THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

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N.Y. FURY – I Want It All

November 17, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Yet another blast from the past band who never quite made it back in the day. This collection came out in 2022 but the songs were laid down originally between ’87 and ’90. It seems to be a thriving business for small boutique labels to dig up some lost recordings from bands that only their local following will have heard of and then hyping them as the best unheard band ever.

The line up varies from a three piece on the first three tracks and then it expands to a five piece for the rest of the tracks. That tells a story in itself because the early recordings have a bunch of melody, but what drives them is the harder edge of just a three piece where the lead guitar playing from Gary Ryan is really good.

My favourite song is Danger Face, a great track with a big hook and great melody with added special sauce guitar. The whole album has that demo vibe about it and it’s crying out for a producer to guide them, especially with some of the vocal parts because the basic music is really good in parts.

6.5/10 from The Grooveman.

KROKUS – One Vice At A Time

November 17, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Now, I have mentioned before that the accusations that Krokus were just a poor man’s AC/DC were slightly misplaced. However, saying that, this album kicks off with a track that could grace any DC album and you wouldn’t know the difference.

Long Stick Goes Boom is a blatant rip but it’s one hell of a rockin’ tune that just gets that toe a tappin’ and the head a bobbin’. Bad Boys RagDolls carries on that groove seamlessly and is such a fun high energy groover that the DC’isms just don’t bother you that much, plus it’s my favourite track. This is how the whole album goes except for the cover of American Woman, which I don’t care if I ever hear again.

Hand on heart, this album is just a fun record to play – especially side 1. You can pick this up fairly cheap and it’s definitely money well spent.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

RATT – Invasion Of Your Privacy

November 17, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Welcome to Ratt’s second best record. For me, Out Of The Cellar is the perfect Ratt record because they were still hungry, and Warren De Martini just nails that album.

They were huge at this point and the record company wanted them in the studio after the success of Out Of The Cellar. This album clocks in at only 36 minutes and contains maybe the two biggest Ratt tracks in You’re In Love and Lay It Down, but I don’t think it quite achieves the quality as a whole as Cellar does.

Warren still plays like a beast and he is quite underrated as a player compared to his contemporaries. As usual I pick a track away from the big ones because Give It All is my favourite. Killer opening riff and lots of great guitar playing, but overall it’s just a great tune.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

HEADS UP – Soul Brother Crisis Intervention

November 17, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Now I don’t step out of my rock and metal comfort zone too often, but when I do it’s usually for something funky and groovy. So, when the whole funk metal crossover thing happened in the early nineties I was in heaven because bringing together two of my favourite styles was nirvana for me.

The music press didn’t care however, because they tried to kill it before it kicked off. I bought this on CD at the time because I was soaking up all these bands that had grooves. The whole vibe is almost punk rock with a very raw stripped down sound that mixes in rap with the funk and raw rock. It is something I would not cross the road for today.

However, after having not played this in a while, the groovy part of my brain is totally down with the groove with attitude vibe. Big Mama has the heavy riffing guitar mixed with a great funky groove, but it’s the Chilli Peppers influenced Happy Cats that shakes my tree the most. The smooth grooves of #3 are a close second however, as that funky groove is so cool.

Produced by Blue Oyster Cult’s Albert Bouchard, I find this record still hits the spot for me. If you’re looking for a hard, raw grooving record then give it a try.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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