Hair Metal Re-Issues
Last week we had two re-issues from Def Leppard, a band somewhat unfairly lumped in with hair metal. This week, we get re-issues from Twisted Sister and Whitesnake.
Let's start with Twisted Sister and the 25th anniversary of Stay Hungry. These guys always seemed like more of a novelty act than a real band to me, owing much of their success to videos and the blossoming of MTV as a commercial force. They are hardly alone in that category, but where some acts harnessed the platform and developed musically, Twisted Sister got left behind. For those of you who did listen to them for the music, this edition features a second disc with 16 songs, many of which have never been released.
I'll confess to having been a Whitesnake fan in high school and yes, I even liked Slip of the Tongue at the time. I was a big fan of Steve Vai and still think he's a brilliant musician. It is not his fault this album aged so poorly. At the time, there were songs on this record that made me wince. Now I'd be shocked if there were songs that didn't. As for Slide It In, that's the album that laid the groundwork for the smashing success of their self-titled record that sits between these two albums being re-issued today. Both albums have been remastered and feature DVDs with rare and unseen bonus content.
Rob Thomas
cradlesong
If this guy has learned a single new trick since Yourself Or Someone Like You, I can't spot it. I've heard the first single and it's paint-by-numbers Rob Thomas, which is about as paint-by-numbers as you can possibly get! That anyone could run off a string of hits as a rock-oriented artist when the pop landscape is so beat-driven is actually a lot more impressive than the music. He's a pedestrian vocalist and his melodic instincts are ordinary, but people keep buying what he's selling.
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Article comments
1 - MarkSaleski
i'm pretty psyched for the Levon Helm disc, myself.
Stay Hungry? hmmm...nah, i still have the vinyl. heck, it might even be a casssette now that i think of it.
2 - MarkSaleski
oh, and i want the Moby too.
3 - SamKan
Sorry, bud, but the Rob Thomas CD is excellent. Great tunes from an excellent vocalist. I think we must be listening to different records.
4 - Josh Hathaway
Sam, I'm glad you're liking the disc but 'excellent vocalist' is the point at which we're just going to have to disagree.
Mark, I'm not surprised that Stay Hungry is still in your pile of vinyl. The Moby record intrigues me a little but the last thing I heard from him really didn't do much for me. I'll wait for your review to see if there's anything there for me.
5 - MarkSaleski
i'll dig up the link somewhere, but i listened to an interview with Moby and he didn't like his last record. he liked the songs but then after the recording process they didn't come out to his liking.
so this time around he made an effort to make them (paraphrasing here) more 'personal'.
also saw a video of him singing and playing the guitar. quite good. didn't even know he could do that.
6 - Josh Hathaway
I knew Moby dabbled but not that he really played. That's interesting. His last album 18 felt too long, unfocused, and static. There just weren't many compositions that evoked anything for me. Hearing that he had something of a similar reaction makes me a little more interested in this new record. I might have to sample a few tracks.
7 - MarkSaleski
yeah, darn it, i wish i knew where i saw that interview. in it he also talked about his friendship with David Lynch (where the animation for the new video came from).
the song he played on guitar reminded me of something Beck would have done on Sea Change
8 - Josh Hathaway
I remember reading something about Lynch in reference to this album. Thanks for clearing up the connection. Interesting. I'm going to listen to some sound clips of this one tonight.
Sea Change is such a great album. I might dust that off after the Sox game.
9 - Mat Brewster
I'm with ya on the Wilco. It is a very solid record and by any other band I'd be calling it great. But a few listens in it just doesn't have that extra something special I've come to love about a new Wilco album.
10 - Josh Hathaway
I'm reluctant to write a review on it, Mat, not because I can't bring myself to write anything but glowing reviews of my favorite bands but because I just haven't had a strong enough reaction to compel a review. I still love Wilco and I might listen to this record from time to time, but it's not where I'm going to start.
11 - Melanie
Does anybody know of a Whitesnake Tribute Band in Georgia?