King's X
Tape Head

THE REVIEW

By now around for quite a while - their debut dates back to 1988 - King's X, despite gaining solid acclaim in the music scene, have never broken out of a narrow cult following.
The Texan trio has been, from the beginning, a harbinger of a crossover ante litteram, where on a solid melodic hard rock base, with special attention to Beatles-inspired vocal parts, massive doses of Soul are grafted.
Fundamental to this aim is the presence within the Texan trio of black bassist/vocalist Doug Pinnick, injecting groove into the band's rhythmic engine, completed by drummer Jerry Gaskill and the exquisite guitarist Ty Tabor. It must be said straight away that this Tape Head is certainly a secondary album in their catalog.

It starts with an excellent example of what the Kings know how to do: Groove Machine is their welcome to the listener on the threshold of what the title promises. It continues with Fade, where on a solid AC/DC riff the usual vocal harmonies are intertwined, and throughout the album, further well-delivered punches are Ocean, Little Bit Of Soul, and Mr. Evil.
Unfortunately, the rest is as impeccable as it is lacking in edge, a King's X style exercise, albeit as only they can do.
In closing, a completely useless joke - we take the live improvisation placed at the end that way.

Those who want to get to know them should get the sumptuous "Gretchen Goes To Nebraska" from '89, and start from there: ultimately, this is an album for completists.