I received this album along with Icarus Witch's "Capture The Magic" and assumed it would be simply a nice little addition to a collection of CD's played once for a chuckle and set aside. But I must admit, I really like it. It's one of the best tribute albums I've heard to date actually.
There's a cool combination of acts doing the songs which are surprisingly good. While Lita Ford doing "Close My Eyes Forever" isn't exactly an original idea for this sort of thing, it's at least done live which adds a bit of a "different" feel.
"Ripper" Owens and Yngwie Malmsteen do a spirited version of "Mr. Crowley" and the previously mentioned Icarus Witch team up with George Lynch for a great rendition of "S.A.T.O." . And who DOESN'T love to hear the immortal Lemmy perform? He's paired with Richie Kotzen on "Desire".
Here's the listing for the album:
1. Tim "Ripper" Owens / Yngwie Malmsteen - Mr. Crowley
2. Children Of Bodom - Shot In The Dark
3. Icarus Witch / George Lynch - S.A.T.O.
4. Forever Say Die / Jeff Duncan - Bark At The Moon
5. Lita Ford - Close My Eyes Forever
6. Lemmy / Ritchie Kotzen - Desire
7. Dee Snider / Doug Aldrich / Jason Bonohm - Crazy Train
8. Mark Slaughter / Brad Gills - Over The Mountain
9. Jack Blades / Reb Beach - I Don't Know
10. Joe Lynn Turner / Steve Lukather - Hellraiser
11. Novembers Doom - Revelation (Mother Earth)
12. Alex Skolnick Trio - Goodbye To Romance
I'm assuming that Mark Slaughter finally hit puberty and his high-pitched, grating voice has calmed down rather nicely from back in the day. He does a good job here.
Joe Lynn Turner's vocals still make even this song sound like an 80's movie soundtrack, but decent.
November's Doom is a pleasant surprise here adding some cool death growls and a real twist to this whole deal. Very enjoyable, indeed.
It's only fitting that they put them and Alex Skolnick Trio as the last two acts since they are probably the two that really make the songs truly their own. Death Metal followed by a jazz interpretation. I can't say that I'm as enthusiastic about the jazz instrumental as some, because to me it's basically like Muzak. Something you would hear while sitting in a restaraunt, but to each his own.
I can't say that this won't end up in that pile I mentioned earlier, but it could at least be pulled out on occasion for something different. If you're a big Ozzy fan you could enjoy hearing the various spins on your favorite songs. It would also be entertaining if you're a fan of the acts performing them.
I would give it a thumbs up.
