I’ll fess up from the start-  I am a huge fan of Jake E Lee and quite the happy camper since his return from a twenty odd year self imposed exile short of the occasional surprise appearance (a solo disc, his Retraced covers album, and guest spots on various records).  All that said, I’ll admit that nothing from this hiatus fully grabbed me like his two Ozzy discs (Bark At The Moon and The Ultimate Sin) or his most excellent Badlands releases.  Granted, what I did hear was essentially very good but I felt there was more in his bag of tricks like those on display during his ’80s/early ’90s heyday.  Even the first Red Dragon Cartel disc (first post hiatus platter) had its moments, but…  there was still something missing and I got a little worried.  Had one of my favorite guitarists lost his mojo?

Fear not… the release in late 2018 of Patina has eased my mind and is easily Jake’s best work since the posthumous release of Dusk, Badlands’ last disc featuring the late, great Ray Gillen on vocals.  There is a certain fire and spirit on Patina that shines much brighter than anything released since that early 90s period-  not that any of the playing was necessarily bad but it felt more like a man just having fun noodling around and searching for a new direction by doing a little bit of tinkering with his existing formula. But something about this latest disc has struck gold; an excellent patch of songs that offer hints at his glory days yet sounding much more vibrant and colorful overall, possibly due to how well his ideas mesh with a core group of like minded individuals rather than the mishmash of  players from the first RDC record.   While that 2015 record had its moments and featured some good to great tunes and cool performances, its range of guest singers made the disc feel more like a solo effort than anything else.  However, this record is definitely RDC Mk II and features the same core unit of bassist Anthony Esposito, drummer Phil Varone, and returning singer Darren James Smith across all ten tracks, making the entire record feel like a unified front and full on band effort than the debut.  Also, bringing along veteran Max Norman to mix and engineer Patina was a stroke of genius-  Norman’s clear and wide open old school mix highlights various tones and textures via Jake’s playing but also avoids the muddy bottom end that allows for a clear distinction between bass, drums, and guitar, offering up a great sounding record as well.

So let’s dive into the tunes-  lead cut “Speedbag” is an early grabber; Jake starting off the song with a chunky, singularly repetitive riff that alternates between solid crunch and sweet rhythmic lines during the verse and washes of phased strums during the slightly psychedelic tinged chorus.  Come lead time he builds up a little tension with some sliding rhythms and some well placed notes; nothing too over the top but fitting well within the constructs of the song.  Esposito and Varone are solid; nothing flashy other than Esposito thickening up the rhythm as he often duplicates the guitar riff.  Vocalist Smith also  is in good form as he stays strong and steady during the verses and adopts a mellower tone during the chorus, showing off smoother vocal chops than what was highlighted on his handful of cuts on the first RDC disc.

But enough about cut #1, what about the rest of the disc?  Next up is lead single “Havana”, sporting a wobbler of a Black Sabbath tinged riff akin to “Hole In The Sky” but much, much bluesier and open as it comes out with a bang and oscillates between massive swing and nasty aural punch and is likely the heaviest riff on a disc of great ones.  Jake’s got two leads on this one, first is nice and dirty in tone and a bit more aggressive; the second one even more tenacious with some spirited bite and snarl as he tosses out some slippery runs and distorted vibrato.  The rest of the band is in fine fettle but this tune is clearly one for the guitarists out there and was wisely selected as the intro cut to this disc as it highlight’s Jake’s chops to great effect.

The next handful of cuts on the disc hearken a bit back to the guitarist’s Badlands days-  certainly not dead ringers from the catalog but matching some of that band’s rhythmic complexity (the slightly off kilter riff to “Crooked Man”, bluesy slide work in “The Luxury Of Breathing”, the funky groove of “Bitter”, reverbed hex from “A Painted Heart”) but adding a heap of Hendrixy cool with hints of Sabbath doom and maybe a touch of Varone’s former band Saigon Kick’s alternametal chops.  “Luxury” is a really cool tune that features a dirty, slurry riff that hangs deep in the pocket and features some dreamy vocals from Smith, sounding a bit like an outtake from the first Badlands disc akin to the hazy “Seasons” crossed with the understated menace of “Streets Cry Freedom”.  And “Bitter” could fit on that band’s second disc, featuring a groovalicious riff and subtly cool vocal from Darren Smith topped off with one nasty, effects laden solo that sounds a bit Troweresque in tone but features plenty of slippery licks from the Jake E. Lee color palette.

As for other cuts some of the tones may be a bit darker and more experimental for Jake fans; take something like the grungy intro to “Punchclown” that leans a bit towards Alice In Chains before settling into a steady downtuned riff or even the dirtier, slightly Middle Eastern vibes with the occasional jazzy motif of “My Beautiful Mess”, where both songs are aural treats but vibe wise are a bit removed from the man’s vast catalog.  Or how about the twisting rhythms found on “Chasing Ghosts”?  At one point a semi-throbbing militaristic romp segues into a psychedelic chorus that eventually turns into an odd, almost atonal melange of skronk with a slight u-turn to mid 60s Who before turning back to that dreamy haze to wrap up the song.   And finally, toss in the almost Doors cum Santana meets new wave surf rock romp through “Ink And Water” and you’ve got a plethora of soundscapes for the more adventurous aural connoisseurs out there.

Be forewarned, this is nowhere near his Ozzy work or even close to Badlands 2.0 but that is EXACTLY why this disc is so good…  there is a far-ranging variety of fresh sounds on display but nothing too far “out there” to turn anyone away; matter of fact, you’ll likely be spending time trying to pick out Jake’s influences or hearing bits and pieces that sound like something you’ve heard before yet just when you think you’ve got it, the tune swings wildly in other directions and you lose that train of thought.  There is SO MUCH killer guitar work on this disc to make the gearheads happy- so many great tones, so many cool tricks, so many great riffs, and so much going on that you often don’t catch on the first or even second listen.  You’ve got your radio ready rock tunes here (“Havana” and “Bitter” are my two favorites with “Ink And Water” another fave) but enough ear candy experimentation elsewhere that you don’t dare skip a track without fear of missing out.  Kudos to Red Dragon Cartel Mk II for dropping a disc that after just one listen you’ll find yourself hitting the repeat button again and again and finding something a bit different that you hadn’t quite heard the first time.

Reading about the 35th anniversary special edition re-release of Whitesnake’s 1984 album Slide It In I got to thinking…  you know, that’s not a bad idea for my next Showdown post-  how about a faceoff between the band’s two biggest albums in the States?  Granted I’m not the biggest Whitesnake fan in the world but I’ll fully admit that one of these two albums ranks fairly high in sentimental value, has a lot of cool memories from back in the day, and some of the songs are in frequent rotation on the ol’ iPod.  So which one is it?  Read on…

Come 1983, David Coverdale and his band of ‘Snakes were at a bit of a crossroads-  well known in Europe with a strong back catalog of hefty blues rock tunes, the band had nary any popularity in the States plus with the burgeoning metal scene bubbling up on radio and MTV, may have been looked upon as old hat by the younger crowd.  The band itself was in a state of flux; gone were longstanding members in guitarist Bernie Marsden, bassist Neil Murray, and drummer (and former Deep Purple great) Ian Paice; incoming was returning guitarist Micky Moody, new guitarist Mel Galley, drummer Cozy Powell, and bassist Colin Hodgkinson.  With the new band (and remaining keyboardist Jon Lord) under foot, Coverdale signed a deal with Geffen Records in the US and commenced work on their seventh album with producer Eddie Kramer before the eventual switch to Martin Birch to man the board and complete the job.  The album was first released the following January in Europe and did well; however, in Geffen’s mind the disc needed a bit more oomph and quickly called for a redo for the US version:  in came new producer Keith Olson to thicken up the mix as well as guitarist John Sykes and returning bassist Neil Murray to overdub the work of Moody/Hodgkinson and eventually replacing them in the band for the tour.

By April 1984 the remixed version of Slide It In came out in the States via lead cut “Slow ‘N Easy”, a slow boiling corker of a tune written by Coverdale and departing guitarist Moody featuring the latter’s smooth slide playing, Lord’s brooding keyboards, and cannonlike drums from Powell.  However, it was Coverdale’s vocal that stole the show:  everything from Robert Plant roars to sensual crooning and over the top breathless panting, the former Deep Purple vocalist definitely made his mark with rock fans who dug the band’s classic bluesier stylings yet appreciated the heavier sounds found on the disc.  Outside of “Slow” the disc features a great, great number of tunes; from the self titled cut’s stomping riff to the killer radio ready rock of “Love Ain’t No Stranger” to unsung cuts like the melodic rock hookiness of “Standing In The Shadows” and uptempo swing of “Guilty Of Love”, all featuring some great heavy rock tones, memorable tunes, and great playing from all players involved.  Sure, you had a fair bit of cock rock going on (after all, the band IS named Whitesnake) and some of the lyrical content is sophomoric at best (ahhh…  “Spit It Out” and the title cut anyone?), but there was no mistaking Slide It In for a Culture Club or Duran Duran record.  Nope, this was the perfect tonic for album oriented radio in 1984 featuring just a touch of 70s rabble rousing with some new guitar stomp for the 80s.

Interestingly enough, the three years between the release of Slide It In and the follow up self titled album (called 1987 in some countries) were frought with similar tensions that tore at the band back in 1983.  Gone was Powell\Galley\Lord, leaving the core team of Coverdale\Sykes\Murray and new skinsman Aynsley Dunbar to pen and eventually record a new album that featured seven originals, two rerecorded Whitesnake classics from the early days, and a MUCH more metallic mix with hotshot guitarist Sykes at the forefront.  While Sykes was a featured player on the previous disc his stamp is all over this one – gone is the inherent bluesiness of the original band, having been replaced by molten metal, layers of heavily reverbed guitar, and squealing, pinched harmonics.  On songs such as “Bad Boys”, “Children Of The Night” and the immortal “Still Of The Night” Sykes lays down astonishingly heavy riffs that propel the band, who can only try to keep up with the manic intensity from the six stringer and not get caught resting on their heels.  It’s not until their re-recording of “Here I Go Again” and (bleahhh) power ballad “Is This Love” that the band falls back into a groove, the former a bit of a rousing rocker after a smoothly crooned Coverdale intro while the latter is a sickly sweet tune that is rather forgettable (sorry David!).  Overall, the disc was a hit on MTV as the videos did everything from cross the lines of parody with odd hints of Led Zeppelinisms (that bow in “Still Of The Night”) to turning Coverdale into some sort of permafrost hair sex symbol to the best of the lot in making a video star out of one Tawny Kitaen (soon to be the new Mrs. C).

So which disc is the best?  Slide It In, and it’s not even close.  Yes, it holds sentimental value for me as it is one of the earliest records I’d ever purchased but as a whole the disc still holds up incredibly well thirty-five years later.  The sound and mix is massive; just the right amount of heaviness and atmospherics between all instruments and enough space that allows the songs to breathe but most of all it’s the songs-  “Slow ‘N Easy” and “Love Ain’t No Stranger” are brilliant, thick ‘n meaty rockers with plenty of hooks and the rest of the album features good to great cuts with zero filler.  However, I find the self titled pretty uneven: “Still Of The Night” is an absolute monster and THE cut on the album but the remainder is a mixed bag of good tunes to a so so batch of unmemorable ones.  As much as I love John Sykes (check out Blue Murder!) he’s almost TOO over the top here and I’m a metal guy!  But I think a lot of that can be chalked up to a poor sounding disc with crap drum sounds, oversaturated guitar, and very little bottom end to show for it.

In the end, both discs are pretty much apples and oranges… Slide It In hearkened back to the classic old days with a touch of the new and Whitesnake was on a sonic rocket ride to the future, no holds barred.  But one thing I don’t get…  Whitesnake is a hair metal band?  Seriously?  It’s that damn ballad, I tell you…