LYNCH MOB "REvolution"
by Dana Brittingham

Cover: 5 Oni Logans out of 10
It's a black cover with the words "Lynch Mob - REvolution" on it and a design-thing with the Mr. Scary guitar drawn in the middle. There's also a line of Egyptian hieroglyphs in the background. It's professional and everything. Just sort of boring.

Booklet: 7 Wild Mick Browns out of 10
The booklet is actually pretty good. It's 16 pages with lyrics, credits, several photos by Neil Zlozower, and a well-written history of Lynch Mob with quotes by everyone that played on this CD.

Songs: 5 Kirk Harpers out of 10
All but one of these songs are old Dokken and Lynch Mob tunes that were re-recorded by the current incarnation of the band, which includes original bassist Anthony Esposito, Lynch Mob's 2nd singer Robert Mason, that Fro guy that drums on the Lynch/Pilson CD, and of course George. The songs are stripped down from their original versions and RErecorded to sound heavier, I guess. George tunes down his guitar on several of the songs and plays in a chunkier style. I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, this is how they're playing these songs live, and I suppose it's trying to appeal to a younger audience by making these old songs sound more like contemporary heavy music. On the other hand, it's just weird hearing "Breaking the Chains," "Kiss of Death," and "Paris is Burning" being played this way. Why fuck with the originals? As for the REworked Lynch Mob tunes, "Tangled in the Web" is pretty good - it's heavier as it lacks the horn section that was in the original. But just like the Dokken covers, why mess with the originals? The new Lynch Mob tune, called "Relax," actually kicks ass. It sounds like something from the 2nd Lynch Mob album from 1992. It pretty much smokes. Though I was expecting a Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover. What I don't get is why George didn't just record these songs at a show and do a live album out of it, with the new song being a bonus track. Why go through the effort of recording this in the studio? Maybe George is becoming like Frank Sinatra or those Rat Pack guys, who would often record new versions of shit they did decades before. Shit, Dean Martin recorded nearly 20 different versions of "That's Amore." At least it's better than "Smoke This," the nu-metal album George did under the name of Lynch Mob a few years ago, which pretty much sucked.

Comments: REvolution is also issued in a deluxe package that includes a 12"x18" poster, a postcard, and comes in a cardboard sheath. The first thousand copies also come with a Lynch Mob guitar pick, but I must've gotten #1001 because I didn't get any fucking pick.