Reb Beach reveals Black Swan’s debut album was based off Winger riffs that Kip Winger did not want
Reb Beach reveals Black Swan’s debut album was based off Winger riffs that Kip Winger did not want
Winger, Whitesnake and Black Swan guitarist Reb Beach was recently interviewed by Alexandra Mrozowska for Hard Rock Haven.
Black Swan released their debut album Shake The World via Frontiers Music Srl on February 14, 2020. On whether there are any plans for Black Swan to continue, Beach indicated:
“Black Swan does really, really well and everybody loves Black Swan. And Black Swan was just a bunch of Winger riffs that Kip didn’t want. So lo and behold, I have fifteen riffs that Kip didn’t want (laughs), ‘cause it wasn’t progressive enough – and that would probably end up being Black Swan II. And [Jeff] Pilson called me last month and said, “Do you have riffs…? ‘Cause we’re gonna need riffs ‘cause we’re definitely gonna have to do another record.” This thing sold really well and everyone loves it. So, it starts with me – I’ve gotta have the riffs or else we’ve got nothing. I feel confident that I’ve got some really good ones that are perfect for Robin [McAuley]. Robin can sing over anything and it sounds great, but I’ve got some good stuff for the next one and I’m sure we’ll probably get together next year, early – maybe January, February – and start writing it. We wrote the whole thing [Black Swan’s debut album Shake The World] in ten days, ‘cause I had all the riffs. So hopefully Jeff will like the riffs again and we’ll bang it out.”
In terms of whether the writing process was easy given that it only took ten days to write the debut album, Beach stated: “You know, I did Erase The Slate [1999 Dokken album] with Jeff, and we just sat in a room and we wrote it together. So when he proposed doing Black Swan, I knew that’s what it was gonna be again. He said, “Look, you have to write the riffs,” and I was like “I know, I know…” (laughs) And that’s how we did it. I flew to his house, sat in the room in him and we wrote it in ten days. And that’s how it goes. For me, it’s better with two people – I need a collaborator, I can’t write it by myself. Jeff Pilson and Kip Winger are excellent because they’re both arrangers and composers and that’s not my strength. My strength is that I can come up with guitar riffs all day long. But I need a real guy who went to school for it that can put my songs together for me. It goes a lot quicker that way than if I’m left to deal with all that stuff. So we just did it the way we always do it – it’s just me and the other out, and we just bang it out.”
You can read the rest of the interview with Reb Beach at Hard Rock Haven‘s website.
Sleaze Roxx stated the following in its review of Shake the World: “As I blared the latest collaboration of MSG singer Robin McAuley, Winger / Whitesnake guitarist Reb Beach, Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer Matt Starr — whose resume is quite long and winding I may add — I was blown away by what I heard. The depth within this album is so overwhelming. So many factors play into that statement. It’s the amazing vocals of McAuley, the precise bass playing and background vocals of Pilson, the intense in your face attack of Beach and the powerful drumming of Starr. I have probably listened to this album six times in the last week and I just keep finding more and more depth.
Now of course I mention the depth, but with that depth the songs also have to be there. By all accounts the songs are superbly written and structured. I think what you will find with this collection of material, the songs have continuity. They blend so well from one to the next.”
Black Swan‘s “Immortal Souls” lyric video: