Geoff Hoover – Vinyl Junkie (Asbury Records)
As legend has it, it’s some 25 years since Geoff Hoover released an album, and we now hail the return of the lo-fi king… according to the blurb, that is. Lo-fi it most certainly is, but, for me, it is a little less hail, slightly more a bit of a headscratch, as I try to decipher the rationale of this album that was three years in the making. There is no pigeonhole to drop this mix ‘n match 13 song set into, no straightforward conclusions can be drawn, and no definitive statement rises from the subconscious to give a clear declaration regarding its demeanour. It’s a battle to review it, which reflects the battle, no doubt, that Geoff had making it.

What really comes over is how a non-musician has welded his guitar playing and the recording process together. Without the baggage of any musical theory, some very intriguing music is produced here. I don’t think it works on all the songs chosen, despite the huge efforts made to get each one right, but where the DIY ethic succeeds it does so on a level that bursts with enthusiasm and savvy. His self-imposed 40 minutes maximum length, as if it were a vinyl-only release, works to his advantage. 70 plus minutes on a new release, quite common these days, would blunt the point of the whole project.

On the negative side I found the cover of “White Man In Hammersmith Palais” pretty awful, the version of “Mona” rather weak, and “Pretty Vacant” and “You Gotta Move” are fairly average takes on the originals. On the plus side, though, are great covers of “Not Fade Away”, “Sweet Virginia”, “Baby What Do You Want Me To Do”, and some less familiar material which zigzags through the album (originals, possibly?). However, he definitely saves the best ‘til last, with a massive version of “Squeeze Box” that gives way to a gigantic “Heroes”, and these last 9 minutes of ‘The Who doesn’t quite meet Bowie’ are worth the album price alone. Just remember that none of the covers are in the same groove as the originals (in some cases they aren’t in any groove at all!), but Geoff’s weird, sometimes totally bizarre interpretation, bring a whole new dimension to anyone listening. In my collection some of these can have shelf space alongside the great originals, anytime, as they are originals in their own right.

I wouldn’t, couldn’t declare that this is an album for everyone, but I would suggest that if you are brave enough to give it a try then you are at least at the cutting edge of new-version music. Now, have I just invented a new musical category? Of course not, Geoff has already done that himself, I have just given it a name!
www.myspace.com/geoffhoovervinyljunkie
Kev A.

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