Aldrich, Doug - Alter Ego


Year of Release: 2001
Label: Z Records
Catalog Number: ZR1997057
Format: CD
Total Time: 61:50:00

Now this is a guy that has been around for a while and every serious fan of AOR and hard rock should know who he is. Doug Aldrich has been involved in a number of legendary hard rock acts over the past years including Lion, Hurricane, Bad Moon Rising and his latest project, Burning Rain. Doug has two previous solo releases on his conscience, but this is the first album to get a good label for distribution in Europe.

Doug is a seriously underrated guitarist and it's about time he gets recognised for his talent. Alter Ego is, as far as I can see, a compilation of his first two solo albums. The album balances between instrumental tracks and tracks with vocals. Actually, Doug has hooked up with some of the finest vocalists of the hard rock genre and they all do great performances - Johnny Gioeli (Brunette, Hardline, Axel Rudi Pell), Ron Young (Little Caesar, Manic Eden) and Matt Kramer (Saigon Kick) all do one song each, whilst Kal Swan (Lion, Bad Moon Rising) performs on two tracks.

Like with Burning Rain, we are offered a healthy dose of bluesy hard rock with a lot of groove. I am not a big fan of instrumentals so I might be slightly biased, towards the negative, in reviewing this CD. I definitely prefer the tracks with vocals and they provide great rock big time. As for the instrumentals, there are certainly are a few great numbers, but overall I feel that most of them just flow by rather anonymously, lacking good melody lines. Doug is by all means an excellent guitarist and his performance here is more than convincing, but most of the instrumentals just don't grab me. I am sure that fans of instrumental CDs or guitar heroes might appreciate the instrumentals more than me, but I for one find the tracks with vocals to be stronger. The production is great, providing Doug with a raw, full guitar sound.

So, to sum it up, the tracks with vocals are all great while many of the instrumentals lack good melodies. As there are 8 instrumentals and only 5 tracks with vocals I honestly can't recommend this CD as an overall product. I prefer all his previous band involvements over this and if you don't have them, then shame on you! For diehard fans or fans of guitar heroes only!

[This review originally appeared at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]


Tracklisting:
Super Fly Sumo / Face Down / Millwall Brick / T.O.R.Q / The Trudge / Trash And Fascination / Appalachian Sister / Her Kingdom / Wes Coast / Highcentered / Sky Blue And Black / Midnight Sun / Frav O Fraz

Musicians:
Doug Aldrich - guitars
Chris Fraizer - drums and percussion
Ian Mayo - bass
Robbie Harrington - bass
Johnny Gioeli - vocals (2)
Ron Young - vocals (6)
Matt Kramer - vocals (8)
Kal Swan (11) - vocals
Dizzy Reed - Hammond B3, Fender Rhodes
Richard Dodd - cello
Tony Franklin - bass (7)

Discography:

Solo:

Highcentered (1996)
Electrovision (2001)
Alter Ego (2001)

Others (bands, tributes):

Lion - Power Love
Lion - Trouble In Angel City
Lion - Dangerous Attraction
Carmine Appice - Guitar Zeus
Hurricane - Slave To The Thrill
House Of Lords - Sahara
Bad Moon Rising - Bad Moon Rising
Bad Moon Rising - Blood
Bad Moon Rising - Opium For The Masses
Various - Crossfire - Stevie Ray Vaughn Tribute (1996)
Various - Forever Mod - Rod Stewart Tribute
Burning Rain - Burning Rain (1999)
Various - Little Guitars: A Tribute To Van Halen (1999)
Stone - Here Before (1999)
Various - Tribute To Ozzy: Bat Head Soup (2000)
Various - Metallic Assault - A Tribute To Metallica (2000)
Burning Rain - Pleasure To Burn (2000)
Various - Stone Cold Queen: A Tribute (2001)
Various - One Way Street: A Tribute To Aerosmith (2001)
Brian McKnight - Superhero & More (2002)
Dio - Killing The Dragon (2002)

Genre: Other

Origin US

Added: November 1st 2002
Reviewer: Bjørnar Bevolden
Score:
Artist website: www.dougaldrich.com
Hits: 2433
Language: english

  

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