DOOGIE WHITE – As Yet Untitled

During the course of history of Hard Rock there have been many British artists that have taken the flag to lead the worldwide music scene into wider frontiers. British Hard Rock, later known as Metal (or NWOBHM), on its own has been the ruler of Rock music since the late 60s till the mid 80s while still going, even if not at the same magnitude. The British scene delivered some of the best singers in the industry including Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Ian Gillian (Deep Purple), Biff Byford (Saxon), Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath) and David Coverdale (Whitesnake) among others. But there is another star in the Hard Rock / Metal sky that should be mentioned, that being the Scottish born Doogie White. Surely he is one of the true classic voices that Britain brought up.

With a career that has been going for over thirty years in the business, Doogie White never seemed to get worn-out by rocking and rolling. Probably that is the reason why he has held so many guest roles for so many bands, not mentioning his participation as a main frontman for a number of bands in the past, such as Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen while including the fronting of the old Tank nowadays. After so many years, he has finally come up with an album bearing his name on the artwork. As Yet Untitled, via Metal Mind Productions, is generally, in part, a summary of Doogie White’s ongoing career.

For the task of making this enterprise come alive, a number of high profile artists made their appearance. As Yet Untitled consisted of some of the greater names of past and present such as Derek Sherinian (Black Country Communion), Patrick Johansson (Yngwie Malmsteen, Hammerfall), Neil Murray (Whitesnake), Tony Carey (Rainbow) and Pontus Norgren (Hammerfall) among others. Norgen, aside from sharing his lead guitar skills, produced most of the album that was recorded in several places in the US and Europe. The end result from this undertaking, beyond the fact that Doogie White remains a hell of a singer and it shows, paved the road for a wonderful album.

The album presents both melodic and cutthroat Hard Rock tunes, in the line of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and AC/DC along with booming Heavy Metal onslaughts. The larger part of the tracklist is mainstream and can be described as easy listening. The simplicity of the song structures won’t spoil the experience for whoever has a thing for progressive or intricate types of music.

“Times Like These” and “Lonely” are different in orientation from one another but both are the best showcases of Doogie White’s influences and trends. “Times Like These”, the closing track, is one of the most harmonious musical pieces heard in awhile. “Lonely” is a chopping Heavy Metal cracker that seems to be more in the line of the classic 80s stuff along with newer affiliations to Doogie White’s current band, Tank.

The album also presents other great tracks as “Dreams Lie Down And Die”, “Sea Of Emotion” and “Come Taste The Band” (great duet with Patti Russo) that once again proves that Doogie White is excellent and so is his peers’ playing. The AC/DC slanting tracks “Time Machine” and “Catz Got Yer Tongue” are solid ones but those definitely illustrate that Doogie White shouldn’t hang on to doing such tracks as the music is utterly banal and that there is only one AC/DC, and only one Bon Scott, and it should stay that way.

As Yet Untitled is one of Doogie White’s finest hours. The guy has an incredible voice that keeps on following him wherever he goes. It will be interesting to see whether this album is a one time fling or rather a new beginning.

Tracklist

1. Come Taste the Band
2. Time Machine
3. Dreams Lie Down and Die
4. Lonely
5. Land of the Deceiver
6. Secret Jesus
7. Sea of Emotion
8. Catz Got Yer Tongue
9. Living on the Cheap
10. Times Like These

Lineup

Doogie White – Vocals

Patrick Johansson – Drums
Thomas Broman – Drums

Derek Sherinian – Keyboards
Tony Carey – Keyboards

Neil Murray – Bass
Greg Smith – Bass
Paul Logue – Bass

Pontus Norgren – Guitars
Marcus Jidell – Guitars
Phil Hilborne – Guitars
Mick Tucker – Guitars

Patti Russo – Guest vocals