THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl records (Page 402 of 491)

UFO – Live In Youngstown 1978

August 3, 2021 /

For those of you familiar with UFO’s live album Strangers In The Night, you will be familiar with some of this recording. Strangers was captured over five nights and cobbled together to make the classic album we all know and love. This album is one of those nights in its entirety and in the correct running order. One thing you notice is that this album is a lot more raw and in your face, begging the question how many overdubs were layered onto Strangers? That doesn’t bother me that much if I’m honest, as I like this album a lot. Mr. Schenker is on fire, and it’s cool to hear this version of the band again after all these years playing their asses off. Plus, you get to hear tracks not on the original release namely, Pack It Up (And Go), Cherry, and On With The Action.

UFO were one of the best live acts around and this album is a great testament to a once great band. There are not many tracks that I don’t like by this band and all this album is killer. My favourites are Let It Roll, Natural Thing, Lights Out and the usual sing-a-longs Doctor Doctor, and Shoot Shoot. If you want a lesson in how to do hard rock, then buy yourself this (or Strangers) – you won’t regret it. It’s worth it just to hear how good Michael Schenker was around this time.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

ZZ TOP – Deguello

August 2, 2021 /

RIP Dusty Hill!!! It’s super sad news and he held the bottom end so tight in this band.

This is the band’s 6th album and quite possibly their best. This album was released after the band went into exile after the Taking Texas To The People tour, which was not that great of a success. When they returned, the image that we know and love today was born. This is still the lil old band from Texas, but they are experimenting with sounds and tones – especially with the guitars, as lost of effects are used to create moods. I Thank You highlights this perfectly, as the opening guitar riff and tone is a joy and sets up the whole album. She’s My Automobile is old school ZZ paying homage to their Texas blues roots. I’m Bad I’m Nationwide is a mix of the old and new. The old being the main sound and chorus, but the new is the killer middle eight, and the ending with Dusty and Frank holding down a funky groove while Billy G lays the sauce on the top. Killer!!! One of the best ZZ Top tunes of all time is next with Fool For Your Stockings. This is blues – but not as we know it Jim. We get the lonesome guitar and the simple bass and beat. and then that funky simple riff with that awesome dirty vocal. It’s worth the price of the album just for the instrumental section. Manic Mechanic closes out Side 1, and the experimenting is in full flow both with guitar and vocals. Great track!

Side 2 starts out with Dust My Broom, a great version of the old Robert Johnson tune. Lowdown In The Street has a dual lead vocal from Dusty and Billy and a short sharp burst blues done Texas style. Hi Fi Mama has Dusty on lead with a burst of boogie – complete with horns. Another favourite ZZ tune is next with Cheap Sunglasses. Man, this song is freaking awesome! What a stunning riff and groove. This is my favourite ZZ tune – such a dirty funky track. Great vocal, superb guitar, and killer rhythm. The album closes with Esther Be The One, which I think is as close as the band get to a love song – although maybe not. Step away from Eliminator and come down to the real ZZ Top.

I love this album and it gets a 10/10 from The Grooveman.

THE CULT – Electric

August 2, 2021 /

The magic third album from The Cult saw them teamed up with hotshot producer, Rick Rubin, and he dually waved his magic dust over said opus – and boom – away we go. After dabbling in goth and indie styles before this, Rubin saw the band as a meat and potatoes rock band. Everything was stripped back to the bones to give the album that super raw feel. It worked, as this was the album that really broke the band in the US.

Three singles were released from the album, Wild Flower, Lil Devil, and Love Removal Machine – and they all scored big as they were super simple. Catchy riffs, simple beats, and sing-a-long choruses – boom!!! Easy isn’t it? I know this simple stuff is not everyone’s cup of Joe, but it played to the band’s strengths as they weren’t the most technical of musicians and Rubin worked wonders. The three singles are my favourite tracks on the album, especially Lil Devil which has a great groove and swing.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

KANSAS – Leftoverture

July 31, 2021 /

Kansas are America’s finest Prog export, and purveyors of the finest melodies and grooves – it’s just that the rest of the world need to catch up on that fact. It’s hard to describe just how big the band are over this side of the pond with multi platinum albums a go go. Having got together in ’73, this is the band’s 4th album released in ’76 – and what an album it is.

First track in and it’s the band’s biggest track ever with Carry On My Wayward Son, and it doesn’t get much better than that. I think everyone will agree it’s an amazing song. The band basically revolves around the talents of multi instrumentalist and vocalist Steve Walsh, and Kerry Livgren. The Prog starts in earnest with The Wall, and other than the vocals, it sounds very British with nods to all the usual Prog influences. Why’s in My Mind is great tune with a superb melody and killer guitar. I know Cary On is an undeniable classic, but I do love Magnum Opus, a typical Prog epic in 6 parts that sees the band stretching out to cover all of their musical influences – a superb piece. I love the dual vocals of Walsh and violinist Robbie Steinhart, they sound almost medieval at times.

I still find it hard to believe that this band came out of the US as they don’t sound like any other US band, and their musical roots are firmly British.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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