Review LYNCH MOB “The Live Ride”

I have admired George Lynch’s guitar playing ever since I first listened to Dokken’s “Under Lock and Key”. He added a lot to the album and was a fundamental part of Dokken’s success. Later on with Lynch Mob, the guitar virtuoso continued to produce timeless classics, with the debut album remaining a career highlight.

What started in 1990 with “Wicked Sensation” now comes to an end with “The Final Ride”, so we’ll start with a Dokken song. “Lightning Strikes” is one of the great songs by these melodic metal pioneers, and while George Lynch’s riff provides a spectacular start, it is singer Gabriel Colon who really struggles with this metal anthem. This rough version of the melodic metal classic doesn’t have the same magic as the original. The best way to experience the song in a live setup is still to listen to “Beast in the East”. There are two more Dokken tunes on this album: “It’s Not Love” and “Paris is Burning”. What goes for the opener is also valid for these two numbers.

This is not to say that Colon is a bad singer. He has a hard rock voice rather than being a metal siren, as can be heard in the powerful version of “River of Love”. The rough hard rock edge to his voice fits the song very well — something you can also experience with “No Good” from the second Lynch Mob album.

With “Caught Up” we enter the realm of more recent Lynch Mob releases, with the only omission of a song from “Dancing with the Devil”. With the exception of the latest studio album, “The Final Ride” provides an excellent overview of Lynch Mob’s musical career. With an authentic live sound and a few rough edges, this live release is a fitting farewell to Lynch Mob’s finest moments. Driven by Lynch’s excellent guitar playing, “The Final Ride” shows why we will miss the band.