Review by Rock Over America
In the world of rock guitar, Jakey Lou Williams, better known by his stage name Jake E. Lee, is sorely unappreciated and underrated. Formerly a member of Rough Cutt, he was thrust into superstardom overnight when he became the late Randy Rhoads’ full-time replacement on the Ozzy Osbourne Band, appearing on the classic records Bark at the Moon and the Ultimate Sin. Following his departure from the Osbourne camp, he once again made a name for himself with the legendary bluesy hard rock band Badlands, which featured the late Ray Gillen, and future KISS drummer Eric Singer. Following Badlands, Lee all but disappeared from the public. Over the years, “Whatever happened to Jake E. Lee?” inquiries have become all the more common.
After over a decade in relative exile, Lee has returned to actively making music with his new band, Red Dragon Cartel. The group also features Beggars and Thieves guitarist/bassist Ron Mancuso on bass, drummer Jonas Fairley, and vocalist Darren James Smith. The band’s first album is scheduled for release in late January of 2014; it has already been released in Japan.
This show took place at Vamp’d, with local favorites Heavy Honey opening up the night. Over the course of 2013 in particular, I have been extremely impressed at the amount of talent the venue has managed to pull in. This year alone I have seen performances from artists that include Uli Jon Roth, Saxon, Raven, and countless other local, national, and international acts like play the venue. It is Las Vegas’ ultimate site for rock and roll shows.
Anyone who has been following Lee over the course of the past several months has likely already read reviews for the first few shows that the band has been doing over the course of the last few weeks. The critics were quick to attack vocalist Darren James Smith after the first show, but quickly seemed to warm up with subsequent performances (I cannot say for sure if anything negative went on behind the scenes.) In either event, all eyes are certainly on the band now.
This is one of those shows this reviewer went in not fully knowing what to expect. Lee had been away from performing on stage regularly for years, the band (namely the vocalist) had gotten mixed reviews, and some of the songs I had heard played on Eddie Trunk’s radio show were what this fan would define as “hit and miss.” But all things considered, I went to the venue optimistic, eager to experience the band’s stage show.
The first thing I noticed when I got to Vamp’d for this show and the band took the stage was their setlist. For any fans of Lee’s past, you are likely going to be satisfied with what you see turn up on it. The setlist is roughly half songs from the upcoming Red Dragon Cartel album, and the other half is “songs from Jake E. Lee’s past” including both Ozzy Osbourne and Badlands songs. In a Red Dragon Cartel show you are going to hear new songs like Feeder and War Machine, but also gems from Lee’s past glories like the Ultimate Sin, Rock and Roll Rebel, and High Wire.
The first thing I think needs to be addressed with the actual performance itself is vocalist Darren James Smith. The critics mercilessly ripped this guy to shreds after the band’s debut performance just over a week ago. Having seen video footage of portions of that show, the criticism was not entirely unfounded, but it was not entirely deserved either. What occurred at the Vamp’d show was a major step in the right direction; he actually managed to do a fairly solid Ray Gillen impersonation on the Badlands tracks, something that is no easy task. This music fan cannot say for sure if he is necessarily the right vocalist for this band, but the group is still young and we are not entirely sure what direction they are going to be taking in the future. The naysayers need to lighten up and give the guy a chance. What I heard at Vamp’d was decidedly better than what people heard at the band’s debut concert.
And then, of course, comes Jake E. Lee himself. This guy has always been one of my favorite rock guitarists; Ozzy Osbourne’s Bark at the Moon and Badland’s self-titled 1989 debut LP rank amongst my favorite albums of all time. From the moment this show started to the final extended guitar solo, he was on fire. Over the course of the past year, I have seen Lee show up at various venues for shows, but had never actually seen him on stage playing. Just watching him on stage shredding away was a revelation; I never knew I would get to see an actual live performance from this guy, whose work I had listened to on albums for years.
The whole band actually seemed to have good chemistry on stage; you could tell they enjoyed being up there on stage performing. Smith even made some wisecracks about how the band’s ill received debut performance “never happened,” which had much of the audience in stitches. Bassist Ron Mancuso, like Jake E. Lee himself, is a severely underrated musician and unsung hero in the world of rock and roll. Over the years, Mancuso’s band, Beggars and Thieves, has released countless excellent rock albums, and it is nice to se his influence and playing at work here as well.
It is important to note that, as of the time this review is being written, the Red Dragon Cartel album has not actually been released yet. It is going to be interesting to see the final product here. As such, this show actually marked the first time a number of members of the audience got to hear these songs.
Overall this was a solid night of rock; everyone in attendance was satisfied with seeing Jake E. Lee making music again. At this point the band is still young, so I am curious as to how things will end up going for them as the next few months progress; many gigs elsewhere have already been scheduled for the Spring months of 2014. It will be interesting to see where things go from here for Lee and company for sure.