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Rating:
The Simpsons have always been a great source of inspiration for me...
Recently, I've pleasantly discovered that Otto's favorite band (the metalhead school bus driver) is the now forgotten Poison, who were called to play at his wedding and caused the tragic end of the marriage itself with the groom escaping on the party-decorated bus, alongside his beloved band, while the notes of "Nothin’ But A Good Time" played.
Well... That episode was a revelation.
Why not share the memory of the legendary Poison with the DeUsers?
Why not annoy the DeUsers with the review of "Open Up And Say... Ahh!" (which was also missing from the DeArchive)???
Why not make all those who think "if you can't understand an album only by the three hundred and fortieth listen, it's not good music" cringe?????
Why, you may ask (even though most of you have probably already told me to bugger off and have changed the review)?
Well... Simply because I used to really like Poison, quite a lot actually. With sadistic pleasure and a smirk under my mustache, I got busy looking for my old and dusty cassette, and here I am.
Well... Poison belongs to that successful trend of the eighties known as Glam Metal-Rock (but also Glam Hard Rock, Pop Metal, Party Metal, and "We Do Naughty Stuff with Our Drunk Girlfriends Metal"), and more precisely to the second wave (1986-90) of Glam Metal, the more melodic and "mainstream" one that stood out from the first, more aggressive and "horrifying" one (Twisted Sister, W. A. S. P. etc...), for its romantic and often tear-jerking atmospheres and for the fun-loving and amused attitude of most of the tracks.
In short... music for partying (and to appeal to the young girls)!
At that time... Poison can undoubtedly be considered the most popular representatives of Glam from those years. Hair styles that would make Platinette envious and wax museum makeup were paired with pants so tight they compromised anyone's fertility. These were Poison. As excessive and ridiculous aesthetically as they were charming and simple musically.
Born in 1983 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, they quickly understood that for sexual satisfaction and commercial success, the promised land at that time was California. They packed their bags and set off for the land "of the sun" and, mindful of the teachings of various Kiss, David Bowie, Motley Crue, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Van Halen, and so on (in short, practically everyone), they began composing and performing. If anything could be said about eighties Glam Metal, it is that it sold like hotcakes, or even more. Bands like the aforementioned Motley Crue, along with Cinderella, Bon Jovi, and many others had an appeal on the youth (especially young Americans) that influenced the entire American music market. Whether it was the allure of the typically eighties forbidden and excess, or a continuous and obsessive search for the best combination between Sex (a lot), Drugs (and sex) and Rock'n'Roll (and sex), the record companies were enjoying the substantial profits young people (and especially young women) were pouring into their coffers, deliberately ignoring those who tried to make music a bit more "serious" (even in the Metal field, see Thrash, Death, etc.).
During that period, Poison did nothing but make "the right album at the right time". Brazen and glossy, excessive and hyper-melodic, fun and party-like with that touch of polite "romanticism" that would bring out the usual tear from the young and excited fan ("Every Rose Has Its Thorn"). After making a name with the previous rocking "Look What The Cat Dragged In" (1986), they exploded definitively in the hearts of American teenagers (and beyond) with this "Open Up And Say... Ahh!" unanimously recognized as their best work.
Associated with other bands of the genre for their manifest carefree spirit, light musical joy, and exaggerated aesthetic extremism, they stood out from other Glamsters (neologism?) for two fundamental aspects:
1) They were one of the very few bands not to take themselves too seriously and to adopt a blatant parody attitude towards the imposed style elements of the genre (hair, costumes, etc.), as could be noted from their hilarious videos (unlike, for example, Motley Crue and Bon Jovi who sincerely believed themselves to be the God-symbols of universal music and sole bearers of the "sonic Word").
2) Musically, they were much more elaborate and "derived" than others, managing to create songs where the elaborated was not synonymous with variety but with sonic dynamism never stale or immobile on certain aspects; rather, spontaneously "multicolored" or "multiform" while always maintaining an immediacy and accessibility envied by much Pop of those years.
It is no coincidence I used the adjective "derived"... Personally, I consider Poison as a band that, anchoring to their own musical tastes and idols, managed to propose deliberately referential pieces that walked a fine line between the original elaboration of numerous influences (on the verge of Crossover, but perhaps I'm too high) and the sly copying. Nevertheless, tracks like the "party-oriented" "Love On The Rocks", "Nothin’ But A Good Time", and "Back To The Rocking Horse" (true Party Rock songs with a slight AC/DC-ish flavor) manage to be engaging and enthralling just right. Also noteworthy is the Aerosmith-like "Good Love" with its playful and lively rhythm; the solid and "heavy" "Tearin' Down The Walls" and "Bad To Be Good" adorned by Bret Michaels' tense voice (a real sex symbol of the time); the naughty and manic "Look But You Can't Touch" (the title says it all); the beautiful "Fallen Angel" (typical expression of glossy Rock) and the famous yet sappy "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". There's also room for a cover of the Loggins/Messina duo ("Your Mama Don't Dance", 1972) which highlights how Poison was influenced, and you can hear it at times, by the Rock'n'Roll of the 60s (a rare thing in those years).
A special shout-out goes to C.C. Deville, a guitarist who, although not possessing virtuosic musical skill, managed to give every piece and every solo truly incisive feeling and punch.
After this work, the band could no longer maintain stable formation (C.C. Deville left) and the right motivations... With the subsequent "Flesh and Blood," they attempted to harden their sound to adapt to the new dominant model coming from Seattle, but the results were poor, and that melodic and image balance that made this album great broke forever as Grunge devoured everything it found in its path.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Nothin' but a Good Time ()
Now listen
Not a dime, I can't pay my rent
I can barely make it through the week
Saturday night I'd like to make my girl
But right now I can't make ends meet
I'm always workin' slavin' every day
Gotta get a break from that same OL' same OL'
I need a chance just to get away
If you could hear me think this is what I'd say
Don't need nothin' but a good time
How can I resist
Ain't lookin' for nothin' but a good time
And it don't get better than this
They say I spend my money on women and wine
But I couldn't tell you where I spent last night
I'm really sorry about the shape I'm in
I just like my fun every now and then
I'm always workin' slavin' every day
Gotta get away from that same old same old
I need a chance just to get away
If you could hear me think this is what I'd say
Don't need nothin' but a good time
How can I resist
Ain't lookin' for nothin' but a good time
And it don't get better than this
You see I raise a toast to all of us
Who are breakin' our backs every day
If wantin' the good life is such a crime
Lord, then put me away
Here's to ya
Don't need nothin' but a good time
How can I resist
Ain't lookin' for nothin' but a good time
And it don't get better than this
Don't need nothin' but a good time
How can I resist
Ain't lookin' for nothin' but a good time
And it don't get better than this
Don't need nothin' but a good time
How can I resist
Ain't lookin' for nothin' but a good time
And it don't get better than this
07 Fallen Angel ()
She stepped off the bus out into the city streets
Just a small town girl with her whole life
Packed in a suitcase by her feet
But somehow the lights didn't
shine as bright as they did
On her mama's TV screen
And the work seemed harder
And the days seemed longer
Than she ever thought they'd be
But you know you got to stick to your guns
When it all comes down
Cause sometimes you can't choose
It's like heads they win
Tails you're gonna lose
Chorus:
Win big--Mama's fallen angel
Lose big--livin' out her lies
Wants it all--Mama's fallen angel
Lose it all, rollin' the dice of her life
Now she found herself in the fast lane livin' day to day
Turned her back on her best friends, yeah
And let her family slip away
Just like a lost soul
caught up in the Hollywood scene
All the parties and the limousines
Such a good actress hiding all her pain
Trading her memories for fortune and fame
Just a step away from the edge of a fall
Caught between heaven and hell
Where's the girl I new a year ago
Chorus
Too much too soon
Or just a little too late
Cause when her ship came in
She wasn't there and it just wouldn't wait
08 Every Rose Has Its Thorn (04:22)
We both lie silently still in the dead of the night
Although we both lie close together
We feel miles apart, inside
Was it somethin' I said or something I did
Did my words not come out right
Tho' I tried not to hurt you
Tho' I tried
But I guess that's why they say
Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn
Yea it does
I listen to our favorite song playin' on the radio
Hear the dj say love's a game of
Easy come and easy go
But I wonder does he know
Has he ever felt like this
And I know that you'd be here right now
If I could have let you know somehow I guess
Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn
Though it's been a while now
I still feel so much pain
Like the knife that cuts you
The wound heals, but the scar, that scar remains.
I know I could have saved our love that night
If I'd know what to say
Instead of making love
We both made our separate ways
Now I hear you've found somebody new
And that I never meant that much to you
To hear that tears me up inside
And to see you cuts me like a knife
Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn
09 Your Mama Don't Dance ()
CHORUS:
Your Mama Don't Dance and you dady don't
rock and roll
Your mama don't dance and your dady don't
rock and roll
But when evening rolls around and it's time to
hit the town
where do you go-you gotta rock it
The old folks say that ya gotta end your date
by ten
But if you're out on a date don't
you bring her home late 'cause
it's a sin
You know there's no excuse
You know you're gonna lose, you never win
I'll say it again
CHORUS
SOLO
You see I pulled into a drive-in and
found a place to park
We hopped into the back seat where it's
always nice and dark
I'm just about to move hinking to myself
Mmm Jeff this is a breeze
Then there was a light in my eye and a guy says
Out of the car long hair
Oowee-you're comig with me
said the local police
CHORUS
Play me a little, C.C.
SOLO 2
CHORUS OUT
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