Published on Oct 13, 2000
Doug Pinnick is quickly becoming the Everyman of hard rock.
It’s not enough that the vocalist/bassist extraordinaire
continues to lead his group King’s X into new and exciting
territories. It’s now not enough that he has his own side project,
Poundhound, to crank out the more gospel-based grooves that will
get your butt up and dancing in your room.
Now, Pinnick has teamed up with guitarist/vocalist Bruce
Franklin of Trouble to form Supershine, a collective that explores
rock for rock’s sake. Yet their self-titled debut makes me wonder
if Pinnick isn’t starting to spread himself out too thin.
Adjusting to Supershine is, quite frankly, going to be a little
hard depending on which side of the music you come in from. If
you’re expecting to hear some funk-laden progressive music a la
King’s X, it’s not here. If you’re looking for all-out
guitar-driven metal, it’s not here, either. Instead, you have some
straight-out rock that should please both sides, though it might
not leave them completely satisfied.
The one positive thing about
Supershine is that this album allows Pinnick the opportunity
to explore what has to be a deep-rooted love of Jimi Hendrix. His
vocals sound eerily similar to the late guitar master on more than
one occasion, and it’s a fit that’s perfect for Pinnick. Tracks
like “Automatic,” “I Can’t Help You” and “Going Down” showcase
this, all the while keeping a portion of the spotlight squarely
placed on Franklin’s guitar work. (Franklin gets the star treatment
on the all-too-brief instrumental “In Mourning,” though I do like
the way it leads into the album’s closer “Shadows/Light”.)
Yet there is something about
Supershine that suggests its true potential is left
unfulfilled. Tracks like “Love,” “Candy Andy Jane” and “Kingdom
Come” almost sound like they were castaways from King’s X sessions,
and have more than a little flavor of Pinnick’s main group.
(Bandmate Jerry Gaskill shares the drum duties with Jeff Olson, and
the disc was mixed by Ty Tabor. Hmm…) It’s almost as if
Supershine is still searching for its own unique voice, and it just
has come up short this time around.
Make no mistake,
Supershine is not a bad album in any sense of the word. But
it is a project built up on high expectations, and it isn’t quite
capable of living up to them fully. Pinnick and Franklin seem to
gel well together musically, and it would be interesting to see how
future projects would turn out. Maybe
Supershine is meant to be the foundation for greatness; if
that’s the case, it’s not quite as solid as I’d like it to be.