THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: music (Page 206 of 454)

RAVEN – Rock Until You Drop

February 10, 2023 /

There was a time between ’79 and ’81 where Newcastle and Neat Records in particular, were the centre of the universe of the burgeoning NWOBHM. Based in an old cinema in Wallsend, they were responsible for unleashing Raven, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Venom, and Fist, to name a few. Raven always had a huge sense of humour to go within their high energy metal, and this album was glued to my turntable.

Opener Hard Ride is a typical rocker of the time, and now would just be classed as a hard rock tune but back then everything loud was called metal. Hell Patrol is a whole bunch of fun with over the top screams ,wild guitar, and a kick-ass simple riff. Don’t Need Your Money was released as a single and this sound sums up NWOBHM perfectly. A great high octane uptempo blast with Mark Gallagher giving it plenty on the whammy bar. Over The Top keeps the tempo high with a riff that feels very familiar. After a brief acoustic interlude the madness returns with Side 1 closer For The Future with THAT riff making an appearance.

Side 2 kicks off with Rock Until You Drop, basically the band’s anthem, and if you have seen them live then they give it everything. Love the breakdown in the middle! Nobody’s Hero is up next and it’s basically a sped up old school boogie with knobs on, and the main riff is close to a Saxon one from their first album. Next up is a one two kick in the nuts of two killer Sweet covers: Hellraiser and Action. Lambs To The Slaughter sees another appearance of THAT riff and a very familiar lift of Judas Priest’s Steeler, if you listen closely. It’s favourite and last track time with Tyrant Of The Airwaves. This is a whole new level in writing and takes everything to the max. From the dramatic intro, to the speed metal main song, this is a NWOBHM classic.

Other than a compilation album called Lead Weight, this was the first album by a band released on Neat Records with catalogue #1001. Ahh happy days.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

PRETTY BOY FLOYD – Kiss Of Death

February 9, 2023 /

Now, Deadline have been pumping out these tribute albums for years, usually getting a whole bunch of LA names together and doing a tribute to whoever, but it’s not often they ask a band to do one all to themselves. I’m amazed that they got it together to record this album as there has been more falling outs between the two older members, Steve Summers and Kristy Majors behaving like the car crash they obviously are.

The album is quite good and they don’t drift too far from the originals. They concentrate on the older Kiss catalogue, on this version anyway. This is a reissue of the 2014 release and the CD has extra tracks. I’ve always liked Deuce and it’s nice to hear it with a beefier guitar sound, that’s my favourite track.

I’m sure Kiss purists will hate it, but I think it’s a fun listen.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

AVERAGE WHITE BAND – Cut The Cake

February 9, 2023 /

Now, I’m very partial to some funk whether it be of the hard rockin’ variety or super slick dance grooves like on Cut The Cake. Average White Band just don’t get mentioned as a great funk band as I guess no one expects killer grooves like this to come from Scotland.

This album appeared in ’75 and was their third release, it actually reached number 1 in the US. The tilted track leads off the album and what a killer groove it is, and was a huge hit. Superb sounding track and the production is stellar. School Boy Crush follows and the tempo is slower but the groove is just superb. The music flips from serious groovin’ uptempo to slower soul/funk Philly style.

I have two favourites off the album: the aforementioned Cut The Cake, and the wicked grooves of  Groovin’ The Night Away, which is very reminiscent of James Brown at his finest.

If your a fan of 70’s funk then you may already have this but if not, give it a spin and put some happiness in your life.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

SAXON – Innocence Is No Excuse

February 8, 2023 /

I’m a huge fan of the first five Saxon albums, as they appealed to me more than Maiden did. Plenty of huge riffs and grooves, and they knew how to write a good melody. The album before this was a bit disappointing, and there were rumours that the record company were interfering big time with this album, as they wanted the band to appeal more to an American audience. In fact, the version that you hear here was not the original version, as the label wanted them to record it again. There is another presumably more metal version of this album somewhere.

The first thing your ears are subjected to is a synth intro to opener Rockin’ Again. It’s clearly aimed at US radio with a slick production and commercial sound. Call Of The Wild follows and it feels more like Saxon, albeit with that slick production. It’s not that this is a bad album (it’s not), it just sounds like Saxon-lite, if you will. Back On The Streets is a great pop rock track with a killer hook and chorus, and the record company agreed as it was the lead single. Devil Rides Out sounds like any LA band of the time, a decent enough Friday night stomper. Rock N’ Roll Gypsy was another single release, and I hate that big dustbin lid snare drum sound.

Broken Heroes opens up Side 2 and its power ballad time. The only ballad that I like by the band is on their first album, with Frozen Rainbow. Gonna Shout starts with a nice riff and there are some very recognizable Saxon chord patterns on this one. Everybody Up has a variation of THAT riff again, and is quite a generic track. Raise Some Hell is moving the tempo up from the rest of the album with Dobby playing the galloping bass line. Superb middle eight! Save the best till last they say and that’s what get here with my favourite track Give It Everything You’ve Got. The band are finally giving it the treatment and it’s the only track that could have appeared alongside any from the first five albums. Great tune.

As I’ve already mentioned, it’s Saxon lite. It’s not a bad album, it’s just that I love those first five so much.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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