FIZZY’S CLOSET, VOLUME 4
Last Gasps of Glam
Lots of people (even people who should know better) seem to think that the whole pop-metal scene died the day after Nirvana’s Nevermind was released, in September of 1991. That just isn’t so. Kurt Cobain and his hygiene-avoidant peers didn’t shoot the “glam” scene through the heart, so much as infect it with a deadly virus (probably caught from Courtney Love). The more I think about it though, the writing was already on the wall. Skid Row were going heavy, Tesla went less commercial, L.A. Guns toyed with blues. Other bands had broken up and were on the verge of doing so.
Note please that I use the word glam, a term I normally avoid because it is so liberally applied to just about every band that didn’t play thrash in the ‘80’s. But in this edition of the Closet, I use the word to refer to a style of pop-metal that is free from most (if not all) traces of blues, southern rock, or heavier metal.
So ease into the funeral procession, as we travel through the death throes of glam!
MR. BIG
Lean Into It;
1991-- Atlantic
Rating: 7.0
Mr. Big had a bit more going for them than the typical pop-metal band, I admit. Racer X axe-maniac Paul Gilbert is here, as is DLR/Talas bass wizard Billy Sheehan, and their playing shines throughout this release, particularly Gilbert. But the abundance of pop hooks, simplistic lyrics and Eric Martin’s melodic but wimpy vocals lead me to classify it as glam. Which may not be fair, but I’m going to do it anyway, so fuck off!
To be sure, their sophomore album, released in the fall of 1991, has its highlights. Gilbert manages to inject some bluesy swagger into some songs, and his playing just generally saves the record from being total glam mediocrity. The record opens with the sound of an electric drill whirring away. This is one of Gilbert’s tricks: playing guitar with a drill. Or putting a drill up to a guitar and pretending to play with it, sorta like Steve Stevens and that toy gun. Anyway, the workshop noise soon explodes into the album’s fastest track, “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy.” Eric Martin packs some leer into his voice here, as he promises to be Everyman. The track is only slightly marred by a trite chorus. “Alive and Kickin’” follows suit with a good hard-rock strut and plenty of Aerosmith-like attitude.
The first sign of weakness shows up in “Green-Tinted Sixties Mind.” Or so I thought, but I’m listening to the album as I write, and that song just came on, and I can’t find much to gripe about here. Is it utterly smooth and without much aggression? Well, yeah. But it’s undeniably catchy, and Gilbert, once again, plays his ass off. Much the same can be said for the plodding “Lucky This Time,” and “Never Say Never.” Both are a notch below in the hook department though, as neither is a particular standout.
More blues action shows up in “Voodoo Kiss,” with a great acoustic intro, and in the album’s top track. “A Little Too Loose” is a slow-burning blues-rock masterpiece, with an ominous D-minor melody and man-on-the-road lyrics about an ill-advised little transgression in a strange town. A bonus is the total surprise of Eric Martin’s baritone vocals to start the song.
The two biggest hits on the album are also its weakest tracks. “Just Take My Heart” is your typical power-ballad (after what sounds like a twelve-string intro), with a treacly chorus and spineless, sissy-boy vocals. It was probably a big hit at high school dances. Not as big a hit as was the album’s closing track, “To Be With You.” I admit I liked this song when I first heard it, but shit, cut me some slack, I was eleven! We get more of Martin’s wimped-out vocals, a dumb stomp-and-clap rhythm, and unbelievably cheeseball lyrics that boil down to “Let me be your rebound guy!” “You can make my life worthwhile,” Martin croons, “I can make you start to smile.” Ugh!
Overall though, Lean Into It isn’t a bad album. The musical talent elevates it above the typical glam band, as do the blues tinges. It’s a more toned-down release than the band’s Van Halen-esque debut though, and very commercial-sounding. At his best, Eric Martin sounds like a less ballsy Hagar. At his worst, he just sounds like a pussy. Come to think of it, that pretty much goes for the album itself.
Best song: “A Little Too Loose”
Worst song” “Just Take My Heart”
ROXY BLUE
Want Some?
1992 -- Geffen
Rating: 5.0
Roxy Blue hailed from Memphis, Tennessee, but didn’t sound like it. They packed none of the blues or Zeppelin influences that made fellow townies Tora Tora so unique and cool. Roxy Blue sounded like they were straight off the neon-dazzled streets of Hollywood. The band’s biggest influence is quite obviously early Van Halen, and we can hear this both in the general swagger of many of the songs, and the frenzied guitar-playing of Sid Fletcher. After Van Halen, the band they most resemble would have to be early L.A. Guns.
As you might have guessed already, there isn’t much original about this, the band’s only release. That isn’t to say that there’s nothing GOOD about it. Au contraire! There are several memorable songs; you’ve just heard them before, by different bands and with different titles. Several fun tracks can be found nonetheless.
The first single was “Rob the Cradle,” with its frantic “I’m the One”-style boogie and lascivious lyrics about the joys of messing with high-school girls. At the time of its release in the spring of ’92, the label and band were saying it was recorded in one take. Singer Todd Poole later admitted this was just record-company promo bullshit. To make it more believable, the song beggins with the sound of someone, presumably Fletcher, walking over and picking up his guitar and ripping into a howling, “Eruption”-style solo. Throughout the song, the guitar is mixed in very loud, although mostly through the right channel. Did I mention these guys listened to a lot of Van Halen in their formative years?
“Rock-A-Bye Baby” and “Love’s Got a Hold On Me” both continue in the fast-paced vein, while “Main Attraction” and “Talk of the Town” are a bit slower without losing any attitude. Opener “Too Hot to Handle,” is a more mid-paced highlight, as is “It’s So Easy.” The band’s cover of the Who’s “Squeeze Box” is adequate, and certainly better than Poison’s butchering of same.
“Luv On Me,” despite its resemblance to Britny Fox’s “Dream On,” is a charming pick-up ballad, and is actually available on a hard-rock compilation CD called Crank ItUp! That you might have seen advertised on late-night TV. How this relatively obscure band made it onto a compilation with the likes of Skynyrd, Judas Priest, Night Ranger and others, I don’t know. In any case, as formulaic as it is, “Luv On Me” is still an enjoyable, easygoing song. The more somber “Nobody Knows” has its moments as well.
If it seems like I don’t have that much to say about these songs, well, I don’t. At best, it’s average hard rock, with plenty of guitar flash and a little extra aggression. I can only imagine the contortions and weird faces Sid Fletcher (who is now a dentist, I hear) must have been going through while laying down some of these solos. Todd Poole (who went on to become the drummer in an early version of Saliva) has a good, powerful voice, with no girliness or affectation of any kind, other than his frequent DLR-meets-Sebastian-Bach-style yips and screams. Lots of booming gang-style choruses, lots of six-string histrionics and lots of really hackneyed lyrics. In general, the second half of the album is better than the first. If you’re not looking for anything at all groundbreaking and you like old Van Halen and L.A. Guns, you might well enjoy this for an occasional spin.
Oh yeah, their bassist, Josh Weil, was in the turn-of-the-millennium grungy-hard-rock band Dust for Life. Just thought I’d mention it.
Best songs: “Rob the Cradle,” “Luv On Me”
Worst song: “Times Are Changin’”
HARDLINE
Double Eclipse
1992 -- MCA
Rating: 7.5
Of all the albums we’re talking about this time, this is the one with the most stereotypically “’80’s” sound. Not particularly heavy, but with strong guitarwork and ultra-melodic vocals and songs that won’t scare off any girls. Hardline was just a bunch of Sunset Strip guys calling themselves Brunette until they were discovered by Journey’s Neal Schon. Schon favored the Victor Kiam approach, whereby he liked ’em so much, he joined ’em. It is his harmonics-laden playing that does the most to lift Hardline above the generic level. That being said, it doesn’t get all that far above that level.
For some reason, the band chose to open the album with two rather plodding tracks, getting the record off to a bit of a slow start after the opening flurry of drums from skinsman-for-rent Deen Castronovo. “Life’s a Bitch” has good verses that hint at a huge chorus, but that never materializes. An all-right track nonetheless. “Dr. Love” is better, with a slow-churning rhythm and the kind of chorus missing from the previous song. “Rhythm From a Red Car” and “Bad Taste” are excellent, uptempo rockers, with Schon pinging at every opportunity, and Castronovo finally getting to show off a little.
The album’s biggest his is also its best track. “Hot Cherie” opens with a mesmerizing swirl of keyboards (despite the liner notes’ proclamation that none are used on the record), before exploding into a nasty pull-off riff. Not to keep harping on big choruses, but they don’t get any bigger than this one. “You’re getting’ me hot ..… Cherie ... I want what you’ve got all over me! Isn’t my love ….. strong enough ….. I’m ready to rock you long and rough! I’m goin’ cra-a-a-a-azy.” One of the great overlooked pop-metal classics, easily earning a place alongside hits by the likes of Def Leppard or Ratt.
“Takin’ Me Down” was the first single, and sports a cool, snarling riff and still more hooks, while “I’ll Be There” and “Everything” are adequate. The latter is probably the most boring of the rockers, however, as it really has that AOR-radio Bon Jovi feel to it.
Three ballads appear, but only one manages to stand out. “Can’t Find My Way” is a moody rumination on lost love. Singer Johnny Gioeli is extremely melodic throughout the release, and possesses great range, but really shines on this track. “Change of Heart” is less pleasing, and I would’ve been happy if Japanese bonus track “Love Leads the Way” were substituted instead. Finally, “31-91” is an acoustic instrumental that shows Nea Schon’s talent at mellow atmospherics.
Double Eclipse is often hailed as one of the crown jewels of melodic hard rock, and for that reason, I find it somewhat overrated. I don’t mean that to detract from the album’s merits, as it is a pleasant listen, but it’s not the masterpiece some would have you believe. It IS heavier than anything Neal Schon has done before or since, so that’s nice. His prowess is well in evidence here, although the slick production tends to sand the edges off some of his riffs and licks. Johnny Gioeli’s voice is a mix of Jon Bon Jovi and Klaus Meine, if you can picture that. Come to think of it, the band as a whole could be described as an amalgamation of Bon Jovi-style pop sensibilities and Scorpions-esque flash, circa Crazy World. This is not a metal album, but it IS pretty damn decent (if polished) hard rock.
Hardline returned in 2002, without Schon or Castronovo, and delivered a highly-anticipated album simply called Hardline II, that was generally viewed as a disappointment.
Best song: “Hot Cherie”
Worst song: “Change of Heart”
SOUTHGANG
Group Therapy
1992 Charisma
Rating: 4.5
Group Therapy is a good example of why the glam scene was on its way out, with or without Kurt Cobain’s help. Basically, what we’ve got here is Firehouse Jr. While Firehouse’s debut (see Fizzy’s Closet #1) was a tour de force combining Whitesnake hooks with early Skid Row heaviness, Southgang’s sophomore effort, released in late ’92, is similar in style and intent, but is much less consistent in quality.
The album gets off to an all-right start, with the first four tracks being at least good. “White Trash with Cash” has a bit of a southern twist, sort of like a muted Jackyl inflection. “Water Under the Bridge” is pure pop-metal in the vein of lesser Firehouse, with a strong chorus. “Fire In Your Body” is a semi-ballad with excellent harmonized vocals and enough emotion to charm your girl out of her pants with a little coaxing.
The real treasure of the bunch is “Tug of War.” The chorus and bridge on this song put everything else on the record solidly in their place. Suitably biting guitars, a seething Jesse Harte on vocals and that hook! Easily the best song here, no contest, end of story. The chorus actually has a little first-album Skid Row flavor to it. I remember the song being used in a radio station smash-or-trash type voting contest in early ’93. The response was overwhelmingly favorable, (and several callers commented on an early Skids sound), but I only heard it a couple more times after that.
A few highlights dot the rest of the album. Once it finally gets going, “Legend of C.C. Road” has a cool groove that reminds me of Kix’s “Cold Shower.” Unfortunately, the song doesn’t really go anywhere after that. “Culture Clash City” is a full-steam rocker similar to the album opener. “Ode to Peggy’s” features a distinct twang, and is a hokey tribute to a country strip club, or a whorehouse, I’m not sure which. Trouble is, the production is somehow off-kilter, taking away from the overall enjoyment of the track.
After the first four tracks, the only real standout for me is “My Best Friend’s Girl,” which is not a Cars cover, thank God. Another semi-ballad, this one exploring the nature of the love triangle and the mingled guilt and elation that come with monkeying with a friend’s woman.
“The Call” and ‘Misery” seem to be two halves of an attempt at an “epic,” but I see it as mostly a vehicle for Jesse to show off vocally, and neither track does much for me. Nor does the multifaceted instrumental closer “The Bluebird Has Landed.”
All the guys are talented musicians and the songwriting shows promise, but overall, this is a subpar release to my ears. I know others who think it’s great, but they ain’t writing this, now are they? The production sounds a bit off for the entire record (though not as off as on “Ode to Peggy’s), with very loud bass, drums that sound like they’re being piped in from another room, and guitars that often lack depth. Jesse Harte sounds a lot like Firehouse’s C.J. Snare, just not as good. At times, he sounds downright girly, and he kinda looked that way too.
If you should stumble on it cheap at a flea-market or used store, it’s worth it for “Tug of War” and “Fire In Your Body.” Otherwise, I’d say pass on this one unless your tastes aren’t too discriminating.
As many people know, Southgang later jettisoned Jesse Harte and became the boring “nu-breed” pop-rock band Marvelous 3.
Best song: “Tug of War”
Worst song: “Final Resting Place”
ARCADE
Arcade
1993 -- Epic
Rating: 8.5
Arcade’s debut was one of two releases in early ’93 to feature former frontmen of legendary ’80’s-metal outfits. A few months after Arcade’s debut hit the streets, Vince Neil of Motley Crue infamy released his Exposed album. Together, they were truly the last glam-style albums to receive any substantiation press or airplay. I don’t own Vince’s album, however, so we’ll concentrate on Arcade, a project headed up by Ratt’s Stephen Pearcy. Behind him, he had Cinderella drummer Fred Coury (who actually does play on this record, unlike the first two albums from his own band), guitarists Frankie Wilsex (n`e Wilsey, ex-Sea Hags) and Michael Andrews (formerly of some outfit called 9.0 that also featured ex-Cacophony singer Pete Marino), and some dude named Donny “Ripper” Syracuse on bass.
Arcade is at once more energized and cohesive than anything Pearcy had done since Ratt’s first couple albums. The sound is similar to early Ratt, but heavier and a bit angrier.
In the first thirty seconds of opening track “Dancin’ with the Angels,” it’s obvious Pearcy is much more enthusiastic about this project than he was for most of Ratt’s first run. The first real highlight, however, is “Nothin’ to Lose” with a crushing bass-line and backbeat rhythm, and a riff that oozes power and aggression.
Nearly every song thereafter stands out in one way or another. The bouncy “Never Goin’ Home” has a bit of an AC/DC feel, in that the riff is given plenty of room to breathe and be complimented with tasty lead licks galore. “All Shook Up” has the best riff on the album though, with plenty of squeals and squawks, and a rhythm that just won’t quit. “Livin’ Dangerously” comes with a funky-hard Aerosmith strut. The angry, acoustic-electric “Messed-Up World” includes some of Pearcy’s most pissed-off singing, actually reminding me of Dave Mustaine at times.
Ratt was a band that almost never released any ballads, in an era when ballads were almost a requirement. However, Arcade has three, and all of them good. First single “Cry No More” is probably the best. “So Good, So Bad,” like many of the songs here, is a reflection on the crazy days of Ratt, and how the lifestyle they led got out of hand and ceased being fun and became a career hazard. The closer, “Mother Blues,” is a heartfelt, acoustic song dealing with Pearcy’s dysfunctional family, and features some of his best singing.
Stephen Pearcy has never been known as a great singer, and in fact, many consider him a BAD singer, but his performance here is among his best ever. He doesn’t sound like he’s just going through the motions like he does on Ratt’s later albums. Hell, they ALL went through the motions on those later Ratt records. Not only that, but if I’m not mistaken, Pearcy isn’t given the Beau Hill triple-tracked treatment that characterized most of his Ratt work. The music sounds refreshing as well, particularly the sharp riffs. I’m not trying to take anything away from Warren DeMartini and the late Robbin Crosby, but after a while, you pretty much knew what you were getting with those two. Wilsex and Andrews definitely change things up, and for the better.
Arcade was re-issued in 2001, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find, and is well worth any trouble youmight go to. You can skip everything after Ratt’s Invasion of Your Privacy, and proceed straight to this release, and you won’t have missed much. Arcade also released a follow-up in 1994, but I know almost nothing about it. Supposedly, it’s almost as good. The self-titled debut is the one to get, though. Great stuff!
Best songs: “Cry No More,” “All Shook Up”
Worst song: the unnecessary instrumental “Sons and Daughters”
11/22/04
