Doug Aldrich - Alter Ego
	Released: 2001 Label: Z Records Cat. No.: ZR1997057 Total Time: 61:50
	Reviewed by: Bjørnar Bevolden, November 2002 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! PPO Rating: 6/10 [This review originally appeared at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.] More about Alter Ego: Track Listing: 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) Contact: Website: www.dougaldrich.com Note: will open new browser window 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)
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