THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl (Page 46 of 50)

U.S. METAL – Vol. II

January 2, 2021 /

Nostalgia time for rockers of a certain age. I remember buying the first instalment of this series when I lived in the UK back in ’81. So when I found that there were 2 more instalments in the series, I snapped them up years later.

The premise or subtitle to these compilations was to give groove space to unsung guitar hero’s of the time – courtesy of Mike Varney of Shrapnel records fame. In fact his band Cinema contribute the 2nd track on the album Rockin’ In The US.

If you are like me and love everything guitar, then these are the compilations for you. They do sound a bit dated as the production isn’t great, but these albums are 100% fun and capture the time perfectly when metal bands were coming out of the woodwork. Very early performances by John Ricci (Exciter), Josh Ramos, David “the rock” Feinstein, Mike Batio, Marty Friedman (when he was in a band called Vixen), and Jack Starr. There is no shortage of great players. There are a couple of dodgy tracks namely Culprit who do a very bad Rush impersonation, and the Michael Batio solo piece which is just widdle for widdles sake.

So if you’re of a certain and age and can still headbang without the aid of a walking frame – then this baby is for you.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

MICK KARN – More Better Different

January 2, 2021 /

What we have here is the ninth solo album by Japan bassist Mick Karn. Whilst Mick is mostly known for his time in Japan, he is also an artist. His music is often created to go together with his art pieces or gallery exhibitions.

Incredible bass player as he is, this album goes from funk, jazz, to atmospheric, ambient pieces. While this is by no means a get up and groove record, it is a great relaxing piece to listen to after a stressful day. Mostly instrumental pieces – though some tracks do have looped vocal as on Atlantic B-Boot or a spoken word style on Never Thought. I think Mick either plays or samples all instruments on the album, although I am sure there is a physical drummer on at least one track even though it is not credited.

So would the everyday Joe buy this if he had it in his grubby mits? No, he would not. You either have to be interested in Mick himself, a collector of Japan related material, or a fan of avant garde ambient jazz. I myself am a fan of his bass style so I am weird enough to have bought this.

5/10 from The Grooveman.

LIVING COLOUR – Live From The Vaults

January 1, 2021 /

What we have here is a RSD release from April 2018. It’s called Live From The Vaults, but actually it should be called Live From CBGB’s 19th December 1989. Although Mick Jagger gets the credit for discovering them (as they supported the Stones in the US) they were around since ’84 as Vernon Reid’s Living Colour.

Most of the tracks here are from the bands debut album Vivid, which along with the follow up Times Up, won the band a Grammy. Not sure if any crowd mic’s were used as there only sounds to be about 12 people in attendance. Well those 12 people certainly got their monies worth as the band are on fire.

From the opening of Cult of Personality to the close out of Little Lies, every song is a killer rendition. Great rhythm section of original bassist Muzz Skillings, and drummer Will Calhoun holds down some serious grooves. With some really tight vocal from Corey Glover, and some incendiary guitar (whether it be rock, funk or Jazz ) from Vernon Reid, the band seem to be on a mission.

This is one of those shows I would have loved to have been there. This is a honest no overdubs recording – if you have any interest in this band, you will love it. Killer tracks? Well I really like the openness and groove of Funny Vibe, the amazing Open Letter to a Landlord, and Middle Man, but I’m sure you’ll have your own. Think there were only 3000 pressed of this so it might be hard to find now.

8/10 from The Grooveman.

TWISTED SISTER – Under The Blade

January 1, 2021 /

In my opinion, this is the best Twisted Sister album. I didn’t care for the “we’ve found out how to make money” records that subsequently followed this release. I love the raw “we don’t give a shit” attitude of this record.

Before this album, they had been playing clubs and bars around New Jersey for years and they probably thought their shot had gone. This was released on Secret records, which if memory serves me correct, was something to do with British skinheads Cockney Rejects and was produced by Pete Way who had befriended the band.

The only song that resembles the band that made it big after this is Shoot Em Down, which has the stomp along big sing along chorus. Whereas this album does sound of its age, there are still some classics of the period namely What You Don’t Know, the title track Under The Blade, and Tear it Loose. Remember this came out while the NWOBHM was in full swing so the harder songs went down great with the metal kids at the time.

Does anyone remember the fight off that never was with Manowar that was supposed to happen outside Shades records in London? Of course it never happened as Manowar never showed up, but is was a great piece of PR for the band at the time.

It has to be said that the production isn’t the best. The drums sometime sound as though AJ Pero is playing pots and pans, and the guitars sound somewhat thin by today’s standards. Overall it is a fun record, and the track Under The Blade is a bonafide classic of the genre.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

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