THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music review (Page 493 of 493)

PORCUPINE TREE – Fear of a Blank Planet

October 14, 2020 /

Disclaimer alert!!! Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson are one of my favourite artists.

This is a concept album about two medical conditions, ADD, and Bipolar Disorder that affect teenagers and the reliance on the medical profession to treat them with drugs. Thus rendering them as zombies. Well that’s my gist of it anyway.

Kicking off with the title track that presumably has a doctor typing a prescription on his computer, the track kicks into a great riff and groove with a heavy middle eight that should get any music fan drooling. The album is very light and shade, the way the tracks have been sequenced presumably to create the moods of the kids while they are on the drugs. Stand out tracks are Anesthetize, weighing in at a whopping 17.42 in length, and the close out track Sleep Together.

Gavin Harrison’s drumming on this record is on a different level, and on Sleep Together the groove is just sublime. Both of these tracks are Porcupine Tree at their best. Steven still uses Sleep Together to close out his solo performances. This is the first of two studio albums they recorded for Roadrunner and quite possibly their best album ever.

If you were to give someone an entry point in to Porcupine Tree’s music, then this would be the one to recommend from this period and maybe Sygnify from earlier recordings. I love every second of this masterpiece.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

LARKIN POE – Venom & Faith

October 8, 2020 /

I didn’t fully appreciate this band until I caught them playing live at the Ottawa Bluesfest a few years ago. They blew me away with how good they were. Blues for a modern age. Fronted by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, they are the best blues/roots band I have seen for a long time.

Album opener Sometimes is pure delta blues which sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the record. Rebecca’s voice is just perfect for the music they play. Fly Like an Eagle is my personal favourite. There is so much emotion on this record I’m not sure any words I write can do it justice. Just close your eyes and you could be on the banks of the Mississippi. Listen to Hard Time Killing Floor Blues to catch my drift. There is some great slide/lap steel played by Megan.

Love this record. If anyone has a remote interest in blues/roots music they should own this record.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

CHEAP TRICK – Heaven Tonight

October 8, 2020 /

So these are my ramblings on the records in my collection. It won’t be in alphabetical order as I will be using a Discogs randomizer to determine what gets reviewed.
Here we go:

CHEAP TRICK- Heaven Tonight

So first up is this monster of a record. It’s what is now called a power pop masterpiece. Not sure who coined that phrase, but as Billy Joel will say “ It’s Still Rock n Roll to me”. There is really not a bad song on the album . From the opening of Surrender, to the close out of a How Are You, each one is a dose of Cheap Trick in their prime. Their love of all things Beatles is very evident on most tracks but that is not a bad thing. I was never sure how to take them when I first heard them as visually they come across as sort of having a split personality. As you have Team Weird (Rick and Bun E) and Team Normal (Robin and Tom). I was never sure if it was a gimmick or for real, but as long as the music’s good who cares?! The one thing that does stand out about Cheap Trick is they do come across as a band instead of group of individuals. Released in 1978, a hell of a year for great rock records. Produced by the excellent Tom Werman and recorded at the legendary Sound City, this has to be up there with the best of Cheap Trick’s very extensive catalogue. My personal stand out track is Auf Wiedersein.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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