helterskelter.ca

POISON
1986 - Look What The Cat Dragged In.
1988 - Open Up And Say... Ahh !!
1990 - Flesh & Blood.
1993 - Native Tongue.
more POISON.
way more Helter Skelter.

May 23, 1986 - 2021: 35 years of: Look What The Cat Dragged In.

Ladies & Gentlemen: here's the Rocknroll State Of The Union Address !

West-Hollywood in 1986, the EPCOT Center for rebelious-rocknroll and after the First Wave of MÖTLEY, W.A.S.P. and RATT ...and before the unskinny bops and the thorn-less roses ...there was the glamoured-up street-rock attitude of Bret, Bobby, Rikki and C.C. ...hardrock's deadliest poison !

Wipe that tear off little girl and "Cry Though" slides it in and sets the pace that would turn it's ugly head on "I Want Action". Long legs and short-skirts, sex-rock in the 80s, nothin' but a good time, satisfaction all night. Mosh on "Play Dirty" and kick serious ass on the metal-track "Look What The Cat Dragged In". Xxxtra attitude is fully exposed on "Blame It On You" and the party never stops as you "Let Me Go To The Show" ...badassery to it's breaking point !

Kinkiness reaches a new level on the Rocknroll State Of The Union Address: stand up and "Talk Dirty To Me". The simple punky C-D-F#/G riff is all you need to get some. And just like Sunshine Of Your Love, Smoke On The Water and Iron Man, this simple riff is an instant call of the wild. Now the P.M.R.C. had something to whine about.

The cat did drag in the RIAA-certified 3x Platinum plateau along and our #1 bad boys were ready to follow into the VAN HALEN rock debauchery footsteps. The Second Wave of party-rock / glam-rock is now official and ready to take over the air-waves and de-flower pop-culture. Round Two would arrive with the gigantic 1988 Open Up And Say... Ahh ! hit-machine LP.

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I Want Action = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjIVYRkPvX4
I Won't Forget You = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJJ_HJ-9JNM
Talk Dirty To Me = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCChxBSRo1Y
Look What The Cat Dragged In = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMH-I6pE9kc&list=OLAK5uy_nHHJMwVWui_oWsWp-5hoiszLpSPYiequ8
Video in 1984 before C.C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWEdDokkGVI
Interview in 1986
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CB1iXqGFjc
Live MTV in 1987
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-ju__C1lEk
Live at MSG in 1987
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T038tkxmb4g

April 27, 1988 - 2023: 35 years of: Open Up And Say… Ahh !

Lovely social disgrace.

Sunset Strip 1988: the genesis of American hardrock and the nucleus of the glorious glamrock movement of the 80s. After VAN HALEN and MÖTLEY CRÜE's unlawfulness, arises the most lethal of poisons. The epitome of kink and excesses, the #1 bad boys of POISON !

The hot riffing of the opening-track "Love On The Rocks" sets the bar-high for one of those long, long nights. The arena rocks into cranium-splittin' volume on the imminent incendiary of "Look But You Can't Touch" and "Back To The Rocking Horse". The heart warming unit-shifter powerballad "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" is a now forever FM-staple and essence of the 80s, while the classic 1972 roots-rock Loggins And Messina's super smash-hit "Your Mama Don't Dance" gets the electrified North Hollywood facelift.

The addictive POISON are "Bad To Be Good" and thru dance in decadence, everybody had "Nothin' But A Good Time" ...rebel-rock's new anthem, rebel-rock's new kids on the block. Hated by thousands, loved by millions, this gang was "Livin' For The Minute", a slick Japan-only bonus-track.

"Outta the car long hair !!!"

From censored to uncensored, no one better encompasses "sex, drugs and rocknroll" than POISON... ok maybe W.A.S.P. and GNR, but Bret and the crew are prettier and pretty close. Their hooks, their hair, their looks, their attitude and eventually their ego, left a red-lipstick mark in rock-history.

From poor to Platinum, this second LP is locked & loaded with memorable hits and heavy grooves that still makes the masses move. Forever synonymous with glam-rock, the RIAA-certified 5x Platinum plateau is a fine testament to the endless parties and hardrock orgies thereof. On top of the world at 100mph, hard-rocknroll is life's true poison.

The boys shall raid the bank once again, with 1990's fiery focused skin deep Flesh & Blood CD.

"We got a juicy weekend comming up, high in the 80s, lows in the 60s, personally ...I prefer the highs."

*
Nothin' But A Good Time = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_88L-CU7PD4
Fallen Angel = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AelpbAegA-4
Every Rose Has It's Thorn = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2r2nDhTzO4
Your Mama Don't Dance = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB5JRS6JOck
Open Up And Say… Ahh ! = full LP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmNmCD3j7gs&list=OLAK5uy_kkmoQoU3wMP9ZGxntAaKwT51RpubiCXio
Interview in Australia in 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lptyloJLOUE
Live in Toronto in 1989
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50wEOIhCnx0

June 21, 1990 - 2020: 30 years of: Flesh & Blood.

Everybody's favorite poison.

Four East-Coast poor bluesed boys ruling in the promised land, AKA Hollywood in the rebellious rocknroll late 80s, the excesses known as: the Sunset Strip. After 1986's glamorous debut Look What The Cat Dragged In LP to the lewd and rude content, the: Open Up And Say …Ahh ! LP …these pretty bad boys where on a roll for world-domination.

Bret, Rikki, Bobby and C.C. are hated by boyfriends/brothers/dads and uncles America-wide and have been with your sister more than a few times from what I'm told. Harley-runnin', stripper-bangin' and hard-rocknrollin' is their 9-to-5 ! And now with round #3, the explosive Flesh & Blood CD, some more asses were about to get kicked / banged by the lethal ones.

The party starts strong with the opener "Valley Of Lost Souls", where not an inch is spared, while the mature title-track kicks-back with a heavy guitar-riff reminiscent of the great AC/DC-catalog. The personal gentle ballad "Something To Believe In" is pure bottled tears and follows a great track-record of iconic 80s MTV-powerballads.

More hardrocknroll is displayed on "Don't Give Up An Inch" and "Ball And Chain" were the boys shows-us more meat to their bone, see what I did there ? inch - ball - meat - bone …ok move along.

Now the candy-ass "Unskinny Bop" is by no means a musical tour-de-force, no, but when you wanna rock and when you wanna boogie, just press-play and do it. Sleazy lyrics from a sleazy band led by a sleazy frontmen, "Bop" did leave a mark in the hardrock history-books, just like some of their previous works along "Talk Dirty To Me" and "Look But You Can't Touch"

The live-CD "Swallow This Live" from 1991 is four cowboys on a road-rage rampage, though at release-time C.C. DeVille was already out of the band after a string of events / tensions. POISON are an intergral part of the great American 80s hardrock-revolution. From A-to-W, from AEROSMITH to WINGER, the clock never stopped for these rebels, and most of the scandals you've heard are true. Sadly after a decadent decade of deadly decibels, scene migration and fan taste-change sat rock-music on a different path, courtesy of the Seattle-movement of late-91.

One last thing, being in an arena with loud hardrock-fans in 1990, filled by mostly screaming young ladies, is one hot feeling that any rock-fan should live, as it epitomize the adolescent-attitude and forever-freedom we all clinge for, I felt it, I was there.

*
Unskinny Bop = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-1HJ7igdFw
Ride The Wind = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juhBVAnLkHk
Flesh & Blood = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMbGgnCWfuc
Something To Believe In = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5uamDMoW4o
Flesh & Blood = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbyFMhAlCFk&list=PLXs3j-oQiHKr0TQV_CZSkjpJAQlg9NF2e
Release party
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHxYeTW0EbY
Interview in 1990
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8wv6yWj9Xo
Live in 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=481oH-oNDoI
AMA in 1991
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzRk5UgNiRI
some guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=440XZQDeA8k

February 8, 1993 - 2023: 30 years of: Native Tongue.

When glam gets the blues.

On top of the world after 1990's Flesh & Blood domination, they could do no wrong. Yet the Seattle effect, the new-metal tide and the sidelined hardrock appeal was real. 1991-92: time for a massive change of the guards. After internal arguments, iconic guitarist C.C. DeVille was out as the party faded away. Enter 21 year-old babyface wizz and indie-shredder Richie Kotzen: POISON now had the blues.

The tribal-percussion intro of "Native Tongue" sets the pace for raw-rock with "The Scream", a fast-metal cut. This new poison is the antidote to glam, a soulful mix of earthy rhythms and arenarock vocal-lines. On hot lead-guitar kid-Kotzen rules the fretboard and ups the game into classicrock territory.

The local bar-band vibe of "Stay Alive" and Clapton-esque "Until You Suffer Some (Fire & Ice)" opens the band to new textures and new lead-vocal collaboration from ...Kotzen himself ...is there anything this boy can't do ?

Hard bluesrock takes over on "7 Days Over You" and with the Fender Telecaster twang of "Bastard Son Of A Thousand Blues". But fear not headbangers, rough-rock shakes the ground on "Ain't That The Truth", "Strike Up The Band" and the 10-ton hammer of "Bring It Home".

The leading-single "Stand" is a tour-de-force for the #1 bad boys. Armed with a full 20-piece gospel church-choir, this cut is a far fetch from the typical 80s-rock band. Back to the rocking horse, this unusual soul-train selection sets a precedent for both the band and other contemporaries, breaking away from the party-rock anthems, one heavenly chant at a time.

Extra mojo goes out to the new guy, for the 0:56sec finger magic of "Richie's Acoustic Thang".

An arena Sunset Strip band morphed into an overdriven theatre electric joy. Now focused on rich music with high quality slick tricks, this revamped posh entity sadly wouldn't last until 1993's year-end. Guitarist Blues Saraceno would finish the tour and eventually record the doomed shelved 1994-95 Crack A Smile CD.

Still RIAA-certified Gold status, the Native Tongue era is a snapshot view inside a band that possesses the potential for deeper roots and a mature showcase. But commercially, the scene was lukewarm to both lineup and musical-direction changes and by 1996, DeVille was welcomed back for a permanent reunion.

Open up and say ahh: experience the Native Tongue ...the sweet POISON you've never tasted.

*
Stand = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3hmgkPYUuk
Until You Suffer Some (Fire & Ice) = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQOtV5lZKIE
Native Tongue = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q64pukt4WyQ&list=OLAK5uy_m1absi9NAQYA7CkAvpjI8nFjMqyMKEVbI
Interview in 1993
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhyd4Uv2Nzs
Live on Arsenio Hall in1993
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU2xpgIXzWQ
Live at the Hammersmith Apollo in 1993
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsbIdTTn3uM

more POISON:

The Decline Of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years