It's the second of four installments of "Tran-American Metal Mondays" so after leaving here make sure you slip on over to Rock of ages and see what Bill wrote about this album.
I remember seeing videos for "Don't change that song" and "Bathroom Wall" back in the summer of 1987. I wasn't too impressed then and I think it was largely because I was big on speed metal at the time and they were a far cry from that. However about a year later a co-worker played the first side of this on cassette and then I had a Green eggs and ham type revelation as I realized I did like this band once I gave them a fair chance. So I bought the tape a few days later and really got into it then. "Don't change the song" kicks off the album and it's a groove oriented track with the highly memorable chorus. The other single "Bathroom wall" hops on and Taime Down"s unique vocals chime in. The strength of this song and much of the album is the blatant humor of their songs. "No room for emotion" is almost deceptively simple at first, but they control it and make it work. The pace picks up with "Cathouse" and the fire behind it and the odd vocals help keep it interesting. "Babylon" might be a little over the top, but the completely crazy approach and the driving music is just infectious and soon enough you will be listening to this one repeatedly. "Smash alley" is a little darker in tone, but I like the thick sound here."Shooting you down" is another track where they do a marvelous job just commanding the pace and milking the song for all it's worth. "City has no heart" might be my pick for most underrated track here and I think it would have made a good closer."Ship rolls in" has an even, rolling feel to it. "Bottle in front of me" is decent, but somehow the vocals are a bit shrieky and it overstays it's welcome a little. I think this album succeeds in two ways that almost no one else was even trying in 1987. First the grooves and tones make it sound at times like a cross between hard rock of the time blended with the simplicity and slightly stripped down feel of 1970's glam. The second thing they did was to inject humor all over the album. It's not forced humor either and just about all of it works.
They did fairly well as far as selling this album, but it would be their sophomore effort "Wake me when it's over" that would take them further up the ladder. Personally I think the debut was their best effort because of the humor and the natural feel to it. I think here that they had tapped into an approach that not enough bands explored excluding Faster Pussycat because their other albums were different. I think this album didn't do as well as others possibly because not everyone knew how to take them and there was just so many other albums coming out in 1987. The hard rock/hair metal scene in general and the LA scene was just exploding so it was tough to make a dent. However this album has certainly held up well for my tastes.
First off, I just want to say, you are doing a great job with the reviews. They are well written and very insightful.
ReplyDeleteNow...
When I first heard Faster Pussycat, I really didn't care for them. But, the more and more I listened to them, the more and more I liked them. Now...I love them! They are one of my favorite bands. And I agree, their debut is my favorite.
Faster Pussycat is not the most original band on the planet, but they're one of those bands that do their thing so well that it doesn't matter. I think that's why they still stand out as one of the really good bands from that LA scene in the late 80s. They had swagger that eluded so many of their peers who just tried too hard. Plus, the lyrics, for as "dumb" and dirty as they are, just crack me up. I roll every time I hear that last line in "Bathroom Wall" about being glad he didn't use the other stall. The only song I can think of that cracks me up in that same silly way is Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimme Three Steps."
ReplyDeleteAxe man, it's nice to see your somewhat less gung-ho approach (and your more controlled use of the exclamation point). Your opinion about U2 is still inexplicable, but as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day.
I guess this is one of those that we disagree on Mark. Some of it may be to do with the distance from the UK to LA but for me I couldn't get past the singer's voice - he made listening to this a chore rather than a pleasure.
ReplyDeleteBob - I spotted the line in Bathroom Wall too but it's not a patch on Gimme Three Steps :-)
Throwaway party rock for me this one. I did write "Poor man's Poison" about FP on a UK forum I'm on and someone replied that I was wrong and they were a "poor man's GnR"!
Don't know this album though I saw the video of "Bathroom wall" once. I enjoyed their "Wake me ..." album though.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, as always. I agree that this is a stronger album than the follow-up, but Taime's vox and the fun-but-simple approach prevent me from getting through the whole album in one sitting ... I have to move ot something else after a few songs.
ReplyDelete-- david
Not a bad album I seem to recall, had the pleasure of seeing them live back in 1987 supporting.......Guns N Roses!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love this album in the way that I love Appetite for Destruction, Shout at the Devil, and L.A. Guns self titled album...they are all RAW and gritty. Later albums get so polished that they usually remove the cool street vibe.
ReplyDeleteGood review Mark!
axe man-Thanks, it was easy to write about this one.
ReplyDeletebob-That line gets me everytime too.
Rock of ages-I don't see the connection to Poison. I see the Aerosmithe influences and they claimed that back when this came out. I still listn to this one a lot.
andre-I like Wake me when it's over, but I think they became a bit more typical with that one.
David-I have a small stack of albums that stay constantly next to turntable because I play them so much. This is one of them.
George-I'll bet that was a good show.
Rockdog-Thanks and I agree with your view on all of those albums.