This isn’t definitively their dirtiest album, actually after their sleazy debut album, on this the boys from Los Angeles turned to more bluesy sounds kind of leaving behind their glam and hair metal roots, but still, this is 60 minutes of quality and dirty rock and roll as only at the end of the 80s were possible. “Bathroom Wall” back then was one of my favorite songs, kind of Sex Pistols/New York Dolls meet Steppenwolf (“Born to be Wild”).
“House of Pain” is a bluesy song, off the band’s original punk rock/glam outfit and style. The guys still rocks on with “Where There’s a Whip, There’s a Way”, “Slip of the Tongue”, “Ain’t No Way Around It”, etc, while songs as “Cryin’ Shame” combined hair metal and blues rock tastefully. One of my favorites from this album is the bluesy, cabaret taste like “Arizona Indian Doll”.
“House of Pain” reached #28 in the Billboard Hot 100 and the video, which was directed by future film director Michael Bay, was in rotation on MTV. The album itself peaked at #48 in the Billboard 200. Read more Faster Pussycat – Wake Me When It’s Over (1989)
Life and Living
hair metal
Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
Like it or not, this is also a classic. A big one of the 80’s just like U2’s “The Joshua Tree”, Ozzy’s “Diary of a Madman”, Queen’s “A Kind of Magic”, Van Halen’s “Women and Children First”, etc. After all the 80’s weren’t that bad, isn’t it? Actually sometimes I miss my vinyls collection, the CDs just not the same, not to mention the mp3s.
Their previous two albums, “Bon Jovi” (1984) and “7800° Fahrenheit” (1985) didn’t sold bad and the band toured with bands such as Scorpions and Ratt in the US and Kiss in Europe and make appearances at the Texas Jam and Castle Donnington’s Monsters of Rock. The debut album peaked at #43 on the Billboard 200 album chart in U.S. and a year after its release it was certified Gold while “…Fahrenheit” peaked at #37 on Billboard 200 and certified Gold in U.S., but Bon Jovi had much higher commercial ambitions.
Paul Stanley recommended Desmond Child to help them out with the songwriting – Desmond being responsible for one of the biggest Kiss hits: “I Was Made for Loving You” – and the result was three songs “You Give Love a Bad Name”, “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Without Love”. Ironically, Jon Bon Jovi was initially reluctant to include “Livin’ on a Prayer” on the album, believing that it was not a good enough song and it became one of the band’s most popular and well-known songs.
It was a play to win situation, and 25 years ago, these guys made it through, the 10 songs of “Slippery When Wet” quite rocks. But you can’t start a fire without a spark, isn’t it? “Slippery When Wet” was the best-selling album of 1987 in the United States, and eventually reached Diamond certification by the RIAA and current sales stand at 12 million copies, making it the 48th best-selling album in the United States. Read more Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet (1986)
R.O.C.K. – Mirror Ball & Red Lights (2011)
All the fucking cliches of the so-called hair metal of the 80s were blended and put it together in the act of this super-group from Finland. Acclaimed producer Anchi Kippo (platinum selling for Children Of Bodom), Hmi Pöyhiä (from Twilightning) on vocals, Sami Leppikangas (from Lullacry) on guitar and Toni Paananen (Malpractice, ex-To/Die/For) on drums, delivered the absolute icon of kitsch metal. I didn’t ever imagined to her all that “do you wanna rock with me”, “party all night and day”, “I’m breaking up with you, bye, bye”, “good girls gone bad” and so and so on idiotic lyrics on the same record. R.O.C.K. are the Monty Python of the rock scene. They make references to “Mötley Crue plays Backstreet Boys”, but it’s reminds me eventually of the Swedish Europe. Instead R.O.C.K. a better name would be New Kids On the Rock… 😆 😆 😆 This is fuckin’ unbelievable. Read more R.O.C.K. – Mirror Ball & Red Lights (2011)
Vince Neil – Tattoos & Tequila (2010)
Înapoi în California, pe plajă, la anii 80, la fixativul de păr și frezele tapate, la pantaloni tip ștrampi, maieuri plasă, tatuaje și… tequila. I se spunea Hair Metal și Glam Metal, Party Rock și Motley Crue în anii 80 șoca America cu „Shout at the Devil” (1983) la fel cum a zguduit-o Manson cu „Antichrist Superstar” la mijlocul anilor 90.
Vince are 49 de ani și continuă să se comporte ca la 20 când a intrat în Motley Crue.
Eu din anii 80 îmi amintesc cartela de pâine, coada la lapte, sticla de jumătate de ulei primită tot pe cartelă o dată pe lună, borcanele de ghiveci întinse pe toate rafturile din Alimentară, Bitter-ul de Sibiu, vinul spumant și invenția numită „Vinișor”, cârciumile care stingeau lumina înainte să se facă 10, n-aveam Cola, ci Cico, plaja din Costinești nu avea aerul de la Redondo Beach, dar cu puțin noroc mai găseam la Alimentară Vin Ars (zis coniac) și chiar dacă fetele de atunci n-aveau dezinvoltura de acum, din fericire nici fițele, mai scăpam o mână sub tricou și uneori reușeam chiar mai mult…
Un concert era un eveniment și ne bucuram când Iris mai scăpa un AC/DC, Holograf un Van Halen sau Bon Jovi… Dar e bine, măcar nu sufăr de nostalgie! 😆
Și încet-încet e ca faza cu Woodstockul, cei care susțin că mai țin minte ceva, nici nu erau născuți atunci! 😆
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQp1GNr-mLM]
În anii 80 preferam Read more Vince Neil – Tattoos & Tequila (2010)
