Music Review: Poison 20th Anniversary Reissues
Published August 15, 2006
Slide into your leather pants. Strap on your stiletto boots. Fray your hair out with twelve gallons of hair spray. That’s right boys, it’s hair metal time.
Hair metal, or glam metal as many like to call it, arose in the late 1970s but became the dominant form of rock music in the 1980s. Equal parts heavy metal and glam rock, hair metal ruled my school for many a year.
Mötley Crüe has been cited as the world’s first hair metal band, and certainly they brought it to the masses. With the Crüe reaching sales in the millions, many bands soon followed with wild hair, more make-up than a cheap hooker, and plenty of loud cock rock — oh, and power ballads.
Ah, power ballads — the way for the tough, ultra manly boy bands to show their sensitive side (for what better way to get some slutty nookie than show your feminine side – besides the mascara I mean)? I recently made a hair metal mix tape and was kind of shocked to find that the vast majority of it was made up of power ballads.
Here’s the big rockers, with the three neck guitars, the heavy riffs, the super-powered machismo and the songs that I remember are the slow, sappy ones like “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn,” “Home Sweet Home” and “Heaven.” Mary Louise Parker, what the crap is up with that?
My favorite hair metal band has always been, and will always be, Poison. They didn’t have the cops of Mötley Crüe or the longevity of bloody mother scratchin’ Bon “wuss boy” Jovi, but they sure beat the spiked boots off of Warrant.
With the 20th anniversary of their first record, Look What the Cat Dragged In, Poison have re-released their first three albums (Look What the Cat Dragged In, Open Up and Say…Ahh!, Flesh and Blood) in souped up remastered versions with bonus tracks.
If that doesn’t make you want to tease your hair and put on heavy mascara, I don’t know what will. The disks all sound great; this is Poison sharper and more glammed up than you’ve ever heard before.
1986’s Look What the Cat Dragged in fell in the middle of the hair metal glory days. Everywhere you turned it was nothing but heavy metal and big hair. Poison maximized everything that was right about the genre. The guitars were loud, the drums were pounding, the lyrics were juvenile, and the music was all metal all the time.
Mat Brewster is an American stumbling as an ex-pat through the streets of Shanghai. He is helped by his lovely wife and an enormous piles of bootleg DVDs. He is chronicling his adventures in the Shanghai Diaries and musing on pop culture at The Midnight Cafe.
- Music Review: Poison 20th Anniversary Reissues
- Published: August 15, 2006
- Type: Review
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Metal, Music: Rock
- Writer: Mat Brewster
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Lono, while I agree with you that I would prefer bands remain together I have to correct you on something regarding Journey. They are currently touring on a co-headlining stint with Def Leppard and ticket sales have done very well. They sold out Starwood Amph. in Nashville (17,000+) and that is not the only stop on the tour that has sold out.
I would rather Perry have been there and there are a lot of examples where these "replacement" tours tank or play state fairs but Journey/Def Leppard has managed to put butts in seats.
Lono, good to hear from you. Hospital?
I wouldn't take Journey with or without Steve Perry but I get your point. Some of these bands still touring off of their hits that are decades old is a little ridiculous. Although I must admit whenever the Grateful Dead, or whatever they're calling themselves, roll around I check them out even without Garcia.
DJ quit proving once again that you have no taste! And don't remind me that I mentioned my deep felt love for Journey's "Faithfully" or that I'd give my left pancreas to see Def Leppard.
Connie, thanks for boosting this up.
Sir Brewster, I have fabulous taste. My shit is tight, dude.
I just wanted to use that phrase. It really applies to nothing.
I do have great taste, though.
Just don't try to prove it with another Guster review.
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I would take Journey even with Gary Cherone at the mic over any Grateful Dead show...Period!
Anyways, screw this glam rock crap and go to an Iron Maiden show. Atleast they still write originals and their new album KICKS!!
Journey over the Dead? Thems fighting words. Can't say I ever really got into the Maiden, other than on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure that is.
"Huh...Oh Yeah, EXCELLENT!"
Dude, "Journey over the Dead" would be a cool tribute band. Or, we could use the name and start a Death Metal band... *Geerrrrooowwwll*
We could go from "Faithfully" right into "Touch of Grey"....LOL!!
hey, guppus made a funny!
dang.
How about a Wheel in the Sky->St Stephen->Drums?
That would be something.
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(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/51603)
Indeed, Poison remains valid today to me as well. I was admittedlyt into hair metal back then, and much of it doesn't stand the test. Cat Dragged in stands up. Though cheeky, the tunes stand up.. Another good thing up this tour is they have their main dudes. If Brett and CC weren't both involved, I wouldn't care. I can't stress enough to bands how bad an idea it is to jettison the dudes who got you famous. Journey is touring without Steve Perry. That is dumb, and should be illegal. If the promoter has enough since to sell $10 lawn seats, I'll see you there. Thing is, they won't. Then tickets don' sell and do 2 for 1 on show day. Sorry for the rambling content and bad spelling, I am in a hospital