Lesser of two evils
What have I got myself into? I agreed to listen to these albums so here we go. It's a clash of the clunkers, a battle of the boring, a duel of the dungbombs, it's....
Trixter-s/t (1990)
versus
Warrant-Cherry Pie (1990)
Both albums came out in 1990 and that year just saw so many hard rock albums pouring out. Unfortunately a number of labels had signed a lot of bands in hopes of landing the next Motley Crue or G-n-R, but a lot them were pure crap. The record labels were insulting fans by trying to pass this sewage off as hard rock. Anyway let's get on to the contest at hand.
Vocals
Peter Loran of Trixter is far from spectacular, but he is in tune enough and has an alright range.Warrant's Janie Lane has just never been a singer I have cared for. There's some songs where he is better than on others. Yet he just sounds like he's trying too hard at times and is just rather limp on other occasions.
Point to Trixter
Guitar
It's a two one one situation with Joey Allen and Erik Turner for Warrant and Steve Brown for Trixter. Neither band does much that stands out here because I can't recall a single solo that stood out. However it did seem like Trixter were slightly more repetitious and even more boring. The guys from Warrant were just gliding through, but it was never really the guitar that was boring.
Point to Warrant
Rhythm section
We have bass player P.J. Farley and drummer Mark Gus Scott for Trixter going against bassist Jerry Dixon and drummer Steven Sweet for Warrant. Of course we never really hear the bass and both drummers are in the background. I had to really listen hard to pick a winner here, but on a second listen I think that Warrant's Steven Sweet is just a hair smoother in his playing.
Point to Warrant
Production/Originality
Originality was probably not something either of these bands were concerned with and it shows. It's very obvious that there was more money put into the production on Warrant 's album. Even though causing Cherry Pie to be heard more distinctly may not exactly be a positive, I am still going to have to say...
Point to Warrant
Who rocks more
Both bands struggled mightily in this department. Trixter hurt themselves by attempting too many slow songs. Warrant's album started with a couple of horrible songs, but actually settled down and got a little better and they seemed more in control towards the end of the album. Normally I wouldn't want to touch either of these Cd's with a ten foot pole unless of course it was to smash them into pieces with said pole. However, I think Warrant wins this category possibly just because Trixter failed to put much effort into it.
Point to Warrant
Warrant's Cherry Pie has had a good week here winning the "Bad Album Cover contest" and defeating Trixter today by a score of 4-1. I am sure the guys in Warrant would be thrilled by the news. Okay, maybe they really wouldn't be that thrilled. That's it for this segment of Lesser of two evils, hope you enjoyed it at least more than I enjoyed listening to these two pieces of garbage.
Trixter-s/t (1990)
versus
Warrant-Cherry Pie (1990)
Both albums came out in 1990 and that year just saw so many hard rock albums pouring out. Unfortunately a number of labels had signed a lot of bands in hopes of landing the next Motley Crue or G-n-R, but a lot them were pure crap. The record labels were insulting fans by trying to pass this sewage off as hard rock. Anyway let's get on to the contest at hand.
Vocals
Peter Loran of Trixter is far from spectacular, but he is in tune enough and has an alright range.Warrant's Janie Lane has just never been a singer I have cared for. There's some songs where he is better than on others. Yet he just sounds like he's trying too hard at times and is just rather limp on other occasions.
Point to Trixter
Guitar
It's a two one one situation with Joey Allen and Erik Turner for Warrant and Steve Brown for Trixter. Neither band does much that stands out here because I can't recall a single solo that stood out. However it did seem like Trixter were slightly more repetitious and even more boring. The guys from Warrant were just gliding through, but it was never really the guitar that was boring.
Point to Warrant
Rhythm section
We have bass player P.J. Farley and drummer Mark Gus Scott for Trixter going against bassist Jerry Dixon and drummer Steven Sweet for Warrant. Of course we never really hear the bass and both drummers are in the background. I had to really listen hard to pick a winner here, but on a second listen I think that Warrant's Steven Sweet is just a hair smoother in his playing.
Point to Warrant
Production/Originality
Originality was probably not something either of these bands were concerned with and it shows. It's very obvious that there was more money put into the production on Warrant 's album. Even though causing Cherry Pie to be heard more distinctly may not exactly be a positive, I am still going to have to say...
Point to Warrant
Who rocks more
Both bands struggled mightily in this department. Trixter hurt themselves by attempting too many slow songs. Warrant's album started with a couple of horrible songs, but actually settled down and got a little better and they seemed more in control towards the end of the album. Normally I wouldn't want to touch either of these Cd's with a ten foot pole unless of course it was to smash them into pieces with said pole. However, I think Warrant wins this category possibly just because Trixter failed to put much effort into it.
Point to Warrant
Warrant's Cherry Pie has had a good week here winning the "Bad Album Cover contest" and defeating Trixter today by a score of 4-1. I am sure the guys in Warrant would be thrilled by the news. Okay, maybe they really wouldn't be that thrilled. That's it for this segment of Lesser of two evils, hope you enjoyed it at least more than I enjoyed listening to these two pieces of garbage.
posted by Metal Mark at
9:37 AM
10 Comments:
Pretty harsh...
I agree that Warrant should win this. I would say that the vocals and guitar work are better than Trixter, but more importantly, the songwriting on Cherry Pie is far better.
I'd also go on record to say that I still enjoy both of these albums. They are just fun and catchy and I don't need to think about them, I can just listen.
Also, I'd add that it isn't just the late 80s hair metal that should get a bad rap for the flood of crappy bands in the scene at the time. This kind of thing happens with EVERY popular form of music. When thrash metal had peaked there was a ton of bad thrash metal bands putting albums out, same with the grunge scene, the nu-metal scene, the black metal scene, etc. And, I think the same sort of thing is happening right now, with the whole 'extreme metal', 'cookie monster' trend.
There were so many other categories you could've added for this 'two evils'
* Fewest scars upon the collective psyche of humanity: Point to Trixter
* Ability to recognize they suck and move on with their lives: Point to Trixter
* Fewest dumb metaphors: It's a toss-up, but point to Trixter
* Fewest dumb names of band members: Nobody in Trixter had stupid names like Jani or Sweet, so point to Trixter
* Fewest dumb band members: Let's just assume the point goes to Trixter
* Fewest instances of abusing the letter "x" in the band name: Point to Trixter, just because Warrant suxx.
* Biggest sigh of relief when the album accidentally gets used for target practice: Warrant
So by my count, Trixter ekes by and becomes the lesser of two evils.
horrorbiz-There's good hair metal and there's bad hair metal. I have actually heard had several that worse than Trixter since I have been doing this feature.
taotechuck-Have you actually listened to the whole Trixter album? Not that I am encouraging you to, but it wasn't fun for me.
When Trixter's debut came out, I worked at a record store in Paramus NJ. Trixter is from Paramus, NJ. Hometown heroes, or some such thing.
Dear, sweet Jesus, how I have heard Trixter. The wounds in my ears still bleed.
There was even an in-store performance where I worked. The meds almost let me forget. Almost.
Yet, even with those memories haunting me, I would still choose Trixter over Warrant. Trixter was bad, but Warrant was a black hole that devoured talent, intelligence, and hope.
metal mark - absolutely, I agree 100%
No worries, I just love debating on this stuff.
I grew up right when the hair thing was blowing up and I happened to listen to both these albums when I was young and very impressionable. Those kinds of records tend to stick with you later on. I love LOTS of "metal" stuff, but trust me, it's the hair metal that I take crap for ALL the time.
taotechuck-If I remember right from reading magazines, Trixter and Warrant toured together some in 1990. It was either both support acts for Poison or it may been a Trixter, Firehouse, Warrant bill. Scary though.
Horrorbiz-There are a lot of hairbands I like. I have problems where I don't think they really rocked. I got into this in more the mid-1980's. So there are probably bands from that time that I defend that most people are not into.
I liked Cherry Pie. It's fluff, sure, but enjoyable. I wouldn't say they were terrible so much as corporate and mainstream.
However, they were one of the bands I got into at an impressionable age and am slowly discovering bigger and better stuff.
I'm glad Warrant won.
Wow...I can't get past that Trixter album cover.
In the spirit of Halloween, Aroooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Next month's Lesser of two evils might really be too much for me to take , but I'll try to make it through.
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