Doogie White – As Yet Untitled

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The debut solo album from one of hard rock’s most respected, well-travelled vocalists Doogie White, whose CV includes Rainbow, Tank, Cornerstone and Yngwie Malmsteen, is a trademark affair in many ways, loaded with guests and great songs. Drums on the record are shared between Thomas Broman (Glenn Hughes) and Patrick Johansson (Yngwie Mamlsteen), bass between Whitesnake tribute band enthusiast Neil Murray, Ted Nugent‘s Greg Smith and Paul Logue from Eden’s Curse, and most of the guitars fall to producer Pontus Norgren (HammerFall) with a little help from British bluesman Phil Hilbourne, Royal Hunt/Evergrey guitarist Marcus Jidell and Tank’s Mick Tucker. The only vocal guest is Patti Russo, most famous for being that voice on classic Meat Loaf material, who duets with White on frenetic opener Come Taste The Band (not a Deep Purple cover, although with the lashings of excellent keyboards Rainbow’s Tony Carey provides, it could just as well be), leaving the rest of the album for White to really shine with one of his best vocal performances for years. Album highlight is heavy groover Dreams Lie Down And Die but in truth nearly every song here is great, catchy hard rock as good as nearly anything else the little Scotsman has been a part of, probably closest to his work with Rainbow as a stylistic comparison. Blatant Bon Scott-era AC/DC nod Catz Got Yer Tongue, replete with rather silly backing vocals, is the only real low-point of the album, though even that is fun with blazing guitar solos from Hilbourne and Norgren. Living On The Cheap also isn’t quite up to the standard of the first seven tracks, but some well executed symphonic rock in Times Like These follows and saves the day at the close. If White tours this album, these songs will make one hell of a live set alongside choice cuts from his past.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Albums, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Doogie White