CD Review: 3 Legged Dogg - Frozen Summer

Latest supergroup to emerge combines talents from Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot, Bonham, Rainbow, and David Lee Roth under one unified banner. The result sounds less like the bands of the 80's, as you may be apt to think, and more like the current crop of hard rock acts, not unlike Audioslave (itself a supergroup of sorts) and Shinedown. It is a brief 35 minute trek into hard rock, with the flavors of alternative and southern rock, crafted into an easy to listen to concoction that may not be the greatest thing to grace your ears, but is definitely easy to get into the strong groove they emit.

3 Legged Dogg is made up of Vinny Appice on drums, Jimmy Bain on bass, Carlos Cavazo and Brian Young on guitars, and Chas West on the mic. They got together and wrote this down and dirty album from the ground up, no leftovers from their prior bands filling up space here. That is one of the plus sides, each member was able to bring their own strengths to the table, rather than act as something of a hired un working someone elses material.

The album opens with the title track, "Frozen Summer," it instantly dispells any notion of 80's metal or leftover cuts from their former acts. It kicks in with a strong groove, and is a song that is centered firmly on Chas West's voice. The music has a think presence, but it is the power of West's voice that drives this song forward, no screaming, no straining, no rapping, just a straight up strong, clean, and clear voice. If the rest of the album is like this, it is going to be a winner. The next track, "Give and Take Away," continues Chas' strong presence while the music kicks up some thunderous resonance in a song that is reminiscent of Soundgarden. Showing a different side of the Dogg, "Rain on My Parade" slows things down a bit. Not really a ballad, so much as a slower paced groove.

Frozen Summer is an all too brief collection of solid rock songs that build on the current state of hard rock with their combined experience (15 million records sold combined) while not replicating work they had already done. Again, it doesn't represent a new direction or any bold step for the genre, but it does show what can happen when a group of talented musicians get together who are dedicated to the craft of song and work towards that end.

Bottomline. 3 Legged Dogg came together and delivered a strong collection of rock tracks that may surprise you in surface simplicity, but impress you in their craft. Besides, there are some great riffs, drumming, and an excellent turn from Chas West. If you like rock, this is an album to check out.

Recommended.