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REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 479 of 493)

ZZ TOP – First Album

January 25, 2021 /

This is a million miles from what they would become after Eliminator. As The Rev Billy G would say himself “we are just a ‘lil ole blues band from Texas”, and ladies and germs that is exactly what we get here! A good, honest, no bells and whistles record. It has its high points and low points, namely Squank, but we’ll stick with the high ones.

First track is Somebody Else Been Shakin’ Your Tree, a great opener with a groovey blues swing, and some nice lead from Billy G. Then we get the really bluesy Brown Sugar, which starts with just guitar then grows into a cool boogie. Goin Down To Mexico is next another up-tempo groover, and then Side 1 closes with a blues/country ballad, Old Man.

Flip over to Neighbour Neighbour, a typical ZZ Top shuffle groove, and into Certified Blues again with that swinging groove and cool guitar. Next up the dirty boogie of Bedroom Thang, with a very suspect lyric and a killer close out instrumental break. Now onto the two close out tracks, Just Got Back From Baby’s, and Back Door Love Affair – both co-written by producer Bill Ham. Both of these tracks are traditional style blues, and have been covered by a variety of artists over the years – and both have some great guitar from Gibbons.

The band had only been together about six months before they went in and recorded this, so the songs were quickly put together. I’ve always loved three piece bands as there’s no hiding in the mix. You can hear everything super clear, and every instrument has its place in the sound – and this is a good recording! Not their best album, but a good representation of where they were at at the time.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

SUPERTRAMP – Breakfast in America

January 25, 2021 /

This is the sixth studio album by British band, Supertramp. They started out in 1970 as a full on Prog rock band. It wasn’t until they released their third album, Crime of The Century, and especially the single Dreamer, that they moved into a more commercial direction. Breakfast in America was probably the pinnacle of their careers as it spawned four Top 40 singles in America alone – where they toured endlessly. They first came onto my radar while at school with Dreamer. Even though this is not my favourite album by them, there is not a bad song on here.

Starting things off with Gone Hollywood, this sees them at their best with a trademark huge song that takes the listener everywhere across their musical spectrum – complete with a groovy breakdown. Next up is The Logical Song, which was a huge hit everywhere. It is followed by Goodbye Stranger – another typical song, and then into another huge hit with the title track, Breakfast in America. Last track on Side 1, Oh Darling, is probably the weakest on the album but still a good tune.

Side 2 kicks off with yet another classic Tramp tune, Take The Long Way Home. The two main protagonists Rodger Hodgson and Rick Davies vocally, although very different, compliment each other perfectly. Both of them are the main song writers, they sing their own songs, and they seem to have very different outlooks on life judging by the lyrical content of the songs. This would prove to be the down fall of the band at a later point. Last song of the album, Child Of Vision, starts off with that Wurlitzer organ sound first heard on Dreamer, that feels like an old friend, and builds into this huge closing piece with an almost jazz like piano section with a cool groove.

There is no other band like Supertramp. Nobody writes the way they do, and no matter what song is played, you instantly know who it is. It’s really hard to pin them down when someone asks you “what style of music do they play?”. My reply is “well, it’s Supertramp!”. Obviously this album sold squillions, and was 300 times platinum or something like that…so I guess somebody likes it.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

DEEP PURPLE – Machine Head

January 23, 2021 /

Another iconic album that every one and his dog has waxed lyrical over. This is the 3rd album recorded by the classic Mk2 line up of the band, and their peak with them. The animosity between Gillan and Blackmore also reached its peak at this point as they were hardly talking to each other. So it’s amazing it turned out the way it did.

Kicking things off with the epic driving song Highway Star, with the Hammond intro and driving beat before that Gillan trademark scream that announces the arrival of this future DP classic. Every rock band for the next 10 years and beyond would follow this format. All the elements that you associate with Purple are here, namely over-the-top everything. Now the next three tracks Maybe I’m A Leo, Pictures Of Home, and Never Before are not bad tracks – it’s just they are nestled between some of the most iconic tracks in the history of rock, so they have this tendency to get lost somewhat, which is a shame – if they were picked for Made In Japan things may have been different.

Over on Side 2 and we get the most recognizable riff ever in rock music with Smoke On The Water. Now I don’t care if I ever hear this song again as it has been played to death, but you can’t take away from the fact that it’s a good song with a simple structure – and the simple ones are the ones that people remember. Now what set Purple apart from most other bands at the time is they were all amazing individual instrumentalists in their own right, as well as performing as a band. If you ever caught them live you would know what I mean with all the extended solo sections.

The next 2 tracks are both Purple classics as they emphasize that point to the max with Lazy, and Space Truckin’. Lazy starts off with that over top Hammond sound that only Jon Lord could do, followed by that Blackmore riff, and we’re away and runnin’ – great stuff. The perfect end to an album with Space Truckin’, which shows a band at the height of their power.

I would say this is my favourite version of Purple, even though I have a soft spot for the Burn album which will come later. My favourite track is Lazy.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MOLLY HATCHET – s/t

January 23, 2021 /

Good ole Southern Rock! Its roots probably go back to the Allman Brothers and the Jacksonville Florida area – as they had their first jam in a park there. Now, Moly Hatchet also hail from the same area, and they too, have that almost country vibe to their sound, but they probably have more in common with Lynyrd Skynyrd and their three guitar attack. These guys have been around since ’71, but it wasn’t until ’78 that they got to record this, their debut album, after signing to CBS. I bought this in its first week of release as I heard the opening track Bounty Hunter on the radio, I was already a fan of Skynyrd and when I heard this I had to dive in.

Second track in Gator Country has that country/rock feel going down with some tasty lead guitar to top it off. Big Apple is an ok track, followed by the almost funky groove of The Creeper – again, with a great lead brea. Then into the Side 1 closer The Price You Pay, with a very funky/blues feel and again more geetar!!!

Side 2 starts with the epic Dreams I’ll Never See – a Gregg Allman penned tune, which lends itself perfectly to MH style of southern grooves with some great trade offs with all three guitarists. I’ll Be Running is next up with a choppy staccato feel and a very Allman vocal from Danny Joe Brown – and even more GEETAR!! The only throw away track is next in, Cheatin Woman, and then into album closer Trust Your Old Friend – a trademark Hatchet tune.

Not their best album as that would come with their next release. If you were listening to this for the first time and didn’t look at the cover – you would know where these guys came from – the influences are that obvious – but I like it. The band still tour today, even though there are no original members left making them a tribute to themselves.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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