Bassist Anthony Esposito thinks Lynch Mob’s ‘Wicked Sensation Reimagined’ is a mediocre record

Bassist Anthony Esposito thinks Lynch Mob’s ‘Wicked Sensation Reimagined’ is a mediocre record

Red Dragon Cartel and ex-Lynch Mob bassist Anthony Esposito has played on some amazing albums in his music career including Lynch Mob‘s debut album Wicked Sensation, which was released back in 1990.

Esposito was recently interviewed by Jeff Onorato for Sleaze Roxx. The bassist was asked what he thinks of Lynch Mob‘s album Wicked Sensation Reimagined, which was released on the 30th year anniversary of the band’s debut album. Esposito opined:

“I think it’s shit. I think if you take the name Lynch Mob off it, and you forget that the songs have anything to do with the ‘Wicked Sensation‘ songs, and you just judge it as a band, I think it’s a mediocre record to begin with. But then if you put it in the context of it’s a re-work of a really great album, it’s even worse. And um, I just think that it smells of cash-grab. And I hope nobody listens to it. Or if they do listen to it, then they can appreciate how good the original is. And the four guys that made the original and why it was the four guys that made the original so good. It’s not one or two guys.”

Sleaze Roxx stated the following in one of its two reviews of Lynch Mob‘s album Wicked Sensation Reimagined:

“Hearing Lynch Mob‘s reimagined versions of the classic tracks on Wicked Sensation confirms that Lynch has moved on from the plethora of amazing albums that he took part in with Dokken in the ’80s and later early on with Lynch Mob to adopt a more bluesy, less melodic, kind of dull and even a bit grunge like music in the last 28 years or so. An acquaintance of mine who has a degree in psychology once indicated that people end up reinventing themselves every 10 years or so, and that certainly is the case for George Lynch who is definitely not the same person 30 years later after Lynch Mob‘s debut record. Just the fact that Lynch thought that it would be a cool and fun idea to sometimes complete change the flow of the songs off Wicked Sensation speaks volumes. Gone are the great melodies and guitar riffs, and in are slower paced, soul and jazz filled tunes, with a lack of a real punchline to them. That’s just the way Lynch likes his music these days and he essentially must have convinced his “on again, off again” Lynch Mob partner / lead vocalist Oni Logan to participate in this lacklustre effort.

It would have been fun to have the original Lynch Mob line-up for the debut record consisting of Lynch, Logan, drummer “Wild” Mick Brown and bassist Anthony Esposito re-record the songs off Wicked Sensation but for whatever reason, the rhythm crew was changed to drummer Brian Tichy and bassist Robbie Crane. At least, Tichy and Crane have some connection to Lynch Mob with Crane having played on the group’s solid Sound Mountain Sessions EP (2012) while Tichy played on the band’s awful Rebel album.

The reality is that if I hadn’t heard Wicked Sensation before, I would likely think that the songs off Wicked Sensation Reimagined are very forgettable and a lot of times, just plain suck.”

Part 1 of the interview with Anthony Esposito by Jeff Onorato will be posted within 24 hours on Sleaze Roxx.

Lynch Mob‘s “Hellchild (Reimagined)” single: