The internet is a wonderful thing and not just because of all the free porn. The internet also breaths life into many lost and forgotten recordings. I remember Sweet Teaze and their sought after independent release Do It Till It Hurtz (good luck finding that one), but I never realized that they recorded demos for a major label after winning a ‘battle of the bands’ contest. Of course an evil entity named grunge came along and buried those recordings until now.
Groovin’ On The Backside captures the sound of an era long gone, and in 1990 bands such as Sweet Teaze were a dime-a-dozen. But those days seem like eons ago and this release is like finding a time capsule and getting chills down your spine remembering the good ol’ days.
This album reminds me of Steelheart’s Tangled In Reins but without the glass shattering vocals, which cuts the annoyance factor down considerably. If you want rock songs, you’ve got them. “Groovin'”, “Don’t Kick Me When I’m Down”, “Borrowed Time”, “Never Was a Good Boy” and the best of the bunch “Heartless Woman” come complete with guitar solos, heavy beats, catchy choruses and silly lyrics. If you want ballads, they are here too in “Broken Heart” and “Slippin’ Away” which reminded me of Skid Row’s “I’ll Remember You” during the verses.
I guess you could say this stays too close to the 80s rock formula, but this formula has rarely been implemented in the last 15 years. Once again Suncity Records did a hell of a job, making a small release look like a major label offering. Liner notes, pictures, lyrics and great party music – it’s all here and all dedicated to the departed Mike “Snake” Edwards. Don’t you just wish it was 1990 all over again?
1989 – Do It Till It Hurtz (Sweet Teaze Music Ltd.)(192)
01 – Do It Till It Hurts 00:03:52,000
02 – Pink Peru 00:03:53,000
03 – Drive Me Crazy 00:04:09,000
04 – Lirttle Bit Of Ever 00:03:07,000
05 – How Do You Say Good 00:03:40,000
06 – Living On The Edge 00:03:42,000
07 – Street Wize 00:04:41,000
08 – Turn Off The Lights 00:03:22,000
09 – The Fool 00:04:55,000
10 – One Night To Love 00:03:46,000
11 – Horse Theif 00:00:43,000
2006 – Groovin On The Backside (SR006)(320)
01 – Groovin’ 00:03:57,000
02 – Don’t Kick Me When I’m Down 00:03:36,000
03 – Broken Heart 00:04:04,000
04 – Slippin’ Away 00:03:41,000
05 – Can’t Take No More 00:04:03,000
06 – Criminal Attraction 00:03:19,000
07 – Borrowed Time 00:03:34,000
08 – Can’t Find It, Grind It 00:02:57,000
09 – Never Was A Good Boy 00:03:11,000
10 – Heartless Woman 00:04:10,000
Band:
Matt Matthews – lead vocals
Raymond Jay Eveland – guitars
Mike “Snake” Edwards – bass and keyboards
Dave Press – drums