Customer Reviews

Light at the End of the Tunnel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an awesome disc. I like it better every time I play it -and I loved it the first time. Jeff Pilson is an incredibly versitle vocalist. From growl to velvet, he fits his vocal style to the lyric and mood of the song. Most of the disc is strong, melodic metal, but there are a few tracks that push the boundries and really make this stand out. "Sweet Release" is two minutes of pure genius - stirring lyrics backed by a string quartet that captures the mood perfectly and manages to blend in seemlessly with the rest of the album. Masterful solo's by five different guitarists give each song as distincive feel, while Pilson's strong performance on everything but drums ties it all together. A brilliant album and a must have for any fan of hard rock or heavy metal.

Somewhat of a curio this one. Jeff Pilson and James Kottak rocking out on a break from their day jobs. Cool. And cool it is. Pilson takes on vox, guitar, bass and keyboards proving himself more than just some lunkhead rock dude and in fact a pretty handy allrounder - writing the whole thing too. Kottak takes care of the drumming assault and the result is a melodic rock 'n' roll record with some heavier moments like opener What Cost War and the more melodic would be represented by, say, The Night You Walked Away. The album rolls along - my gut feeling is it's best use is as a disc to throw on while crusing down the highway - and the honesty and indeed fun vibe in this project is evident.

Real interest for the lover of rock is the solid album being spiced up by a stellar cast of great six string slingers. Just check out the list - John Norum, Reb Beach, Paul Gilbert, John Levin and Richie Kotzen. Phew. Each takes a guest solo on a track except Kotzen who takes part in two tracks. Of course with a bunch of guitarists like that it will be a matter of taste who you'll like the most but for me Gilberts shredding on the funky Wrong Place Wrong Time is awesome and totally complements the songs fast and fun gallop.

Can't imagine this is ever gonna go platinum. Or gold. Or silver for that matter! But fans of straight ahead and enjoyable rock 'n' roll should pick this up. It's not too heavy and can really be played in mixed company, not even your buddies girlfriends will find this too hard to handle.

Jeff Pilson is awesome on this cd. His vocals are out of sight. He is far more appealing than Don Dokken to me. He has great power and he really makes you want to sing with him. He wrote every song and did all his own harmonies also....smokin'!... He played his own bass tracks and also got some great guitar players including his band mate, Reb Beach. My personal favorite song was "Playing God Again". I'm not usually into all the quartet harmony singing songs although, I did really enjoy "Cast the Stone". Amazing!! This cd rocks. Highly recommended!...

2001's Light at the End of the Tunnel was the second album from War & Peace, the hard rock group put together by former Dokken (and current Foreigner) bassist Jeff Pilson and Scorpions drummer James Kottak. Pilson sings, wrote nearly everything and plays everything but the drums. The album also features guest solos from guitarists John Norum (Europe), Reb Beach (Winger), Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), John Levin (Europe) and Richie Kotzen (ex-Poison).

It's inevitable given Pilson's history to compare War & Peace to Dokken. They're both hard rocking melodic bands. But War & Peace has a more progressive, less single-oriented sound, and is quite frankly a lot closer to full-on metal than Dokken was. Pilson is a fantastic frontman, and a terrific songwriter as well, so the songs on Light at the End of the Tunnel are all well-written and sound great. There's a bit of a contest between the melodies and the technicality of the guest solos, but it adds some depth to the album. If nothing else, this has the last several Dokken albums beat, hands down.

Obviously an album like Light at the End of the Tunnel is going to be of interest to fans of Pilson's previous work in Dokken, as well as his Lynch/Pilson collaboration. The guitar star power assembled here should also get the attention of shred enthusiasts. Beyond that, it's just a good, solid, hard-hitting melodic rock/metal album, and you can't have too many of those!

I have most of the war and peace albums and they are all great.They dont sound like docken but they rock.Each album has it own style and i reconmend it to all jeff fans.

I was really looking forward to this release because Jeff Pilson is such a great and talented musician. The first time I put it on I was in my car going to work because that is how I rate any new c.d. I purchase. When I heard the opening track "What cost war" I was blown away. It sounded alot like a "Dio" song, I really like that song. Then I heard "The night you walked away" and said to my self this album really rocks. The third song "Wrong place wrong time" is o.k. but nothing spectacular. The fourth one "Playing God again" is a really cool song but I feel as though the music sounds kind of muddy on that one. "Solitary world" is a catchy tune which I happen to really like and then the sixth one "In the dead of night" is pretty cool. So far so good, then that's where the bottom totally fell out on the c.d. The next four songs are just brutal. I find myself shutting it off constantly after the sixth song. I still think Pilson is great but I am just disappointed in this c.d.

I was really looking forward to this release because Jeff Pilson is such a great and talented musician. The first time I put it on I was in my car going to work because that is how I rate any new c.d. I purchase. When I heard the opening track "What cost war" I was blown away. It sounded alot like a "Dio" song, I really like that song. Then I heard "The night you walked away" and said to my self this album really rocks. The third song "Wrong place wrong time" is o.k. but nothing spectacular. The fourth one "Playing God again" is a really cool song but I feel as though the music sounds kind of muddy on that one. "Solitary world" is a catchy tune which I happen to really like and then the sixth one "In the dead of night" is pretty cool. So far so good, then that's where the bottom totally fell out on the c.d. The next four songs are just brutal. I find myself shutting it off constantly after the sixth song. I still think Pilson is great but I am just disappointed in this c.d.