Dug Pinnick: Strum Sum Up

A A A Comments By Shea Serrano Wednesday, Jan 9 2008

Dug Pinnick: King's X mainstay provides some freewheeling, funky solo rock.

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You know those movies where some cocky kid runs around bragging about how good he is at something like playing the guitar? Then he comes across the wacky old town coot, and said coot picks up a guitar and rocks everyone's face off? Dug (Doug) Pinnick would be perfect for that, as the 57-year-old's fourth solo LP, Strum Sum Up, is one of his most emotive and consistent efforts to date. The bassist and vocalist for still-active Houston hard-rock holy warriors King's X, he also toured Europe as lead singer for Living Colour in 2006. And here, he's finally able to combine his visceral and encompassing voice with a throbbing, freewheeling funky rock that, with invaluable contributions from cohorts Willy Farkas, Steve Stevens and Natasha Schneider, undeniably makes Strum his own. "Perfect World," one of four songs broken into a two-part song/jam session, is an unyielding, meaty track that opens the LP and immediately establishes that Strum, unlike Pinnick's last two solo efforts, Poundhound and Emotional Animal, will not disappoint. Versatility is also in abundance, as "Dynomite" revisits classic King's X with a layered chorus and heartfelt metal croon, while soft-riff minimal track "Angel" shows Pinnick impressively continuing his artistic growth. Now that's one badass old coot.