THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl (Page 4 of 50)

EARTHSHAKER – Fugitive

April 8, 2021 /

Out of the three big Japanese rock/metal bands of the 80’s, Earthshaker were the least well known behind Loudness and Bow Wow. The band were formed in ’78 and this is their second album, and the copy I have is on Music For Nations. Weirdly enough, even though the song titles are written in English (apart from the opening track), they are sung in Japanese. This does take away from the vibe for me as it’s really hard to sing along and get to know the tracks.

The songs are pretty basic and not setting the world alight, and the production is a bit flat. Musically, in places, it’s in the NWOBHM style and I can see why MFN signed them. In quieter moments, they are very AOR before it became fashionable. The stand out track for me is Drive Me Crazy, which is a fairly standard up tempo rocker but outshines anything else on the record. The best I can say is it’s an ok album.

6/10 from The Grooveman.

BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS – Call It What It Is

April 8, 2021 /

Ben Harper, for those who don’t know, is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and multi- collaborator. This is his third album with the Innocent Criminals. I don’t like the term “Americana”, but this would be where the album firmly lies. A good mix of blues, reggae, folk, and a little Rock, make this album very diverse and eclectic.

Opening number, When Sex Was Dirty, is a fun up-tempo track. Deeper And Deeper is a typical American folk rock tune. Call It What It Is is deep in blues territory and is very heavy subject matter – dealing with police violence and racism. How Dark Is Gone has a very Latin feel, and carries on the dark lyrical theme. Shine starts with a Fender Rhodes intro before dropping into an off-groove reggae vibe – a really cool tune. All That Has Grown is an acoustic delta blues short piece to close out Side 1.

Pink Balloon brings us back to rock territory and possibly the grooviest tune on the whole album. Other than old country, the other genre I don’t like too much is reggae – so the next track, Finding Our Way, is my least favourite on the record. Bones has an old school RnB vibe in the Marvin Gaye tradition. Dance Like Fire is firmly in the folk/country vein, and last track Goodbye To You is a sad ending to the album as it deals with loss.

Sometimes music should do more than just entertain, and this album tries to educate those who are blind to what’s around them.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MACHINE HEAD – The Burning Red

April 7, 2021 /

The difficult third album. It shouldn’t have been if they had stayed as Machine Head instead of trying to be Korn, or Coal Chamber, or whatever new metal bands were around at the time. Burn My Eyes is a classic of the genre, but this album is all over the show because Flynn is trying to move with a trend. You may think that I maybe don’t like this album, but that’s not true. I do like this album – it’s just not half-life as good as it could have been.

Enter The Phoenix and Desire To Fire are the opening two tracks and could have been Korn outtakes as the groove is very similar. The riffs are there for sure, and Nothing Left has a killer riff and is the track that resembles Machine Head the most. Silver could be Nirvana – it’s that close. A very weird cover of Message In A Bottle is the worst track on the album as I just don’t see the point. Track four on Side 2, Five, is the best on the album as it reminds me of Killing Joke – it has that sinister undertone to it. When you listen to The Blackening, which would be three albums later, you have to wonder what was going on in Robb Flynn’s mind when they recorded this?! Hey ho!

7/10 from The Grooveman.

LONELY ROBOT – Feelings Are Good

April 7, 2021 /

Lonely Robot is the brainchild of John Mitchell, ex Arena, The Urbane, and Francis Dunnery’s replacement in It Bites. There are a lot more, but too many to mention here. John is a bit of a genius and a workaholic it seems. As well as being a recording artist in his own right he has produced a myriad of artists. He even did a three song EP for me when I was involved in the Tygers Of Pan Tang.

This is the fourth album from this project. The first three were a concept commonly referred to as The Astronaut Trilogy, so this one is different and is a much more personal album lyrically. The title track gets things underway and is a short vocal piece, before taking us into the album proper with Into The Lo-Fi – a great Prog/pop masterpiece. John has this quality to his voice that fits with the Prog stylings of this record perfectly. Spiders is up next and is another great song with a brilliant melody and some great playing. Crystalline is a beautiful song with great musicality, it would have made a great single. Life Is A Sine Wave is another great song that is full of great moments and playing. This song could be a standard bearer for what is modern Prog music. Excellent tune! Armour Of My Heart seems to be a very personal song which deals with the topic of how to deal with lost love and putting the barriers up. Suburbia is another piece of modern Prog with great melodies and great playing – without being over the top. Keeping People As Pets is my personal favourite on the album – a really great tune.

The production is fantastic, very crisp and clear, and all of the instruments are separated so nothing is lost in the mix. A bit more laid back than the previous three, but still a great record.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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