THE MOB – The Mob

Many remember the 80’s as being the “MTV years” for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Who can forget the “Hard Rock (Candy)” video of “She’s Only Seventeen” by Winger with the long locks and scant, torn T-shirts as “Metal Chicks” all over the world swooned over Kip Winger? Well, Frontiers Records is hoping that there is still a sizable “mob” of listeners out there that are still yearning for that classic Winger sound.

The Mob is a supergroup project fronted by ex-Winger guitarist himself, Reb Beach. Reb was encouraged by the Frontiers label to recruit a lineup and record an album of his new material. And boy, did he recruit one hell of a line-up indeed. The selection process started with his Whitesnake bandmate, Timothy Drury (also ex-Eagles), to play keys. Beach had previously toured with King’s X and had the chance to become friends with singer and bass player Doug Pinnick, so his selection became second nature. Songwriting ensued, and Kip Winger was soon involved as Producer, and eventually played bass on the release. Kip brought the band into his Nashville studio along with his good friend, drummer Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger). When all was said and done, the newest “Melodic Hard Rock Supergroup” project was born!

Musically speaking, the release is a powerful, fun, and a catchy blend of immense 80’s and 90’s Hard Rock from end to end. While comparisons to Winger’s sound have been made, make no mistake that this music is decisively harder and edgier. For one, Pinnick’s lead vocals add an almost Modern Rock feel to the musical landscape. Additionally, contained within is some of the heaviest sounding bass playing ever heard from Kip Winger. Another plus is Beach’s guitar playing, consisting of heavy rhythms coupled with some of his best lead playing he’s recorded in years! There is no shortage of lead guitar shredding on this release; Beach is all over this sucker! Background harmonized choruses are replete throughout, and are very well done, as is the production.

Highlights abound on this CD. Album opener, “One Track Mind,” is FM radio material from the get go, from a catchy chorus to Beach’s piercing lead. “Wait” is more of a mid-tempo modern Rocker with a nice, fat bottom end, even though it ends with an unexpected, yet entertaining, “Mariah Carey-like” scream by Pinnick. “Never Get Enough” is another excellent track that starts out with a heavy Moroccan Rock type stomp and leads into a catchy Pinnick chorus played off of a harmonized chorus by the background singers. Other highlights include a one and a half minute Beach “Guitar Solo” track, and a barn-burner instrumental entitled “Spaghetti Western,” which will have everyone forget the excellent “Black Magic” instrumental Reb did in ’92.

The release has two tracks, out of eleven, that can be categorized as ballads. Kelly Keagy sings the first ballad, “The Magic.” This track, while palatable, suffers from one issue: with Keagy leading the vocals, and the chorus technique employed, the track ends up sounding too much like a Night Ranger ballad. This causes the track to seem out of place here alongside with the Pinnick-infused tracks.

Bluntly stated, this release is one of the finest Hard Rock releases of the year! Fans of Reb Beach, especially, and/or Doug Pinnick will not be disappointed and will definitely want to add this to their Christmas wish list for 2005. Better yet, don’t wait that long! Get it on November 7th to avoid missing out on one of this year’s Top 10 Hard Rock releases! Do hope that this line-up decides to impress the fans with another release sometime in the very near future. The Mob is one instance where “Life’s A Beach” has a very good connotation!

Lineup

Doug Pinnick – Lead Vocals
Reb Beach – Guitar, Vocals
Kelly Keagy – Drums, Vocals (Lead Vocals on “The Magic”)
Timothy Drury – Keyboards, Vocals
Kip Winger – Bass, Background Vocals, Production