March 28th, 2013 - A Stella Artois For A Bad, Bad Boy!!

Good evening friends!  The Meista here tonight pairing John Sykes' live 2004 album, "Bad Boy Live!" and a Stella Artois Premium Lager.

An accomplished solo guitar/singer/songwriter, John Sykes is probably best known for his guitar work with Tygers of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and Blue Murder.  His signature guitar tone and vibrato on his signature 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom is not easily missed or matched and has inspired many a guitar player over the years.  Recorded live in Japan during the 2004 tour, "Bad Boy Live!" includes songs from Sykes' solo work along with his work with Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, and Blue Murder.  Sykes employs a monster touring band made up with Marco Mendoza on bass, Derek Sherinian on keyboards, and the one and only Tommy Aldridge on drums!  Each song is delivered with musical mastery, hard rock sensibility, and passion.  The guitar work on "Crying In The Rain" alone is worth the price of the album, but the delivery of each song is fantastic.  A favorite of mine, "Look In His Eyes" from the 1997 Sykes album "20th Century" slays on this live album!  The version of Blue Murder's "Jelly Roll" is rich, warm, and honest.  "Still Of The Night" is just brutally aggressive and delivered with ballsy power and dead-on musical precision.  And the two tracks from Thin Lizzy's last album, "Thunder And Lightning" are powerhouse rockers.

Stella Artois Premium Lager is a beer in the European style lagers.  I thought this would be a good pairing for the old-school, English-style hard rock/metal sound of Sykes.  The Stella pours a transparent hay-gold with a thin head.  The nose is sweet and malty.  It reminds me of most light English or German lagers.  The flavor is sweet, light, and refreshing.  Nothing fancy, nothing frilly, the Stella goes down smooth and easy... great for pumping your fists to the power of John Sykes and his bad boy band!