THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl (Page 3 of 50)

ALIEN – s/t

April 22, 2021 /

If you were under the impression that melodic rock had died at the end of the eighties – you were wrong. Well, it’s alive in Sweden anyway, as bands still put out great rock records. Check out bands like Eclipse, W.E.T and The Poodles who consistently put out great records.

Now, this album came out in ’88, and I doubt anyone outside of Europe has even heard of this band, which is a shame as they could give any band a run for their money. Having been blessed with having two lead singers in Jim Jidhed and Pete Sandberg, you know the emphasis is on the hooks and melody. Every song has the big chorus that you can’t help but sing to. They are also great musicians. Founding member Tony Borg is a killer guitar player. Tracks like Tears Don’t Put Out The Fire, and I’ve Been Waiting, are great songs and if the band was American (and around a couple of years earlier) things could have been a whole lot different. If you mixed Escape era Journey with Toto – you’d get an idea what music these guys make.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

BILLY IDOL – Rebel Yell

April 22, 2021 /

After the brief success of Generation X (who disbanded in ’81), Billy went to the States to start a solo career. He joined up with guitarist Steve Stevens and Billy boy hit payday. Success came near enough instantly with White Wedding, and they were off and running. Now, make no mistake here, Billy owes a hell of a lot to Stevens as his inventiveness and creativity drive everything on this album, plus he is one hell of a guitar player.

Opening and title track is a fantastic track and is very eighties in sound and feel – with the addition of keyboards played by Stevens on the album, but this track definitely rocks. Next up is Daytime Drama, and this song is made by the guitar track – incredible rhythm and lead playing – you really get to realize what a lucky boy William Broad is. Eyes Without A Face is all about the keyboards until the fat riff kicks in the middle section – another great tune and a hit single to boot. Blue Highway follows and closes out Side 1. A crazy guitar intro leads into a fairly standard song lifted again by the guitar.

Over to Side 2 and Idol’s best track of his entire career, Flesh For Fantasy. It starts with the simple bass line with an almost funk groove – then it’s all about the guitar. No crazy solo’s, just a great feel for the song with plenty of chorus and echo. Superb track! Catch My Fall is next, and is the only song credited to Billy himself and sounds very new wave. Crank Call follows and starts with a great riff and has a whiff old Gen X about it. Do Not Stand In The Shadows is very old school punk rock in the intro, and again is very eighties in sound but still it’s a good tune. The album closes out with The Dead Next Door which is a very atmospheric electronic slow tune.

This album was never bettered. Sure there is the occasional track that his good, but nothing came close to that quality of songs on this album.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

CHICKENFOOT – III

April 16, 2021 /

I’ll admit to not being the world’s biggest Sam The Sham fan. Hell, I’d goe as far to say I positively hate the guy. He is one of the luckiest guys around, and has made his name by leeching off the talent of others. He has a half decent voice, and his lyrics are 12 year old school boy at best. So why did you buy this I hear you ask? Well, the band musically are killer, and live they were amazing – once I got past the aerobic keep fit nonsense from the singer. If you surround yourself with quality you can’t fail right? Joe Satriani on guitar, Chad Smith on drums and Michael Anthony on bass. That’s one hell of a line up to be in front of.

Last Temptation is a good solid opening track and rocks hard. Alright Alright is an ok tune, but the endless singing of the chorus gets a bit grating. Different Devil is next and is a typical Hagar solo tune. Up Next is…well err…Up Next, and is similar to the jam style tunes that were on the first record – it has a nice groove and some nice playing from Joe. Lighten Up closes out Side 1 and starts quite interesting with the Hammond effect on Joe’s guitar, but it turns into a straight up rock tune.

Side 2 kicks off with wimp ballad city with Come Closer. Three And A Half Letters was Hagar’s attempt at writing about the social climate and the economy. Big Foot was the lead off single and gets joint best track on the album award. A great riff from Joe, and the killer groove from Chad and Mike really drives this song along. Dubai Blues is next up and is the other great track on the album. Again, it has that loose jam feel to it which is when this band is cooking. Great playing all around. The last track, Something Going Wrong, is quite a chill ending to what is a fairly rocking album.

This record is not as good as the first album, which is a shame, as that was going in the right direction.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND – SAHB Stories

April 16, 2021 /

I’ll admit to The Harvey’s being one of my favourite bands since I was at school. Having their logo emblazoned on my school bag. They were formed in Glasgow in ’72 by bringing Alex together with the hard rocking band Tear Gas. It was a mix of theater and killer tunes. They were always painting pictures with the stories that were told. They were insultingly compared to Alice Cooper, as the journo’s could not pin them down, and he was the nearest visually to what they were doing.

Starting off with the excellent Dance To Your Daddy, then things move up a few gears with one of my favourite SAHB tunes, Amos Moses. Killer riff and epic groove, and Zal letting loose on the guitar. Worth the price of admission alone kiddies! Jungle Rub Out is next, and in typical SAHB fashion, we take a little left turn musically where Alex is doing his best lounge lizard impression before the heavy chorus kicks in. Side 1 ends with Sirocco, the most unusual track on the album, a slow middle eastern meets blues/jazz crossover.

Side 2 begins with the one SAHB track that everyone should have heard of, Boston Tea Party. Top 20 in the charts, and rightly so – it is a great track. It wasn’t their highest single chart placing – that would be a cover of Delilah. Sultans Choice is next up and a great riff from Zal announces its arrival. It’s just an old rock n roll tune updated somewhat. The rock funk of 25$ For A Massage slides on in, and is another killer tune with a great groove. The last track on the album would also be the heaviest track the band would put on record – the fantastic Dogs Of War. What an end to the album! That huge riff and the lyric about mercenaries.

Released in ’76, it still holds up well and I still play it often.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

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