THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 258 of 491)

ST GERMAIN – Tourist

September 1, 2022 /

This is a 2012 reissue of the classic nu jazz/house funk album. St German is the stage name for band leader, Ludovic Navarre who was at the forefront of the French nu/jazz movement. This is a superbly produced record and sounds amazing.

Rose Rouge opens the album with a fast jazz beat then, as the track progresses the house beat and repeating vocal are added for a very infectious vibe. Montego Bay Spleen is pure reggae with dirty funk jazz grooves added, and a really cool jazz guitar. So Flute starts with literally just a flute, and the magic starts to be added form jazz to funk. I love the way the tracks start out as something and grow into something else. La Gouttte D’Or is such a chill piece with killer grooves. Sure Thing starts with some killer blues and has a seriously funky repeating layer back groove. Pont Des Artes is so deliciously groovy, I defy any of you to not start dancing around you space of choice. Latin Note is my favourite track on the album and if this doesn’t get you moving then the old groove muscle needs a serious tune up. Land Of starts with a huge Hammond intro before we settle down to a released funky jazz vibe. The album closes out with What You Think About and very dirty slow funk groove. Killer record with grooves a plenty that is a pure joy to listen to.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

SLADE – Alive

August 31, 2022 /

Before Slade became one of Britains favourite glam bands of the 70s they had been knocking on the door for a few years before. They had a love of American blues and that’s what they started off playing. They came to the attention of Chas Chandler who thought a change of image and label would be a good idea. So the skinhead image was adopted and Play It Loud was released. This live album was from that tour.

This was the second full length album I ever owned, and I do have a soft spot for the raw power of this record. There are only seven songs on the album, the majority of which are covers including their first chart single Get Down And Get With It, which has all the hallmarks of the Slade to come. The album closes out with a monster version of Born To Be Wild. But the cover of Alvin Lee’s Hear Me Calling is my favourite track. It’s good to hear how raw and rockin’ Slade were before fame came a knocking.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

LITA FORD – Lita

August 31, 2022 /

This is ex-Runaway’s lead guitarist’s third solo studio release, and her most successful. This was also the beginning of her association with Sharon Osbourne’s management company, hence the co-write on Close My Eyes Forever. You can’t beat extra royalties, eh Sharon? To be fair this is a really good album with a super slick production by Mike Chapman who gets a couple of co-writes himself.

Everyone is familiar with Kiss Me Deadly and the aforementioned Close My Eyes Forever, which were huge hits for Lita, and you could not move without hearing or watching those tunes, but it’s the lesser known tracks that I really like. Can’t Catch Me which was written with Lemmy is my favourite on the album, as it shifts along at a killer pace with a wicked groove and Lita shows she’s no mug on guitar. Blueberry is a typical Mike Chapman tune, very similar to the hits he had in the 70’s with the likes of Sweet. Fatal Passion is more Motley Crüe than the Crüe themselves. Side 1 is a killer side of music and is let down somewhat by Side 2 which has to much filler.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

SANTANA – Abraxas

August 30, 2022 /

This is Santana’s second album released in 1970. After an amazing performance at Woodstock, the band were on a roll as that latin groove hit the spot perfectly. This early incarnation of the band were all about the jam and extending tunes to the max, and I didn’t realize that he didn’t write a whole lot himself. The only thing he writes on here is Samba Pa Ti, which along with Black Magic Woman, were the two songs on this album that everyone was familiar with.

Other than Carlos himself, the other band member that catches your attention is keys and vocalist, Greg Rollie, whose Fender Rhodes and Hammond playing are a distinct feature of the band. Carlos’ ability to arrange Classical Latin tunes into a Rock environment is genius. Oyo Como Va and Samba Pa Ti being cases in point. These early albums are very of their time, but still a fun listen.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

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