Warrant
Cherry Pie

The testament of a band with only their second album. After just one album that propels them into the American Glam and Hard Rock scene, these five wild ones deliver their masterpiece, "Cherry Pie," indeed.

Like Skid Row, who hit the mark with their first effort, Warrant are catapulted into the world of glitz and glam in the early '90s, when the glory and fame of the teased-hair Hard Rock era were nearing their end, along with its most representative groups. As a result, they too are destined for a short-lived career, with attempts at revival, lineup changes, reunions, and a modernization of the sound that is, let’s say, forced and not exactly appreciated. 

But the '80s really only end in '94, and there’s still time to release an album of melodic, catchy, and powerful Hard Rock. Let's analyze the gems that make up this LP.

We start with the unique Uncle Tom's Cabinet, introduced by a singular acoustic guitar arpeggio, later reprised by a banjo, reminding us that Warrant plays Hard Rock but does not disdain the folk and country so dear to Cowboys. The song then kicks off, transforming into a massive almost heavy metal anthem, culminating in an airy chorus impossible to resist for its melody and rhythm. 

We then reach the first of the two ballads on the album, I Saw Red, which rightfully ranks among the most beautiful romantic songs of the genre. It features a classic structure, with a sweet and melancholic piano intro, over which Lani Lane’s voice stretches delicately, continuing to float over the gradually more robust and passionate verse. The progression doesn’t hold many surprises, but the melodies and arrangements go straight to the heart, allowing the frontman to showcase all his vocal range and expressiveness in the various choruses.

Another classic stadium ride with Bed Of Roses, which, unlike Bon Jovi's more famous sibling, maintains an upbeat rhythm throughout despite a deceptively dreamy and calm acoustic guitar intro. The pace picks up again with Sure Feels Good To Me, fast and powerful, featuring quick and sharp guitar riffs that beautifully underpin Lane's aggressive yet melodic singing. The pogo continues with the equally fast but less aggressive Love In Stereo, where the same qualities apply as to the previous song.

We come to the second ballad of the set, introduced by a white noise disturbance followed by a sigh (or a drag of a cigarette?) and a sweet arpeggio from the now familiar acoustic guitar, which remains present for almost the entire track, accompanying the distorted power chords, adding a touch of sweetness missing in the previous I Saw Red, perhaps closer to a Power Ballad than a true Ballad. The solo is excellent, and the backing vocals enrich the already well-crafted and immediate main vocal lines.

Another acoustic intro, which this time accompanies us for more than two minutes along with the first verses of the song, and a stadium chant sets the backdrop for the chorus of Song And Dance Man. Despite the title, the song doesn't accelerate in speed or power but settles into alternations between calmer verses and catchy, epic choruses, making it the song that most closely resembles Bon Jovi.

Another round, another concert hit, You're The Only Hell Your Mama Ever Raised, steady but not too fast, with a fun chorus that sticks in your head after the first listen. We return to rockier and more Hard Rock terrains with Mr. Rainmaker, an excellent song with Lani Lane running up and down the musical staff without ever being banal and delivering an excellent chorus worthy even of the best Bon Jovi.

The last track of the original album, starts like a train, explicitly quoting Ozzy Osbourne's classic Crazy Train. Not coincidentally, the title is the imaginative Train Train. We hear the wheels sizzling on the tracks as this train sets off on a really captivating guitar and drum riff, whistles its harmonica solo, and speeds through a journey across the American deserts. One could say a perfect Heavy Country song, for the rough and strangely low way it is sung, and for the melodies that recall a western soundtrack played on electric guitars. 

In the remastered CD edition, it's now the turn of a "song" that should have been included in the original edition but was censored as it contained a series of "compliments" directed at Tipper Gore, at the time aligned against certain content that rock music dished out with few reservations. No more and no less than a series of insults copied and pasted together from live clips. Amusing, and thankfully short. 

Also part of the CD edition, two bonus tracks that neither add to nor detract from what has been said so far. Two pleasant stadium songs, the first, Game Of Love, is actually average, the second anthemic and pounding, supported by excellent choruses and vocal intertwining that well illustrate the title, The Power.

Is that it? 

Did you think I forgot the most important and significant song? 

Of course not! A special mention goes to the album's opening track, the Cherry Pie that gives the work its title! What can be said, except that it’s a perfect song in its genre, stands to Warrant as Livin' On A Prayer does to Bon Jovi, Girls Girls Girls to Motley Crue... in short, a classic. Accompanied by lyrics and a video that are few in tameness (read and watch to believe) and at the same time hilariously entertaining, it boasts catchy riffs, an elementary and infectious rhythm like few others, and choruses so simple and effective that it’s impossible not to hum along or imagine the blonde in the video doing the things mentioned in the lyrics to the music's rhythm... A song simply to scream about. And to think that legend has it that when the album was completed, the record company, evidently unsatisfied, applied pressure to have a single that could really elevate the album to the top of the charts... and thus Cherry Pie came to light, whose guitars were entrusted not to any random person, but to C.C. DeVille from Poison.

Coincidence?