Thursday
Nov152018
"Lady Red Light" - Pro Shot Video
Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 03:47AM
All these years later and it's still hard for me to accept that Jack Russell isn't the singer of Great White anymore. Mitch Malloy does a fine job, but seeing him front the band is still jarring to me.
Over the summer, Great White performed at the Kentucky State Fair. The band released a pro-shot video of their performance of "Lady Red Light" from that show. You can see it below. Talking about summer and looking at this clip... August feels so long ago. It isn't even Thanksgiving yet and there's already an ice storm outside my door. I fear it's going to be a long winter.
Reader Comments (13)
But, let's face it, he has a voice for AOR. He might have fit perfectly in that spot between Diamond Dave and Sammy (and Cherone), given the sorts of songs that VH were crafting around that time.
Others noted, when this was released to properly introduce Malloy after some bad reviews and the bad press surrounding how Great White fired Ilous, that he sounds "thin." I think that is a good term to use. If I were to pick who was better for this version of Great White, I would say Ilous. His voice--even with that distracting accent--was a bit fuller. He also had a better stage presence. Malloy's "thing" is a bit too, well, prancy and affected. At one point, he looks like he is rolling a booger between his fingers and offering it to the audience. Not sure what that was about.
This is one of those cases where the voice seems to be the band for a lot of fans. I can dig that argument in this case, even if I don't see Russell returning. And I can't really fathom the band's thinking on this choice. Hell, I have posted here on how critically I view their actions, even as I well understand the train wreck that Russell has been off and on for decades.
The one thing that Great White got right? They hired Laurie Metcalf to replace Lardie. Dead weight, I say. Nice to have a respected thespian up their tinkling the keys!
No one will be Jack. But it's the songs that we love. Especially those side B's non video Great White tunes, that may never get Jack to perform again. That's when I don't care who the singer is: Prancer or the Short Canuck singing.
Hooked, Psycho City, etc... all have great songs that never get performed. When GW ?
The guy epitomizes everything that killed the hard rock / glam scene of the late '80s / early '90s. All style and no substance.
I didn't really care for XYZ guy singing in Great White, but that now seems like a dream situation compared to this karaoke grade performance.
And im a grinnin
It brought me to tears hearing the background stories of those that both survived and perished. Absolutely heartbreaking.
I live in Columbus, OH and have been to many shows at Alrosa Villa and in reading the book was just imagining past shows (Cinderella, WASP, Warrant, etc.) I've been to there and just thinking how similar the building, size, inside, etc. is and it sent chills down my spine. It could have happened anywhere.
Just a real sobering look at the perfect storm of bad decisions both before, during and after.
Now that I've brought the mood down...back to Malloy!
One can see how those ions of time Malloy wasted being the bridesmaid but never the bride on The Hair Metal Chittlin Circuit got to his head. It’s not so much the rote over practiced, over choreographed prancing HIM appropriately flagged or the too perfect spray tan or the meticulously coiffed hair KOZ adroitly pointed out ...
It’s actually the strange glare in the dude’s eyes that’s so creepy, widening even more with every stage move as though it might be his last. Malloy’s wide eyed gaze is something an ex describes as “shock eyes”, akin to a deer in the headlights about to be run over, that is really disturbing. Great for a Halloween show, though.
Yet, even worse, this whole “there’s something about the guy I can’t quite put my finger on” as to why he hasn’t made it (and still hasn’t because who the hell is Great White without Russell? - Sorry, Kendall) conundrum this clown faces down ever day really means nothing...
As HIM points out, Malloy’s biggest problem is his wheat thin voice. Yeah, he’s got the high pitched hyena thing we all know and love synonymous with the Hair Metal genre, but, let’s face it, plain and simple, it lacks b*lls.
But how bad off is Great White in all of this? No matter how mediocre Terry Ilous is and how just as horrible this joker is, too, I think I actually like Malloy better than the aforementioned Ilous. Why? Because, for all his clownery, Malloy’s canned antics are way more amusing to watch. Whereas one could say Ilous is mediocre, Malloy is the pinnacle of mediocrity in it’s highest form. “Highest Quality!” to quote the 1979 version of “Blade Runner”.
Ilous, who’s voice is also “thin”, just sorta stands there making you wait for the occasional missed note to hit (or not). At least with this has-been court jester, oblivious to his own foolishness, Malloy’s giving it his all, something lame a*s Ilous never does, obviously having phoned it in one too many times for Kendall to bear.
p.s. Gary! Geezus, I used to watch “Hee Haw” with my Dad, too! We would actually laugh at how unfunny it was. But the laughter stopped as soon as Roy Clark appeared, as we both sat there in awe of the majesty of his playing. Dude coulda been playing that contraption Jack White strings together in the opening minutes of “It Might Get Loud” and make it sound like a Stradivarius! As soon as I found out he passed away, my head immediately went to what I used to think about watching him play on “Hee Haw”, “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” (which, interestingly, he hosted numerous times), or “The Flip Wilson Show” (now that f*cker was funny!!!) which was imagining what he would have sounded like with a Flying V plugged into a stack of Marshalls. In fact, I think it was Jimmy Page who once remarked how amazed he was at the swiftness of his playing. On a final note, I would read that book but the topic was just too painful to think about. Hey, speaking of “Hee Haw”, where the hell’s my Yankneck Troll?