 VARIOUS
ARTISTS
Hollywood Rocks! - The Audio Companion [Box Set]
Deadline/Cleopatra Records 2005
www.cleorecs.com
Featuring: Hollywood Rose, Hellion, Mickey Ratt, Plain
Jane, Candy, Steeeler, Dokken, W.A.S.P., Black N’ Blue, The Joneses, The Zeros, Quiet Riot,
Armored Saint, Steven Pearcy’s Rat, Bitch, Kery Doll, Warrant,
Sin, Xciter.
Poison, Lizzy Borden, L.A.Guns, Stryper, Great White, Demolition Galore,
Harlow, Slut, Decry, Nitro, Faster Pussycat, Rough Cutt, Tuff, Odin, Salty
Dog, Sound Barrier, Rock City Angles, The Sea Hags.
Keel, Jailhouse, London, Cherry Street, Junkyard, China, Bang Tango, Black
Cherry, King Kobra, Motorcycle Boy, Tommi Gunn, Stars From Mars, Cats in
Boots, Lions & Ghosts, Angora, Virgin, Hangmen, XYZ, Kills for Thrills,
D’Molls.
Electric Angels, Burning Tree, Jetboy, Big Bang Babies, Lypswitch, Syandie
Kick, Darling Cruel, Saigon Saloon, Rebel Rebel, Spiders & Snakes, Hardly
Dangerous, Skull, Yesterday’s Tear, Pretty Boy Floyd, Blackboard Jungle,
Love/Hate, Mondo Kane, Fizzy Bnagers, Alleycat Scratch.
What’s the 4-1-1?
Deadline/Cleopatra Records have put together a four disc box set to compliment
the highly successful coffee table book of the same name. This box set
is an auditory journey through the streets of the infamous Los Angeles
club scene of the 1980’s and early 90’s. Rare, live, and
highly collectible demos are included. Each song is in its original form;
no cover versions, no remakes, and no touch ups. I wasn’t lucky
enough to get the whole set, so I’ll make due with this 17 song
sampler. Genre
Glam / hair metal / hard rock
The Good
The demo version of “It’s Not Love” (Dokken) has more angst
and fury to it. The chorus is slightly different as well. W.A.S.P.’s “F***
Like a Beast” may actually be the original version, and it’s the
one that made Blackie Lawless a household name; albeit for it’s obscene
lyrics, album cover, and content. On the sexually-charged “Let’s
Go Crazy” by Quiet Riot, you can see that the band never really evolved
over the years, they just remained consistent.
Before Warrant went all soft on
us, they were a solid heavy metal band. The proof is in the riff heavy, power
chord laden demo “Last Action Hero”. The cheesiest power ballad of
all time may just be Stryper’s “Honestly”. The song and band
may seem even still cheesier today, but you know you were all about the ‘yellow
and black attack’ and requesting this one at your school dances back then.
Another band that flexes their not so notable metal side is Great White with “On
Your Knees”. It has a simple chorus, but it’s catchy just the same.
Do you remember that guy that replaced Kevin Dubrow in Quiet Riot? Me neither,
but before that he fronted Rough Cutt. Paul Shortino’s rough and soulful
vocals compliment the standard power chord changes on “Hold On”.
80s Rock Cliché Alert: “Electric Gypsy” is a kick-ass tune
with a true eighties metal feel and vocals. Before he went all country on us,
Ron Keel gave us “The Right to Rock”. This live version still captures
the charge of this lost rock anthem. For the record, Keel is back to metal. I
guess country doesn’t pay.
Bang Tango chimes in with “Someone Like
You”. It’s sad that Bang Tango never got the recognition they deserved
because they were just as talented as any band that ‘made it’ out
of Hollywood. You could almost forget that Black N’ Blue were founded by
Gene Simmons if “Hold on to 18” didn’t sound like every Kiss
song ever made.
The Bad
Only the most notable bands were included on this sampler, there are more
not-so-notable acts within the box set that I really don’t know
anything about. So I couldn’t really say what you’re getting
there.
The Verdict
If spandex pants, high hair, florescent colors, and blue eye shadow were
your thing in the late eighties/early nineties (this goes for guys
as well), than Hollywood Rocks! is right up your alley. This collection
really does capture the raw, electric, hard rock energy that these
bands gave out night after night on the Hollywood strip before they
were molded and glossed over by commercial record labels.
Did You Know?
For legal reasons, the Ratt song on the compilation is listed as being performed
by Rat.
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Hanoi Rocks - 12 Shots on the Rocks
Kevin Dubrow - In For
the Kill
XYZ - Letter to God
W.A.S.P. - The Neon God, Part I: The Rise
L.A. Guns - Rips the Covers Off
Heaven & Earth - A Taste of Heaven EP
War & Peace - The Walls Have Eyes
Various Artists - Harder & Heavier
--George Dionne
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