Mob, The: The Mob

Time was when the term "super group" was used to describe a musical collaboration brought on by some level of dissatisfaction, by one or all of the members, with their main gig. Other times, it was an outlet for a flurry of creativity that did not suit the parameters of the main gig. What was consistent, was that the resulting work was laden with a passion and a creativity that was unique as a result of a new or unusual pairing of musicians. In today's world where whole rock operas can be slung together by various musicians spread to the four corners of the globe, the creativity and passion of these projects has somehow gone missing. Often these musicians do not even see one another until it is time for the liner photo and usually the project stems from the creativity of a particular member. It was with this cynical regard that I cracked open the new project by The Mob, Reb Beach (x-Winger, Dokken current Whitesnake) Timothy Drury (x-Eagles current Whitesnake) Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger) and Doug Pinnick (King's X). I would prefer the expression " collaborative effort" to super group in this electronic millennium.

This is very much a Reb Beach project HOWEVER, it was truly a collaborative project in Kip Winger's Nashville studio with all members present and involved. Reb certainly must have some pent up aggression from his "day" gig as second fiddle hired gun to Doug Aldrich in Whitesnake coz the writing on this sucker is geared towards loads of searing solo space. Hell, there is even a bonafide guitar solo piece and an all out rock instrumental on this project. The songs obviously lend themselves to Reb's soaring, melodic yet modern solo sound and he does not disappoint. His unique guitar voice has been missing in action for quite some time (not unlike our friend Viv Campbell in Def Leppard, but that is a story for another day).

I actually prefer the Keagy sung tunes to those of Pinnick; his voice is just not suitable to this range of music. It will be interesting to see if this turns out to be a one-off or whether this can ultimately become a recurring collaboration. If you are in anyway a fan of Winger and/or Reb Beach's unique guitar styling, you will be well pleased with this project.

Track Listing

1. Track Listing:
2. One Track Mind
3. Wait
4. The Magic
5. I Will Follow; Guitar Solo
6. Never Get Enough
7. Love Will Carry On
8. Turn To Stone
9. No Reason Why
10. Spaghetti Western (instrumental)
11. I Want To Live Forever

Added: September 23rd 2005
Reviewer: Mike Blackburn
Score:
Related Link: Frontiers Records
Hits: 2731
Language: english

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