THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Tag: vinyl (Page 5 of 50)

KILLING JOKE – Night Time

April 6, 2021 /

One of the greatest post rock/post punk albums ever made. This album broods with sinister overtones – thanks in part due to Jazz Coleman’s half deranged madman delivery and the stunningly simple (but effective) guitar playing of Geordie. Born out of the indie/goth scene of the early eighties, Killing Joke were head and shoulders above every band that came out of the scene. There is not a bad second on this record, and in fact there are at least three bonafide classics held within the grooves.

Opener and the title track, Night Time, is one of my favourite tracks by the band, and it gate crashed the Top 20 in the UK at the time. A wonderfully dark and awesome song that I never tire of hearing. Darkness Before The Dawn is another beautiful, eerie and dark piece. It’s all about the atmospherics, and this song has them in spades. Credit goes to the awesome rhythm section of Paul Raven on bass (who would later join Prong), and drummer Paul Ferguson. The absolute monster that is Love Like Blood follows. This was another track that set the charts alight, and was a most welcome change to all the frilly shirts and haircuts around at the time. A wicked groove and simple guitar part really drive this song along, and in my opinion is a classic. Side closer Kings And Queens announces it’s arrival with a weird slowed down section, before the very distinctive riff kicks in.

Over to Side 2 we go and the percussive tones of Tabazan kick us off with that choppy drum beat and Jazz’s wailing vocal. Multitudes follows and has a very similar riff to Love Like Blood but the song is a lot darker. The choppy riff of Europe is next, and leads us into the final track – Eighties. An absolute monster of a tune with a killer riff and that unmistakable chorus – it is an anthem for a generation .

Another in the category of everyone should own one, and if you don’t then why not?

9.5/10 from the Grooveman.

WARP DRIVE – Gimme Gimme

April 6, 2021 /

Yet another hair rock band that appeared right at the end of the eighties – just before the great grunge takeover and the destruction of melody in rock music for at least 5 years after.

Now, if you can get past the first track abomination that is Bang The Drum (someone thought it would be a good idea to try and be a poor man’s Def Leppard), then this is actually not a bad album. Some great playing ensues throughout, and some half decent songs help in lifting the quality somewhat. Unusually released on Music For Nations, this album basically disappeared without trace. One song, Words, was produced by Rick Medlocke – he would later steal main man Mark Woerpel to join him in a version of Blackfoot. Moments Away is a really good rockin’ track, as is I4U. Crying Girl has a decent chorus and a killer guitar piece. Side closer is the big production number of the record. and is a good attempt at a power ballad.

Over to Side 2 and opener Eyes On You (which should have opened Side 1) is a great kick ass tune and is Def Leppard without the loops. Take, Take Me Now is a big sing-a-long crowd pleaser, before the killer song Rock’n The Boat. Whereas it’s all very familiar, they do try to to go outside the formula to make things interesting and this song is a perfect example. Stay On Stay On is next, and is another example of them trying something slightly different – it is a good solid tune. Final track, Making Time Stand Still, is a decent tune and does remind me of White Lion. A good solid album.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

MORDRED – Fools Game

April 5, 2021 /

What do you get if you cross Megadeth with any NWOBHM band and some funky vibes? The answer is San Francisco groove metallers, Mordred. Well, that’s how they sound on this their first album from ’89. It’s interesting to see how influences are taken up by younger bands, and how it works itself into their music. I think out of the three Mordred albums, this one is the best, as it is true to where they are at musically. Whereas what came after, they were deemed to be chasing trends.

Even though the release date is ’89, the old school thrash spirit is alive and well. Stand out tracks are the excellent Every Day’s A Holiday which grooves hard, Spellbound which reminds me of Anthrax, Sever And Splice which could be Metallica (until the vocals kick in), and the final track Numb which is very Maiden in places. Still quite and enjoyable record after all these years.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

TROPEA – s/t

April 5, 2021 /

If you are of a certain age as I am, then you will remember those cheesy TV cop movies and shows with the terrible acting and even worse script, but had the most amazing funky/disco background music. Well then ladies and hemorrhoid’s, I give you Tropea. Tropea is the solo project of guitarist and top session man, John Tropea. He has played with and appeared on just about everything that was recorded after 1974. He has also been a part of numerous bands including Van Morrison, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton and Dr. John – to name just a few.

This is the first of his 14 solo albums since 1975, and most of you probably won’t have heard of any of them. I love albums like this as you can put them on and they feel like they are the soundtrack to your day. Every track feels as though it’s part of a score for something, and you can think of it as a soundtrack to a movie that never was. John Tropea is one hell of a guitar player and just does enough for each song as all good session players do. There are some great players helping out like Steve Gadd on drums, and the Brecker Brothers on horns. Highlight tracks for me are the two side openers, Tambourine, and Muff, which has a great groove. If this was put out today I suppose it would be classified as smooth jazz.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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