Great White is on the list of 80s bands that I’ve seen in concert and will buy every new CD, searching perhaps hopelessly at this point for the days that they rocked.

I missed the July 17 release of Great White’s reunion CD Back to the Rhythm until I saw the band mentioned recently (positively) and visited their website mistabone.com and news of their reunion hit my radar. Why the original Great White band members were disharmonious, I don’t know and probably wouldn’t care because what bands get along any more, really? The music is what we want as fans. Bring us the music.

Bought Rhythm at Best Buy this weekend and have been listening to the tracks. My thoughts on each track and the overall CD below, but first a little history on the band.

Great White started as a hard rock band with some impressive tunes like Stick It, Out of the Night, Streetkillers and Rock Me, I’ve been chasing follow-up albums that compared. They seemed to get more and more mellow over the years, at one point becoming ensnared as a Led Zeppelin cover band (see Great Zeppelin). Like a lot of 80s bands that rose and fell in the same decade, they’ve been trying to rekindle that spark ever since.

The heavily Robert Plant influenced Jack Russell takes up the vocals. Mark Kendall grinds the axe and while he started as more of a rocker, he became more blues oriented in his style of playing after the first couple albums. For some that is a good thing, for me, I liked him better the way he started playing. Michael Lardie plays backup guitar, keyboards and harmonica. Audie Desbrow pounds the skins and Sean McNabb is on bass guitar.

Great White won’t likely be remembered for their music. They’ve had only a few decent songs since the early days, suffered various line-up changes and worse, suffered tragedy a few years back in a nightclub fire that claimed the lives of over 150 people and their lead guitarist of the time.

Great White isn’t about to forget this night either, dedicated the album to those who attended that show:

“This album is dedicated to those who lost their lives and those who were injured on that tragic night of February 20, 2003 in West Warwick, Rhode Island. You are forever in our prayers and in our hearts. May God bless you and yours.”

“Back to the Rhythm” - 2/5 - Somewhat lackluster title track. Some good guitar effects, but they are mixed too soft. Bring that edge.
“Here Goes My Head Again” - 2.5/5 - average Great White track, but points for a good Mark Kendall guitar solo.
“Take me down” - 1/5 - seems like weak B-side filler. Wish they would have left this out.
“Play On” - 3.5/5 - first of several mellow songs on the CD. Nice acoustic guitar, keyboard and lyrics. Considering GW’s storied history, this song fits the band. A good “oooooohhhhh yeah” wail before the solo. I like this one.
“Was it the Night?” - 2/5 - Solid opening guitar solo, that winds down to another mellow and forgettable track.
“I’m Alive” - 3/5 - I like the chorus, but the rest of the song is average.
“Still Hungry” - 3/5 - Makes me wonder if Great White is still hungry. This track shows they might be drawing on a few of their roots. Seems a little bit like the song “Hungry” by King Kobra, another 80s band. I like the last third of the song the best. I was left hungry for an extended guitar solo. This one should have been 7 or 8 minutes with a blazing solo. Lost opportunity.
“Standin’ On The Edge” - 1/5 - Like Play On, this one feels too much like filler.
“How Far is Heaven?” - 2/5
“Neighborhood” - 2.5/5
“Cold World” - 3/5 - Listen to the song “Humans Being” by Van Halen and then compare to this one. The similarities are disturbing, particularly the solo. I expected Hagar to sing this one. I should give it a 0/5 for the lack of originality, but since I like the Van Hagar song, this uncredited tribute gets a nod.
“Just Yesterday” - 4/5 -my favorite mellow track on the CD. Opens with an acoustic guitar solo. Similar mellow Jack Russell vocals that can be found on past songs like “Save all your Love” when this was fresh. Another good mellow acoustic GW song this reminded me of was “Gone With The Wind.” Nice way to close the CD.

When I saw Great White touring with Judas Priest on the Defenders of the Faith tour in the 80s it seems like the band was at their prime creatively. I wanted to like Back To The Rhythm Again, but after several listens it would be more aptly titled: Back To The Same Crap Again.

These guys might be trying hard with a reunion and 80s reunions I do appreciate, but this album isn’t anything new. It’s more of the same stuff they’ve been putting out since Once Bitten Twice Shy. Give me their first four or five albums over everything they’ve put out since. I won’t count them out or say they are washed up, but they are stuck in the same rut as the Scorpions (although I like their new CD better): too many songs that sound the same.

I’d like to see Great White go way back before the rhythm to the harder stuff. They were better with that rough, unpolished sound. Come on, boys, “Rock Me” again. This isn’t a terrible effort, but not something I’d recommend buying unless you’re a fan of the band’s last few albums. Many of the Amazon reviewers must like Great White as a blues rock band, as they have 4 out of 5 stars as of this writing. For me, it’s a below average effort from a group that’s capable of better. Grade: C-.

Did this post make you go hmm?

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