Very Hot Streak
When The Winery Dogs announced they were releasing a follow up to their debut self titled record it was met with a high level of anticipation because whilst some supergroup offerings tend to go south very quickly, these guys have been nothing but impressive since day one. Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Richie Kotzen have grabbed the ‘Classic Rock’ moniker they are often touted as and thrown it into a blender, mixing it with a heavy dose of Prog as well. So many Heavy Rock bands suffer because they’re dangerously one track minded. They’ll release an album of safe heavy hitters and look to the arenas for a big sing-along. You just don’t get that impression with The Winery Dogs. They’ve got a dirtier, grittier edge to them which, to put it simply, makes Hot Streak such an exciting listen.
The opening track Oblivion is a frenetic and mesmerising of frankly Portnoy and Sheehan showcasing their talents - it screams of a big Rush influence. This then moves on to Captain Love which sounds like something from the Motley Crue and Poison infested era of the 1980’s. That alone, just those two tracks, immediately portrays the kind of range these guys are working on. You don’t really know what’s going to come next, and far from making this an inconsistent sounding release, it actually makes it a whole lot more exciting. Portnoy’s skill behind the kit is the real driving force on each track as he seamlessly orchestrates each little twist and turn. Something which can actually be said for all three is the fact that they’re all just brilliantly intelligent musicians and they’ve been given this platform to freely express this to very positive results.
Where this album falls down a bit is with the slower, ballad type, material. The track Fire sounds like a bit of wet fart in comparison to the rest of the album, and rather than breaking things up in the middle of the record, it just takes away from the momentum. Alongside this, something which is quite commonplace with these type of albums, ahem Slash, is just the fact that it drags on a bit too long.
Overall though, this is an above average Heavy Rock album with the very talented trio of Portnoy, Sheehan and Kotzen able to use this still relatively fresh platform to fly off the handle and really hammer home some well constructed tracks.