THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 308 of 491)

AC/DC – If You Want Blood

April 4, 2022 /

When talking about great Live albums of the past, If You Want Blood doesn’t get mentioned that often, everyone usually says Made In Japan or Strangers In The Night (the usual suspects), but this is one of the best Live albums ever recorded. If any of you were lucky to witness this line up of AC/DC, you will know they were absolutely killer Live. It’s hard to imagine today’s version of the band doing anything like this, as they are almost a completely different sounding band.

This album and Let There Be Rock are the reason that DC were classed as a metal band at the time – they put so much energy into the show. Tracks like Let There Be Rock, Whole Lotta Rosie, and Bad Boy Boogie were metal anthems at the time. If you wanted to fill the dance floor with headbangers at any rock night, then DC were the band to do it. This album is the absolute definition of the term “every home should have one”.

10/10 from The Grooveman.

BLACKEYED SUSAN – Electric Rattlebone

April 4, 2022 /

When Dizzy Dean Davidson left Britny Fox, he dropped the Dizzy and formed barroom rock n rollers, Blackeyed Susan. They signed a deal with Mercury and recorded and released this album in ’91. The album bombed, and whilst the band were on tour they were dropped by the label – so this was the band’s only official release. They sound nothing like Britny Fox, and all signs of the glam are gone and replaced with a stripped down bluesy rock n roll vibe.

I really like this album as it’s a lot more honest and more representative of what really floated Mr. Davidson’s boat. If I had to pin down a sound, I would say it’s a beefed up version of the Faces, crossed with the Georgia Satellites sitting in on a Stones session. Sympathy fits that bill perfectly and is, what I call, a Friday night drinking song. The band shows that they can write great radio friendly tunes as Nothing Else Matters would have made a great single. To nail home that Faces reference, the intro to Ride With Me is very close to the intro to Maggie May. My favourites on the album are Old Lady Snow which is a great uptempo stomper, and the very stones sounding She’s So Fine.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

PRIMAL FEAR – Unbreakable

April 2, 2022 /

Do Primal Fear make bad albums? The easy answer is NO! You get exactly what you think is coming: a full on power metal experience with huge fat riffs and searing vocals.

This is a rare commodity in modern metal. Every metal band wants a logo that you can’t even read (never mind pronounce), with tunes that are just a wall of noise with no dynamics.

This is the ninth studio album by the band, and the first with guitar whizz Alex Beyrodt. It sounds huge, with an epic production by the band’s own Matt Sinner. After the classical opening intro, Strike kicks in with a fat monster riff and double kicks a pounding. Give Em Hell has a killer chorus – boy, do these guys know how to write a metal tune. Bad Guys Wear Black is an anthem for all metal heads everywhere – Judas Priest have forgotten how to write tracks like this and Beyrodt’s solo is really nice. And There Was Silence really rips along at a killer pace, and even when the song is this fast, the hook and the melody are front and centre. Metal Nation is a hands in the air anthem that you just know will be killer live. Where Angels Die is a big production number with acoustic into and a huge epic classical vibe.

You get the picture right? This is a great album, and if you are lover of anthemic power metal then you may already own this – if not, then what are you waiting for?

10/10 from The Grooveman.

TEN YEARS AFTER – Watt

April 2, 2022 /

It’s hard to describe how big Ten Years After were. They had six big albums between ’67 and ’74, of which this and Cricklewood Green (both released in ’70) were top ten albums all over the world.

Alvin Lee’s performance at Woodstock made him a household name – he was just as good as Hendrix at that show. Whereas Jimi was a whole new approach to blues and rock, Alvin and Ten Years After trod a much more familiar path with their take on a more standard heavy blues sound. Although I’m sure Zeppelin were having a big influence on the band at this point.

It’s cool to hear Alvin play jazz on the track Gonna Run, and also the band’s take on Ennio Morricone’s western soundtracks with the instrumental The Band With No Name. However, it’s the heavier tracks that I like best, namely I’m Coming On and Think About The Times which reminds me of Procol Harem.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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