Skid Row, 1989

As 1989 began it seemed as though most of the commercial hard rock bands that were hitting it big were coming out that huge LA scene that had thriving for most of the decade. Yet a New Jersey band known for their raw energy and great live shows were signed to Atlantic records. The fact that Dave "Snake" Sabo was friends with one Jon Bon Jovi didn't hurt matter either. Skid Row has also recently brought in former Madam-X singer Sebastian Bach. I remember this album just kind of showing up without a lot of build-up and it had a simple cover with the band picture in black and white and the ragged red band logo smeared on the top portion of the cover as well. It didn't take long for the band to get radio airplay, get played on MTV and they locked up spots opening for Bon Jovi and Motley Crue. I liked the album a lot then and I think 1989 was a fairly good year for commercial hard rock ecspecially compared to 1988 which was a bit of a lame year for that style of music. Skid Row's debut divided it's time between solid rockers like "Youth gone wild", "Sweet little sister" and slower songs like "I remember you" and "18 and life". The band manages to do well at both kinds of songs. They certainly broke no new ground musicly, but they brought a lot of attitude and Sebastian Bach was a very good frontman. The bottle throwing incident only helped to strengthen their reputation and get them more attention. I think their image helped them a lot, other than Bach they were an ugly scruffy bunch who dressed more like fans than like performers . If they had come out of LA and had sparkly outfits and poofy hair then I am sure they would have made as great an impact despite the music being good. I think audiences were ready for and east coast band like this. I think it's not as sharp as I remember it being back then, but still good fun. Surprisingly enough this is my favorite album fo theirs. I say surprisingly because the next two lp's went in a heavier direction. Normally that would appeal to me, but I think Skid Row became more oridinary as they became heavier. This album still holds a certain appeal for me today and I was glad to find it in the bargain bin a few months ago as my tape had worn out.