George Lynch & Jeff Pilson - Heavy Hitters II (2023)
Three years after their original collection of heavied-up covers of pop, rock, and soul songs, former Dokken cohorts George Lynch and Jeff Pilson deliver another set of covers in a similar vein, plus one original Christmas song, this time collaborating with longtime Rolling Stones backup singer Bernard Fowler for lead vocals on all of the cover tracks.
- Sledgehammer - A cover of the Peter Gabriel song from 1986. Gabriel’s shakuhachi and horns are replaced by a distorted guitar riff with fat bass and very Lynchy fills. Fowler’s voice is a bit thin and whiny, but works well enough here. Aside from the heavier instrumentation and Lynch’s soloing over the second half of the song, this is a pretty straight cover. Good stuff, 7/10.
- Carry On - A cover of the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song from 1970. A heavy, funky riff takes the place of the original’s acoustic strumming, but the character of the vocal harmonies is maintained here. Lynch applies fills whenever he gets the chance, and Fowler’s voice works well for this track. Lynch’s effervescent playing during the “Questions” section is great, and the mellow organ outro from the original song is replaced with a slowed-down bluesy jam here. Very good with a number of great parts, I think this one merits a round-up to 8/10.
- The Stroke - A cover of the Billy Squier song from 1981. Another pretty straight cover with some extra guitar harmonies and fills, though Fowler’s voice feels all wrong for this track. The music is all strong, but the vocals drag it down a bit. Still, I think this is good enough to just barely hang onto a 7/10.
- Radioactive - A cover of the Imagine Dragons song from 2012. A driving rhythm immediately sets this apart from the original, with ringing guitar giving off the feel of Bruce Dickinson’s “Solar Confinement” during the verse. Unfortunately Fowler’s voice is also a bad fit for this track, being far too whiny for what the music requires. Lynch offers up a pretty great solo, and it’s fair to say this song has been completely transformed by its changes. The music is great, but the mismatched vocals drag this down to a 7/10.
- Smokestack Lightning - A cover of the Howlin’ Wolf song from 1956. This is only a cover in the loosest sense, as it borrows some of the lyrics and tone of the original, but most of the musical content is original. Lynch reinvents this as a bluesy, feely number that starts acoustic and soon goes thick and heavy, building to a nice big chorus. Fowler’s soulful vocals work really well here, and Lynch offers up a great multi-part solo with several different feels. Great stuff, 8/10.
- Hold On (I’m Coming) - A cover of the Sam & Dave song from 1966. A more driving rhythm kicks things off, with guitar taking over the horn parts and some funkier color work happening under the verse and the bridge. Fowler’s vocals work well for this song. Lynch delivers an almost countryish guitar solo that fits like a glove, plus some nice fill work during the outro. Very good, a robust 7/10.
- Stay With Me - A cover of the Sam Smith song from 2014. Lynch leads with lots of soft detail work, but soon kicks into a heavy distorted groove. The heavy guitars fall away for the verse, but return for the chorus. Fowler’s vocals work well here, and the gospel-style backing vocals are kept intact. Lynch adds a brief but tasteful solo in the middle, then some more tasty lead work over the end of the song. A great refurb of the track, 8/10.
- Shout - A cover of the Tears For Fears song from 1984. Heavier guitars and organs drive an otherwise mostly straight cover of this song. Unfortunately, Fowler’s voice is a bad fit for this track, but the brief bass solo and tasteful guitar solos are nice touches. Still, I think there are enough weaknesses to drag this down to a 6/10.
- New Sensation - A cover of the INXS song from 1987. The main grooves are replaced with thick, funky riffs and lots of fills. Once again, Fowler’s voice isn’t a great fit for the material.
The song is also fairly repetitive, and Lynch’s solo doesn’t feel very inspired. Merely OK, a 6/10. - Jumpin’ Jack Flash - A cover of the Rolling Stones song from 1968. Lynch does a heavier variant take on the main riff and the song is a little slower than the original. Fowler sounds alright here, and Lynch adds a strong solo and nice fills during the outro. Might have benefited from being a bit faster, but what’s here is still good. 7/10.
- Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) - A cover of the Sly And The Family Stone song from 1969. Fat bass and heavy, funky riffage spice up this take on the song. Fowler’s voice is a great fit for this one, and the group vocals have more punch than in the original track. Lynch delivers a great solo and lots of great guitar fills throughout. The final fade-out is a bit quick, as I would have liked to hear more of what they were doing there, but otherwise this is a great track. 8/10.
- It’s A Wonderful Life - An original Christmas song, this time with Jeff Pilson on vocals. Ringing acoustic guitar and synths support a bittersweet verse, going heavier for a simple call-and-response chorus 1 and a more soaring chorus 2. The bridge is solid, and Lynch offers a strong solo with hints of his old song “Tierra Del Fuego” near the beginning. A decent Beatles-esque vocal interlude rolls back into the choruses to close things out, with a final neoclassical run from Lynch. This is pretty good, though musically it doesn’t really feel like a Christmas song, and chorus 1 isn’t as strong as it could be, but I think it still manages to eke out a 7/10.
Average: 7.2/10
Weighted: 7.2/10
Lynch and Pilson deliver another consistently good album of heavy covers with a few great tracks and a couple of lesser ones. Bernard Fowler does a good job with the vocals on most of the tracks, but his unique voice is just a bad fit for over a third of the cover songs, which drags them down a bit.
It feels like this album takes fewer chances than the original Heavy Hitters did, both in terms of song selection and the amount of deviation from the original templates; but the overall result is still slightly stronger, even with the noted vocal style issues.
The one original song doesn’t exactly bring the house down, and doesn’t feel much like a Christmas song outside of the lyrics, but it’s enjoyable enough.
While I would have preferred to hear more new original music from these guys, these heavy covers continue to be interesting and provide some pleasant surprises, so I will happily gobble them up if they continue to make them.
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