THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 257 of 491)

CHEAP TRICK – Dream Police

September 3, 2022 /

This my favourite early album by Cheap Trick. The musical landscape was changing at the time, and rock music was becoming heavier with bands like Van Halen and AC/DC having a big influence.

Rick Neilson seems to play way more guitar on this than usual, especially on tracks like Gonna Raise Hell (which is epic), Need Your Love, and the wonderful The House Is Rockin’ (which is my favourite on the album and Rick is really showing his chops). Of course there is their usual patented brand of power pop with tracks like Dream Police and I’ll be With You Tonight, with the infectious hooks and grooves. Voices sounds like something from the George Harrison song book, and the sleeper track that no one mentions is I Know What I Want. Cheap Trick are one of America’s greatest exports and they have this knack of writing amazing catchy pop/rock songs, and long may they continue. Would you say they are America’s Beatles?

9/10 from The Grooveman.

VOIVOD – Nothingface

September 2, 2022 /

Voivod are one of my favourite old school thrash bands that are still putting out killer records today. This album first saw the light of day in ’89 and it still sounds fresh today. There was a definite shift in sound for this album as they moved away from straight thrash and added a progressive element to their brand of awesome. This is the 2022 RSD version in sexy swirly pink vinyl.

Killer opening with my favourite track The Unknown Knows, mixing the old with the new. Plenty of thrash moments mixed with more out there moments. Killer! Nothingface follows and vocally this does have an early Pink Floyd feel. The riffs, grooves, and the time changes are wonderful. Having mentioned Floyd with the title track, the band throw in a killer version of Astronomy Domine which IMHO is better than the original. Missing Sequence closes out Side 1 and this is where the Prog is most eveident. Sure it’s heavy but there are lots of wonderful excursions from the main song. Brilliant!!!

X Ray Mirror opens up Side 2, and where have you heard that intro before? Inner Combustion is wonderfully insane. So many different vibes, riffs, and grooves! Pre Ignition is very similar, but the instrumental middle section is epic. Into My Hypercube is old school Voivod, more straightforward. The album closes out with Sub Effect, a fine end to what is a groundbreaking album. Not quite as good as Dimension Hatross but still worthy of your ownership.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

BITCHES SIN – Predator

September 2, 2022 /

I guess Bitches Sin can be classified as a first generation NWOBHM band, even though their first album would not appear till ’82, they had a couple of demo’s and a single going round in ’80 and ’81.

Heavy Metal Records sure had a lot of faith in them as they even splashed out on a Rodney Matthew’s cover. What they should have paid the money on was a decent producer. The e first thing I will tell you is that the production is not that great, and the whole record sounds flat and empty. A good producer would have worked with the band to improve the songs, as that is what this album desperately needs.

At best I would describe this as pub rock. I mean, they are trying their best and they were probably pumped to have an album out, but a lot of bands never survived the cull from NWOBHM and Bitches Sin were one of those. I would say my favourite track is Haneka. This is for NWOBHM collectors only.

5.5/10 from The Grooveman.

LIQIUD TENSION EXPERIMENT – 2

September 1, 2022 /

This is the second instalment of LTE, released back in ’99. Looking back at the cover many years later, you notice Portnoy has short hair, Rudess actually has HAIR, and Petrucci’s beard and forehead hadn’t taken over his whole appearance at this point. Musically it’s on the money if you like overblown and over the top instrumentals – and I most certainly do.

Acid Rain feels like a Dream Theater tune until the middle section where everyone does their individual thing. A ripping opener!!! Biaxident starts in quite a grandiose classical manner before the killer odd time grooves take over. This track does have a seventies fusion vibe to it. 914 starts with big drums and Tony Levin pounding on the bass, but this track is all about Rudess on the keys. Killer playing!!! When The Water Breaks was inspired by the arrival of John Petrucci’s child and his departure to be there at the birth. I get that the keyboard intro is inspired by that, but the rest of the track? I don’t hear it. It’s just killer fusion to me. Chewbaca has a seemingly familiar vibe, as it starts quite simple with a great groove and just takes off. Hourglass is the most laid back track on the album and dare I say, an instrumental ballad. Another Dimension gets my vote as favourite tune on the album, as the Petrucci’s playing is just insane. The album closes out with Liquid Dreams and I would say this is the most experimental piece on the album. At times Jazz, Prog, and everything else in between. Long may they make long instrumentals that defy grands.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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