THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 304 of 491)

MACALPINE ALDRIDGE ROCK SARZO – Project Driver

April 25, 2022 /

This is a very interesting project put together by Shrapnel’s Mike Varney back in ’86. Mike Varney has always been a huge supporter of all things metal, and his US Metal compilations were fantastic for metal hungry fans such as myself. The original name for this project was Mars (after the initials for each of the members), but in the end they decided to go with their names instead. Tony MacAlpine on guitar, Tommy Aldridge on drums, Rob Rock on vocals, and Rudy Sarzo on bass. Other than Rob Rock, they were very familiar to metal fans as they were all in big bands or had successful solo careers.

This is an awesome representation of killer melodic 80’s metal with some superb playing from MacAlpine. Rob Rocks vocals are huge and every song is an anthem with big sing-a-long style chorus’ and massive hooks. Nations On Fire blows the cobwebs off straight away at a seriously fast pace. Nostradamus is a monster epic piece with a very grandiose keyboard intro by MacAlpine, and a guitar riff very reminiscent of early Ozzy. Unknown Survivor is probably my favourite on the album as it rips along at a killer pace with an epic riff and vocal – a speed metal monster. Fantasy and Slave To My Touch are more melodic rock than metal, and reflect more of what was popular in the hair rock zone of the time.

It would have been interesting if this had become a full time band to see where they would have gone, but I guess when you are well paid hired hands it’s hard to give up that pay cheque. A great album, and if you’re a fan of eighties rock and metal it’s a must have.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

THE DREGS – Unsung Heroes

April 25, 2022 /

For some reason on this album, they removed the Dixie from their name and shortened it to The Dregs. The Dregs are in a long line of great instrumental fusion bands to come out of the US, and it’s not often you get a violin player in a rock environment where it actually works and doesn’t sound gimmicky. This album was released in ’81. I’m sure everyone is familiar with Steve Morse, whose guitar skills were recognized by Deep Purple as the replacement for Blackmore after his last departure from the band. Rod Morgenstein should also be known to fans of Winger, as he was the drummer in that band as well as numerous other fusion projects.

This is not my favourite Dregs album, as that honour would go to Night Of The Living Dregs. The playing (as you would expect) is top drawer and my two favourite tracks are Cruise Control, and Attila The Hun, both killer pieces and Morse shows he can really play. The style is all over the map, from chicken pickin’ country, to classical and beyond. If you like to be challenged by your listening experience then this would be a cool addition to your collection.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

RACER X – Extreme Volume Live

April 23, 2022 /

I could save everyone’s time by just writing BUY THIS ALBUM and that would indeed be correct but a tad lazy on my part.

The band are filled out on this recording by the addition of a second guitarist in Bruce Bouillet. Just to prove how over the top this band are, this is a single disc recording and there are four solo spots on the album – everyone in the band is a virtuoso musician in their own right. I’m a big fan of all things guitar, and I’m a huge fan of Paul Gilbert and he is all over this, but Bruce Bouillet is a revelation here also.

This is one band I would have loved to have seen live, and this is as close I’m going to get. This recording represents a live testament to the first two Racer X albums, which are great, and it’s awesome to hear how tight the band are.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

NEAL SCHON & JAN HAMMER – Untold Passion

April 23, 2022 /

I always found the two Schon/Hammer albums quite unusual. At the time, Journey were bigger than a big thing on a big train to big town, and to disappear and squeeze this project in seemed a bit off to me. I thought that maybe these songs would be leftovers from Journey, but no, these were all originals composed by Schon, Hammer, and bass player Colin Hodgkinson.

There are five tracks with vocals which Neal sings. He has a very distinct voice that may not be to everyone’s taste, but I think it fits the music really well. Let’s face it, if you bought this album you were either a Journey die hard or you wanted to hear Schon rip it up – I fall into the latter category. He can really rip with the best of them, and the solo on I’m Down is right up there as one of the best solo’s he’s ever laid down. It’s a monster piece of playing and I absolutely adore it.

The album itself is the best of the two albums they did, and Wasting Time is a killer song with a superb solo thrown in. There are some oddities like Hooked On Love that don’t work, but on the whole this is an enjoyable album and it’s worth buying for THAT solo alone.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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