When most fans recall
Jake E. Lee's playing, it is his stellar, heavy metal-esque style featured on such mid-'80s
Ozzy classics as
Bark at the Moon and
The Ultimate Sin. But aside from hardcore fans,
Lee is a bluesy, classic rocker at heart, as evidenced by his work with his post-
Ozzy band,
Badlands, and especially on his latest solo album,
Retraced. Comprised entirely of covers,
Lee doesn't go the usual
Stones/
Zeppelin route, but instead, picks lesser-known songs from his days as a teen playing in bands -- including selections from such outfits as
Robin Trower,
Johnny Winter, and
Trapeze, among others. Reading
Lee's notes in the CD booklet, it's surprising to learn that he hadn't picked up his instrument for a year before Shrapnel head Mike Varney convinced him to do the project. The deciding factor for
Lee was the rhythm section --
Vanilla Fudge's
Tim Bogert on bass and session ace
Aynsley Dunbar on drums -- who supports
Lee throughout. Ex-
Michael Schenker singer Chris Logan handles vocals, and as evidenced by such cuts as "Evil" and "Guess I'll Go Away," Logan gets quite
David Coverdale-esque at times. Despite the long fretboard layoff,
Lee can still wail away with the best of them, especially on "Way Back to the Bone." For fans of modern-day blues-rock (with, obviously, a classic rock edge),
Retraced is definitely recommended. ~ Greg Prato