Lesser of two evils
It's time for Lesser of two evils and this month it's a band most known for influencing Ugly Kid Joe to take that band name versus a band most known for using a tool that normally just cuts wood as a musical instrument. It's two debut albums so it's Jackyl's self-titled 1992 debut
Versus Pretty Boy Floyd's 1989 "Leather boyz with electric toyz" debut.
Vocalist-So it's Jesse Dupree from Jackyl versus Steve "Sex" Summers for Pretty Boy Floyd. Dupree sounds a little like Brian Johnson of AC/DC, but a little less screechy and a little more in control of his voice. Steve Summers sounds like a cross between Vince Neil and Bret Michaels. Nothing special, but solid enough and he seems like he's having fun with it.
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Guitarist-It's a two versus one situation here. Jackyl has Jimmy Stiff and Jeff Worley versus Pretty Boy Floyd's Kristy "Krash" Majors. None of these guys are stellar as it's kind of run of the mill material on both sides, but Kristy Majors sounds a little more energetic. The Jackyl guys aren't bad, but you have two guitarists and they can't muster anything better than second rate AC/DC riffs? They should have tried harder.
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Rhythm section-So for PBF it's bass player Vinnie Chas and drummer Kari "the mouth" Kane versus Jackyl bassist Thomas Bettini and drummer Chris Worley. Both bass players are okay if that. Chris Worley is adequate enough, but just very standard. Kari Kane seems to have a good handle on producing some solid beats though as he doesn't always play the same old thing.
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Originality/production-Neither band is very original here. Jackyl sound like AC/DC to some extent and Pretty Boy Floyd sound like a cross between early Poison and Motley Crue. The production is fine on both albums, but Pretty Boy Floyd have a little bit of a rough sound at times and I think that works better for their music.
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Who rocks more-Honestly these two bands are better than most of the bands that have ended up in this feature as far as actually rocking. The main reason they are both here is because neither band is very original and neither are terribly good songwriters. Okay at times they boarder on being bad songwriters. Jackyl do rock a little here and there, but not immediately and only maybe 2-3 songs are solid all the way through. Pretty Boy Floyd might actually manage to rock for more than half of their album despite writing some pretty thin material. Their writing might have benefited if they had spent more time writing and less time poofing their hair up and putting on their make-up with paint brushes. Still....
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Result: That's going to wrap up a sweep for Pretty Boy Floyd. Some of the categories were close and some were not. Jackyl somehow managed to get airplay and some during a time when most hard rock was struggling. Pretty Boy Floyd received some hype and a decent push, but didn't get far even though they emerged when hair metal was at it's peak. If I could I would have also given Pretty Boy Floyd an extra point for not having a chainsaw solo during any of their songs.
Versus Pretty Boy Floyd's 1989 "Leather boyz with electric toyz" debut.
Vocalist-So it's Jesse Dupree from Jackyl versus Steve "Sex" Summers for Pretty Boy Floyd. Dupree sounds a little like Brian Johnson of AC/DC, but a little less screechy and a little more in control of his voice. Steve Summers sounds like a cross between Vince Neil and Bret Michaels. Nothing special, but solid enough and he seems like he's having fun with it.
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Guitarist-It's a two versus one situation here. Jackyl has Jimmy Stiff and Jeff Worley versus Pretty Boy Floyd's Kristy "Krash" Majors. None of these guys are stellar as it's kind of run of the mill material on both sides, but Kristy Majors sounds a little more energetic. The Jackyl guys aren't bad, but you have two guitarists and they can't muster anything better than second rate AC/DC riffs? They should have tried harder.
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Rhythm section-So for PBF it's bass player Vinnie Chas and drummer Kari "the mouth" Kane versus Jackyl bassist Thomas Bettini and drummer Chris Worley. Both bass players are okay if that. Chris Worley is adequate enough, but just very standard. Kari Kane seems to have a good handle on producing some solid beats though as he doesn't always play the same old thing.
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Originality/production-Neither band is very original here. Jackyl sound like AC/DC to some extent and Pretty Boy Floyd sound like a cross between early Poison and Motley Crue. The production is fine on both albums, but Pretty Boy Floyd have a little bit of a rough sound at times and I think that works better for their music.
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Who rocks more-Honestly these two bands are better than most of the bands that have ended up in this feature as far as actually rocking. The main reason they are both here is because neither band is very original and neither are terribly good songwriters. Okay at times they boarder on being bad songwriters. Jackyl do rock a little here and there, but not immediately and only maybe 2-3 songs are solid all the way through. Pretty Boy Floyd might actually manage to rock for more than half of their album despite writing some pretty thin material. Their writing might have benefited if they had spent more time writing and less time poofing their hair up and putting on their make-up with paint brushes. Still....
Point to Pretty Boy Floyd
Result: That's going to wrap up a sweep for Pretty Boy Floyd. Some of the categories were close and some were not. Jackyl somehow managed to get airplay and some during a time when most hard rock was struggling. Pretty Boy Floyd received some hype and a decent push, but didn't get far even though they emerged when hair metal was at it's peak. If I could I would have also given Pretty Boy Floyd an extra point for not having a chainsaw solo during any of their songs.
posted by Metal Mark at
12:20 AM
4 Comments:
Very nice job Metal Mark.
I love both bands though. Maybe it's because I like ALL hair metal/rock bands from that era!
Still, nice job though. This has become one of my favorite features on this site!
These are two of my favorite bands! Seeing them go head to head was tough and exciting at the same time!
I'd have given the edge to Jackyl simply because I felt that although they had a cool AC/DC vibe, they added the Southern flair to make it their own, while PBF was a complete copy of the other glam rock bands at the time. Although PBF surely rocks, it was nothing new...just slightly different names (actually, bonus points for their kick ass nick-names!)
To this day I still love the chainsaw solo...something very primal about sharp steel ripping away that is too fucking cool for me! Love it!
Great review Mark!
axe man-Thanks, it's a fun one to write.
rockdog-I had a lot of friends in college who loved Jackyl. I saw them open for Aerosmith in 94 or 95 and they were just okay although they got a huge ovation from the crowd. They got the chainsaw out of course.
I liked the novelty of the chainsaw solo at the time, but not enough to buy their album. I'm unfamiliar with both bands for the most part.
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