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When
the editor told us that this one had come through from Target, I was
more than willing to give it a shot, sending many thoughts back to my
high school days when "18 and Life" made the girls’ hearts
soft "Youth Gone Wild" satisfied those of us who had a heart
for harder tunes. Jon Bon Jovi’s protégées had something that
appealed even to someone like me who was otherwise sworn to thrash,
death and real heavy metal at the time. Especially ‘Slave to the
Grind’ shoved a fist of hard music right up the bum of a music
business that otherwise had expected a real hit album.
With
Sebastian Bach well on his way out of the band, ‘Subhuman Race’
(1995) didn’t exactly make a lasting impression and signalled the
departure of Skid Row for a long while. Now they’re back, albeit not
with Bach behind the mic. Johnny Solinger sounds perfect as Bach’s
replacement, no doubt about that. He’s up there technically and
obviously has the vocal drive it takes.
Too
bad, though, that the rest of Skid Row is merely a shadow of its own
good self. Apart from one track (yes, ONE track!), the powerful and so
Skid Row-in-ya-face tune "Another Dick in the System", the 11
tracks of the album are at best mediocre and without real balls. It’s
simply not convincing. The inclusion of the country rock pastiche "You
Lie" is a complete miss and falls right to the floor.
We’ll
just leave it at the high school memories, then.
Recommended:
"Another Dick in the System".
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