Tag: vain

Before we start, I bought this direct from Davy and waited an eternity for it to ship (I actually forgot I ordered it). It eventually came by UPS and was whacked with a $60 customs charge. Not only that, when it arrived the package looked as though it had been through five rounds with Mike Tyson. The cover is not in great shape but luckily the vinyl is okay. Artists: if you are shipping your own stuff, make sure it’s packaged right. Rant, over!

Glad to say this is a great record and glam/sleaze is alive and well, and Davy can still write a great tune. Don’t You Think is prime time Vain and it’s one of my favourite songs ever by the band. Great groove to the song and the melody is killer. The Flowers runs it very close, however it has a more slow funky groove but again, the melody and harmonies are superb. The title track is high on the dramatic. A slowed down blues based epic where Davy’s voice just carries the whole piece. So many great songs here!

Davy and Vain have always been that little bit different to all the glam bands they came up with. I haven’t heard all of Vain’s albums, but this is the best of the ones I have.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

Vain were one of the most hyped bands of the late eighties glam/sleaze scene, at least they were in the pages of Kerrang and Sounds magazines. Every week one of their hacks was waxing lyrical about the band, and I was very interested to see if the tunes lived up to all the hype. Ultimately you can wear all the fancy clothes and have the biggest hair on the block, but if you ain’t got the tunes, all the hype in the world won’t save you.

It’s a good album, but was it worth all the hype? I would say not. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an enjoyable listen, but is it the first Van Halen album? Davy has a decent voice and the band can really play. On tracks like 1000 Degrees it all comes together really well, and when the they play it really sleazy on tunes like Aces, this seems to be when they are most comfortable. The emphasis is all on Davy’s vocals, well it is his band after all, and on the slower tunes like Without You, it works.

My favourite track is the last track, Ready, as the pace picks up several notches and the album ends on a high. Special mention to guitarist Danny West as he adds some great licks to all the songs. The band are still going after fading in and out a few times, and that sort of sums this album up really.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.