Wicked Underground

Jeff Pilson, George Lynch

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Spitfire
• ASIN: B00008V5Z0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #171,197 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Ori Release '03 Debut album from George Lynch & Jeff Pilson ( Both Dokken's ) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is one "Wicked" CD!!..., April 25, 2003

By	mark (South Florida) - See all my reviews

In my opinion George Lynch is one of the most talented guitarists in rock today. The problem is that we don't get to hear him enough due to lack of guitar solo oriented rock these days. Most of today's nu-metal and alt-metal is more rythym guitar and vocal oriented. This CD is exactly what Rock and Roll needs right now.....an all out assault of the axe by the legendary George Lynch.

Ex-Dokken band members George and Jeff Pilson collaborate to make an unbelievable recording here. Dokken fans, Lynch Mob fans and George and Jeff fans will all agree that this CD is the best CD by either of the two since George's Mob made "Wicked Sensation".

The intro to "Breath and a Scream" lulls you for a few moments before the crunching guitar takes over. "Beast in the Box" is an awesome second song on the disc which is followed by "When you Bleed" which has a great chorus and shows off Jeff's awesome vocal skills. "Vaccine" picks up the tempo and is a great rock and roller with that classic Lynch metal edge. The next song, "Ever Higher" sounds a bit like a Dokken song, but when George's acoustic turns it over to the electric, the combination really does take you higher and higher. Great song.

In my opinion, "Zero the End" is the most modern/mainstream rock friendly song on the CD along with "Awaken". Both seem to have that raw edge that you hear on todays rock radio format so much. Let's hope Spitfire Records does the right thing and promotes the hell out of this CD and gets these two songs some airplay.

"The Evil That You Are" is another great tune on the CD, but "Cromanic" is a classic George instrumental which features a little metal blues from "Mr. Scary" himself. The CD closes with "Goodbye Utopia", "Inner View" and "Closer to None", all of which are different in style, but still maintain the feel of the whole CD.

Jeff Pilson's bass guitar work is also excellent and should not be overlooked, but his vocals are what impressed me the most here. The combination of his vocals and George's fretwork is phenomenal. The production on this CD is also first class.

All in all this CD should give the listener quite a bit to talk about because there is good news in the world of rock and roll.....George Lynch is back.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rockin Without Dokken, May 4, 2003

By	Pablo Roybal (Albuquerque, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

With "Wicked Underground," ex-Dokken bandmates George Lynch and Jeff Pilson are back together again to deliver a new, yet familiar, breed of guitar rock on another generation of music fans. As part of the popular 80's rock band Dokken, Jeff and George worked together to propel the band to stardom thanks in part to George's highly influential guitar work and their great chemistry together as songwritters. After they both eventually left Dokken (Lynch in 1997 and Pilson in 2001), they have decided to join forces once again and pick up where they left off.

Although it's been four years, this album shows that Jeff and George still have a good creative chemistry between them. Instead of a throwback to the eighties, Jeff and George have decided to take a more modern approach to the record. But before some of you fellow Dokken fans are discouraged, let me reassure you that this is not a complete departure from what we have come to expect from Jeff and George. No, there is no rapping here like there was on the last Lynch Mob CD "Smoke This." Actually, it is similar in sound to Dokken's 1995 album "Dysfunctional," which was a generally well-received album by both fans and critics alike. There are the occasional vocal screams and computer programed effects (check out the track "Breath & A Scream" for an example), but believe me this does not take anything away from the album. For those of you that may have questioned George's musical direction after his rap-rock Lynch Mob album, you will be glad to know that George is in great form again. In addition to playing Bass, Jeff Pilson is also covering lead vocals on the album. And for those of you who don't already know, this guy can sing. Check out the clip for "Ever Higher" and I think that you will find it hard to disagree.

Most of the album keeps a steady rock pace without ever getting too heavy or too mellow. The album's opening track "Breath & A Scream" is the heaviest track on the album. "Ever Higher" and "Closer To None" are the albums more mellow songs, while the tracks "Vaccine" and "Zero The End" are slightly more upbeat than the rest. The album even features an instrumental track, "Cromanic," which is naturally a great idea for Jeff and George given that they were the masterminds behind "Mr. Scary" on Dokken's 1987 album "Back for the Attack." Here we are 16 years later, and George Lynch and Jeff Pilson haven't lost their touch.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lynch and Pilson are much better without Don Dokken, January 7, 2004

By	John Wright (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a long-time Dokken fan (and especially George Lynch fan), I was thrilled to hear that Lynch and Pilson were working on a cd. I've always liked Pilson, and anyone who knows anything about guitar would be insane if they said Lynch was anything less than amazing. Thankfully, the resulting cd is very cool.

In some ways, it's a bit of a throwback to the old Dokken days as far as the whole melodic hard rock vibe goes... but that's is a good thing. Also, George's playing is fantastic, if a bit tamer overall than I'd like (favorite solo is "Zero the End"). George has always had a lot of character and feel in his playing... you know it's him when you hear a snippet... and the performances here don't disappoint. Pilson is a solid vocalist, and he gets better with each listening. It's really good stuff.

Basically, take Don Dokken out of Dokken (I grew tired of him long ago), add some maturity to the musicianship, and you've got Wicked Underground. In other words, you've got a great cd.