chorus – and again, that amazing voice. As you would expect there is always room a for a solo and they deliver in every tune. Trane is next up and probably was the blueprint for the whole band. It’s very loose and it feels as though they were just jammin’ and they pressed record and let it go.

The band’s own theme song is up next, Mule, and is a freaking awesome tune with a killer riff, groove, melody, and chorus – the whole nine yards. Worth the price of admission alone kiddies! The acoustic flavoured, Dolphineus, is next and does remind you of Zeppelin with a southern feel. This leads into the even more Zeppelin sounding intro of Painted Silver Light. I mentioned Free further up the page, and their cover of Mr. Big is just outstanding – not many singers could pull that off, let alone the guitar. Allen Woody’s bass is amazing on this track. Left Coast Groovies is the penultimate track, and again there is that off groove funk underlying the whole tune and a riff that turns up in the middle of the song. Jeez! Save the best till last??? Well yes, but the whole album is amazing. World Of Difference is just epic. Clocking in at 10.15, it is the perfect end to the album. A stunning vocal and guitar tour de force.

Yet another album that belongs in the everyone should own one folder.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

FREAK KITCHEN – Confusion To The Enemy

April 21, 2021 /

A very unique band and I love them dearly. File under experimental rock as that’s about as close I can summarize the musical space that they occupy. Mix Frank Zappa with heavy metal and an amazing sense of humour, and you are on the right path. Formed back in 1982 in Sweden, this is the 10th studio album and it carries on where they left off with more thought provoking awesome music. We are actually lucky they are still around as after the release of Dead Soul Men, Matthias was really disillusioned with the whole scene in general and he fired the rest of the band. Then he came back with a new bass player Christer Hysen, and drummer Bjorn Fryklund, and this has been the line up ever since.

Morons is the opening track and with a brutal honesty and humour that only Matthias could pull off – mixed with a killer riff and driving rhythm make this an amazing opening track. Alone With My Phone is another ironic look at life and is a great tune. The next track is sung in Swedish and is a monster track, Sa Kan Det Ga Nar Inte Haspen Ar Pa – I’m not sure what it means but it has a killer riff and grooves along nicely. Troll is a beautiful track and takes the pace down a notch. The title track, Confusion To The Enemy, is next and it’s the stand out track on the album. A great off groove time signature mixed with a fast staccato riff make this one of the most inventive metal songs I have heard.

Matthias is up there as one of the most original and amazing guitar players around today. Some of the things he plays is just incredible. Push Through sees bass player, Christer, singing and is a more commercial sounding tune with a great melody and chorus. Only A Dream follows and is not a track you would expect to hear on a metal album – it’s a very laid back tune and Matthias plays a beautiful solo. The crazy instrumental, Auto, is next and as well as it being one of the most weird solos on the album, it sounds as though lots of kitchen implements are used for percussion. Great groove and rhythm. By The Weeping Willow follows and is a ballad and another Christer sung song. Next up, The Era Of Anxiety, is a semi-funk heavy metal groove machine. They are so good at the rhythmic feel to each tune, and this is what makes them unique as no one else does this. Album close out track, We Will Not Stand Down, is another look at the insecurities and paranoia in the world today.

Another great album by Freak Kitchen to add to the many they have done. A great band and long may they continue their quirky journey though life.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

ROCK CANDY FUNK PARTY – The Groove 3

April 20, 2021 /

This the brainchild of drummer and bassist Tal Bergman, and Ron De Jesus who wanted to expand on the Groove project they had together. Bergman was in Bonamassa’s band at the time, and he loves these collaborations – so a band was born. Add Prince’s keyboard player, Renata Neto, and this band is looking killer. The band is a groove machine Live, as the Blu Ray Live At The Iridium showcases. This album and the two previous recordings are a funk lovers paradise, as the band have explored different facets of the genre over the three albums. It’s mostly instrumental with only a couple of tracks with vocals – my type of album!!!

The first two tracks have that New Orleans feel to them as the titles suggest, Gothic Orleans and Drunk On Bourbon On Bourbon Street. Third track in, In The Groove, is just fantastic, some serious grooves and playing by Neto on the Fender Rhodes, and Bonamassa on the guitar. Don’t Even Try It is the first track with vocals and has a Prince vibe to it. The very slow funk/jazz of Two Guys And Stanley Kubrick Walk Into A Bar is showing how to experiment and shows something new in a genre that’s not changed for over twenty years. Isle Of Wright Brothers is just a short interlude, before Mr. Space slaps you back to funky town and is another killer funk groove experience. It reminds me of a soundtrack to one of those cheap American cop shows of the seventies. I Got The Feelin’ is next and you should dust off those dancing shoes as the spirit of James Brown is in the house. After Hours follows, and again, slows the pace right down with that deep funky bass line. This Tune Should Run For President has that seventies fusion vibe to it, and another great track rolls on by. Bergman gets to do a crazy drum solo piece next and we’re on to side 4.

The heavy groove of Funk-O-Potamia kicks off the final side, and great playing from everybody here. The Token Ballad is the penultimate track and is most definitely not! It’s probably the heaviest track on the album. I see what you did there! Last track, Ping Pong, is almost a trad jazz piece and sounds as though everyone is having a blast. I really like this album and the two others they did previously. If you have groove in your soul, then this is most definitely for you.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

BUDGIE – Deliver Us From Evil

April 20, 2021 /

This is Budgie’s 10th studio release, and other than an attempted comeback in 2006, this would be their last. This album is a much more melodic and commercial album compared to their other releases, and it was received pretty poorly by the critics at the time. They accused main man Burke Shelley of bringing his new found Christian values into the music, although, I can’t really see that. What you do get is a great melodic rock album with great songs. great melodies, and some killer playing.

Opening track, Bored With Russia, is the only track not written by the band and was written by American producer, Beau Hill – a great opening tune. Next up is the fantastic Don’t Cry, a great tune with a great riff and some tasty guitar from John Thomas. What you do notice is that there is a ton of keyboards on most of the tracks, and whether that was what the critics were moaning about I’m not sure. The pretty straightforward Truth Drug follows, a typical Budgie track. Next song, Young Girl, is the only track that doesn’t sound like the band – it could be any American rock band from this period of the time. Side closer and the album epic track, Flowers In The Attic, is based on the book of the same name by V.C. Andrews. Very slow build up, with the stolen Randy Rhoads middle section, and the big rock ending.

Side 2 opener, N.O.R.A.D, is another attempt at writing a song about an apocalyptic future. It is a really good tune with some excellent playing, and again another killer middle section. Give Me The Truth is a straight up decent hard rock song. Alison is the obligation wimp out ballad track that is a great mood killer. Finger On The Button is probably the band’s blatant attempt at a single – at least that’s what is sounds like to me. Album close out track, Hold On To Love (which would turn out to be the final recorded output of the band for over 25 years) has a Maiden style gallop with a very sing a long melodic chorus – a good end to a good album.

Guitarist, John Thomas, who is sadly no longer with us was one of the great unsung guitar heroes of the time. I saw the band a few times and he was killer live – as were all of the band.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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