Doug Aldrich...What's the Deal???

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rupe

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Just saw Whitesnake headline M3 last Saturday...it was an ok gig but far from what I was expecting and definitely not one of the better bands I saw at the event. They played for 1 hour and 15 minutes and about 20 minutes of that was guitar and drum solos. Coverdale chose his spots to hit a few high notes but basically let the crowd sing most of the choruses...not cool IMO. And they only did one song off of Slide It In (Love Ain't No Stranger). Anyway, on to Aldrich.

He's a solid player who did a good job and had a good tone, but I fail to see anything there that would dictate the amount of admiration this guy seems to get. His solos are mostly pentatonic wanking consisting of trills/pull-offs/hammer-ons with some tricks thrown in. Very generic phrasing IMO. Reb on the other hand really brought it with some incredible playing (and I'm not much of a fan of tapping) yet he's like the band's red-headed step child. Doug (Whitesnake's music director) takes solos at about a 3:1 clip over Reb and is louder in the mix...even when they were trading solos during the "spotlight" guitar solo segment.

Like I mentioned, he's a solid player but nothing special or even original/unique sounding. What am I missing...why all the adoration?
 
I'd recommend his solo spot on the recent Whitesnake Live DVD, and get back to us.
 
Idk man, can't comment on Whitesnake but as far as Dio goes he plays the solos better than the guys that wrote them Imo. I have seen Vivian, Craig and Tracy G with Dio and by far Doug is the better note for note player of that material.

The only reason I can think Coverdale doesn't sing during the chorus ,and the drum/guitar solo thing, is that he is old and can't physically sing anymore. He probably needs many breaks to try and recover. I had heard they had to cancel some shows last year because of his voice issues. Some guys can't admit when it's time to hang it up (insert Ozzy here).
 
Overrated His talent is copying other guitarists solos (you know, the guys that actually created the solos) and shitting them out parrott-like.
 
I like Doug's playing and the icing is that he brings very good tone to the party unlike other players that you will put up with the subpar tone because they are great players. Hung with him at NAMM, very cool dude and laid back.

I don't place today's Doug with the Gilberts, Vais, RR, etc though, his older Jackson days IMO he was a much better and interesting player. It may be personnel preference as well, while I love Vai's solo for Deeper the Love and place it as a top 10 80s solo others here hate it and yell at me about how Sykes would have done it right :D

Doug is a great player but I could understand where you are coming from.


This is going to be an interesting thread :D
 
marshall":20g4uz8a said:
Overrated His talent is copying other guitarists solos (you know, the guys that actually created the solos) and shitting them out parrott-like.
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You are correct but that is still a talent. When I go to a show and listen to the guitar solos I want to hear note for note what I hear on the album, even though the guy may have not written it. It doesn't take as much skill to just wank in the same key as it does to completely play something note for note. A great example of this is Chris Broderick but that guy can, and has, written killer solos. Shit, even the guys that wrote the solos can't play them note for note, or choose not to because they are either bored or lazy.

Doug is a hired gun imo, and he does that very well.
 
rupe":2c0wmphl said:
Reb on the other hand really brought it with some incredible playing (and I'm not much of a fan of tapping) yet he's like the band's red-headed step child. Doug (Whitesnake's music director) takes solos at about a 3:1 clip over Reb and is louder in the mix...even when they were trading solos during the "spotlight" guitar solo segment.
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I love Reb Beach. I've noticed this inequity too in the videos I've seen. Reminds me of the over the top solo Vai got compared to Vandenberg (who IMO blew Vai away).
 
Damn, you boys are tough on the old men of rock....

Doug's a good dude and has been there when it counted for various support. He's got class and charisma and isn't the typical egotistical asshole that many guitarists still wet behind the ears can be. I am sure he has forgotten more than most will know.
 
If you go back in time, pre Kurt Cobain, you'll hear why Doug is Amazing

as far as whitesnake, the whole thing is pretty boring and Reb Beach's winger licks don't make it any more exciting
 
rupe":2qa0n51m said:
Just saw Whitesnake headline M3 last Saturday...it was an ok gig but far from what I was expecting and definitely not one of the better bands I saw at the event. They played for 1 hour and 15 minutes and about 20 minutes of that was guitar and drum solos. Coverdale chose his spots to hit a few high notes but basically let the crowd sing most of the choruses...not cool IMO. And they only did one song off of Slide It In (Love Ain't No Stranger). Anyway, on to Aldrich.

He's a solid player who did a good job and had a good tone, but I fail to see anything there that would dictate the amount of admiration this guy seems to get. His solos are mostly pentatonic wanking consisting of trills/pull-offs/hammer-ons with some tricks thrown in. Very generic phrasing IMO. Reb on the other hand really brought it with some incredible playing (and I'm not much of a fan of tapping) yet he's like the band's red-headed step child. Doug (Whitesnake's music director) takes solos at about a 3:1 clip over Reb and is louder in the mix...even when they were trading solos during the "spotlight" guitar solo segment.

Like I mentioned, he's a solid player but nothing special or even original/unique sounding. What am I missing...why all the adoration?
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Maybe it was an off night? I was in the first row for a Whitesnake show a few years back and was blown away by Aldrich and the rest of the band. I'm a huge Aldrich fan and dig not only his tasteful phrasing and vibrato, but also the way he writes his solos. He can take a vanilla chord progression and really build up intensity over it. I get bored listening to a lot of rock and metal guitar players, but I always find Doug's playing to sound fresh and interesting. Yes, its pentatonic and blues based and if thats not your thing you probably won't like his playing. IMHO, he clearly puts a lot of emotion into his solos and I think it shows.
 
rupe":2ystxiw2 said:
Just saw Whitesnake headline M3 last Saturday...it was an ok gig but far from what I was expecting and definitely not one of the better bands I saw at the event. They played for 1 hour and 15 minutes and about 20 minutes of that was guitar and drum solos. Coverdale chose his spots to hit a few high notes but basically let the crowd sing most of the choruses...not cool IMO. And they only did one song off of Slide It In (Love Ain't No Stranger). Anyway, on to Aldrich.

He's a solid player who did a good job and had a good tone, but I fail to see anything there that would dictate the amount of admiration this guy seems to get. His solos are mostly pentatonic wanking consisting of trills/pull-offs/hammer-ons with some tricks thrown in. Very generic phrasing IMO. Reb on the other hand really brought it with some incredible playing (and I'm not much of a fan of tapping) yet he's like the band's red-headed step child. Doug (Whitesnake's music director) takes solos at about a 3:1 clip over Reb and is louder in the mix...even when they were trading solos during the "spotlight" guitar solo segment.

Like I mentioned, he's a solid player but nothing special or even original/unique sounding. What am I missing...why all the adoration?
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If you saw WS Last Saturday then you pretty much saw the second show that they played. I was at the first show and It's going to take some time for them to get back into the groove and they are still working out the kinks on the live set.
As far as the song selection, they are trying to move away from the older stuff and support the newer material and they are trying to bring back WS as a band.

As far as Dougs playing, I think he is awesome and has his own style but to each their own. There is always going to be differences in opinion and that's just the nature of the beast.
If Im being honest, the music that they are playing isn't very original to start with because they are continuing a Genre that ended decades ago, so singling out his playing for not being unique sounding ,sounds a bit to odd to me LOL.

Oh and just for the record, I think Doug is awesome. I think he is an amazing player and person, does a great job and has an amazing style but That's just my opinion.
If playing out again after a long layoff has shown me anything, It would be that I have a lot more appreciation for what people do in a live situation now.
 
I Don't get the hate? I think Doug is awesome. Pentatonic wanking IS rock playing.
 
wow tough crowd. i give him the respect he deserves. at the very least he is out there doing it but of course anyone has the right to not be reached by someones playing... you cant please them all.
Mark
 
rupe":1o0i35du said:
Like I mentioned, he's a solid player but nothing special or even original/unique sounding. What am I missing...why all the adoration?
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Alot of it stems from forum bs and endorsement hype, basically. Don't mind the "feverish pitch" online and follow your ears.
 
Doug's doing the rock-star fill in guy role to make money and get free amps and guitars - just like 90% of us on this board would if we had the talent, looks, and all that. His solo releases really demonstrate his true talent. In particular, Electrovision kicks all kinds of ass with jazz tunes, blues tunes, gonzo rock, etc.

I've only seen him live once and that was with DIO, my jaw dropped when he proceeded to rip out every Dio, Sabbath, Rainbow tune with incredible style and balls.

...and yeah, this will turn into another one of those "don't get VH" threads. If you don't get it, move on to something you get.
 
Gainfreak":13rdt3qb said:
If Im being honest, the music that they are playing isn't very original to start with because they are continuing a Genre that ended decades ago, so singling out his playing for not being unique sounding ,sounds a bit to odd to me LOL.
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No doubt, but that doesn't stop Reb from bringing something unique and interesting to the party.

I'm hearing alot of about Doug being a cool guy (awesome, I've never met him but I believe you guys) but that has little to do with his talent. I'm not hearing why his playing is so highly regarded...just that it is. Like I said, solid player IMO (I don't dislike him) but I don't see anything unique or special about what he does. I used the WS gig as an example since I just saw it but this goes for pretty much anything I've heard from him, including the recent WS DVD mentioned above (I'll watch it again though). Do I need to go back to Lion? The Hurricane album he played on was garbage, the House of Lords stuff meh.

Obviously this is completely subjective...I'm simply wondering what others see that I don't.
 
I think he is a good player, but very ordinary/ safe. Don't care for his tones, that Furman midboost thing is nothing I cared for even back in the day.

More than likely he gets the spotlight because he's from Cali, has blond hair and wears bell bottoms. :)
 
rupe":2vcpp5j8 said:
Gainfreak":2vcpp5j8 said:
If Im being honest, the music that they are playing isn't very original to start with because they are continuing a Genre that ended decades ago, so singling out his playing for not being unique sounding ,sounds a bit to odd to me LOL.
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No doubt, but that doesn't stop Reb from bringing something unique and interesting to the party.

I'm hearing alot of about Doug being a cool guy (awesome, I've never met him but I believe you guys) but that has little to do with his talent. I'm not hearing why his playing is so highly regarded...just that it is. Like I said, solid player IMO (I don't dislike him) but I don't see anything unique or special about what he does. I used the WS gig as an example since I just saw it but this goes for pretty much anything I've heard from him, including the recent WS DVD mentioned above (I'll watch it again though). Do I need to go back to Lion? The Hurricane album he played on was garbage, the House of Lords stuff meh.

Obviously this is completely subjective...I'm simply wondering what others see that I don't.
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It is totally subjective, and I can tell you from experiance that even if people tell you what they see, the odds are that you will still be scratching your head lol!! (been there trust me!!)
I'm friends with Doug but that Doesn't change my feelings in regards to his playing. I think that he is awesome and deserves all the recognition that he gets and I totally see why he is held in such high regard but that's just me. The point is that sometimes we have to acknowledge that we have differences in opinion. It's like trying to ask someone why they like a particular color. There is really no wrong or right and it's more then likely that you don't like his style. At the end of the day, It's all good IMHO!!
 
Greazygeo":4b4fpaum said:
I think he is a good player, but very ordinary/ safe. Don't care for his tones, that Furman midboost thing is nothing I cared for even back in the day.

More than likely he gets the spotlight because he's from Cali, has blond hair and wears bell bottoms. :)
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He is a very attractive man.
 
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