821. L.A. Guns / Man in the Moon. 2001. 2.5/5

Following the one off effort entitled Shrinking Violet with Jizzy Pearl on vocals, and several best-of releases that involved re-recording their earliest (and best) material for release, something which surely could only have been a money raising exercise, L.A. Guns welcomed lead singer Phil Lewis and guitarist Mick Cripps back to the fold, and came out with Man in the Moon.

This feels and sounds like an album and band who aren't in transition as such, but are a little lost in the direction they want to go. In recording albums such as Greatest Hits and Black Beauties and Cocked & Re-Loaded, the band re-recorded material from the days when they were at their biggest, and when their music was fresh and exciting. One would have thought that, having been through that process, it would have best served the band in trying to recapture that time, and help them to focus on writing in that kind of style again, to stay true to their roots and produce an album that brought all of that into the present time. Well, I can't say they did that with any great degree of success.
"Man in the Moon" is a reasonable start to the album, with Traci Guns and Mick Cripps guitars playing off each other nicely, and Steve Riley's drumwork pounding away furiously. As an intro to a new album, it does its job without inspiring any real emotional effect. Why then, after this solid beginning, do we fall into a song like "Beautiful", which just doesn't gel at all with the initial vibe of the album. Back we fall to mostly clear guitar, the drums quietly set in the background, and a song that sounds like it is going for the harmless 1970's almost hippy love fest. There is no correlation between the first two songs here, they are so different and unrelatable you can't believe they are from the same band let alone the same album. "Good Thing" then for some reason tries to build a bridge over that, and restore some sort of order that was established by the opening song, but there is still something that doesn't feel right. perhaps it is just the lingering aftertaste of the previous song, but there is still something missing here, something that was an integral part of L.A Guns music, but somehow just isn't here now.
And when the truth arrives, it is stark and disappointing. The naked energy and enthusiasm of those early albums is non existent here. It sounds as though the band is just going through the motions. It doesn't at any point sound as if any of the protagonists are really pumped to be there, and the lack of inspiration is a detriment to what we are listening to.
And it doesn't improve from here either. I don't know what Phil was trying to do with his vocals in "Spider's Web". They don't seem to be anywhere close to the melody of the riff being played. If his vocals were a guitar I would have said it needed to be re-tuned. That's how it sounds to me, that he's singing the melody, but his vocal chords are out of tune with the song. It is very strange and off putting. "Don't Call Me Crazy" starts of as if it is going to have that real pacey hard rock sound that L.A. Guns was famous for, but the drum roll bursts into... slow, melodramatic backbeat and guitar, and a mournfully lethargic ballad-like droning that stretches out for seven minutes but feels like an hour and seven minutes. What on earth is this? What have you done with the band we all remember and love?
"Hypnotised" tries to redeem what has come before, finally picking up the momentum, and also allowing Steve Riley to showcase his wares at least. I'm still not convinced about the vocals, but the song itself sounds much better and more like the band we know. Even "Fast Talkin' Dream Dealer" makes you think that all may not be lost. This is one of only two songs on the album that SOUNDS like L.A Guns real material, with that L.A hard rock sound racing through, while "Out of Sight" is a reasonable assimilation of the same degree of song.
Now. What the hell is going on with "Turn It Around"?! This is five and a half minutes of pure rubbish. This comes across as the band's attempt to do a really poor cross between a mournful David Bowie / Alice Cooper epic tragedy ballad piece. There is literally nothing here of any value. The vocals again are sung at that almost out of key wailing which just seems completely out of place. It is therefore somewhat surprising that the one song on this album that comes within a bulls roar of what one would consider a real L.A. Guns song is the final track, "Scream". It moves at the right tempo, the guitar riff is amiable, the dual guitar solos do the job, and vocally it sounds like the real Phil Lewis has returned. It's not magnificent, but it at least sounds like it has the same parentage as their classic tracks from the late 1980's. It's just such a shame that it is the last track, when to be honest it could have been the opening track, and then had many brothers and sisters after it.

While this album is not a complete loss, it really has too many poor variations to be considered better than average. Three or four songs could be salvaged here and played at any time for enjoyment sake, but there are also three or four shockers that just don't cut it in any way, shape or form. Listen with the remote control and 'skip' button on standby.

Rating:  Sometimes I just want to scream.  2.5/5

791. L.A. Guns / L.A. Guns. 1988. 4/5

Towards the end of the hair metal explosion that had been brought on by the bands such as Motley Crue, Poison, W.A.S.P., Cinderella, Bon Jovi and others, came the initial release by L.A. Guns, a band that had done more hard yards than most to get themselves to a point where they could actually release their debut album. It finally came in this eponymously titled album.

The band was still evolving even as they approached and then ended the recording process. Singer Paul Black was moved on after the band signed the recording deal, and replaced by Phil Lewis, who sang on the album. The majority of the album though had been co-written by Black, so his influence was still marked on this release. Then after recording had been completed, drummer Nickey Alexander was replaced by Steve Riley from W.A.S.P. Even though he didn't play on the album he is credited as the band's drummer on the album itself.
The opening songs really set the tone for the album, and immediately set the right impression. The jaunty and jumping balance of "No Mercy", "Sex Action" and "One More Reason" are instant hits, the kind of songs that draw you straight into the album one after the other. All albums need this kind of lure to start off with, to be able to grab the listeners attention from the start and not give them any reason to either stop the album or start skipping songs. These are the three songs that pretty much let you know if you are an L.A. Guns fan or not (along with "Never Enough" from Cocked and Loaded). If you have been through the album a couple of times and these three songs haven't got you hooked, then you should probably look elsewhere. "Electric Gypsy" and "Nothing to Lose" and "Bitch is Back" continue the trend set by the opening three tracks. They mightn't be the songs that you necessarily remember, but once you reach them on the album, you still know all the lyrics, and you air guitar along with the great solos in the middle. "Nothing to Lose" especially has always been a favourite for me.
The quiet instrumental "Cry No More" is the signal for something sinister to occur. "One Way Ticket" is a ballad that is clichéd, and been done a billion times over. I know there is a huge need to write and record these kinds of songs, because it was seen (possibly still is) as the way to procure radio airplay. I don't know if it succeeded in this instance, but given the energy that is prevalent at the start of this album, all this song does it stop all of the momentum and bring a halt to the good tidings that had existed before this. I find it such a shame that this kind of ballad consistently finds its way onto albums. If you erase this song this album is close to perfect.This is simply bloody awful.
"Hollywood Tease" restores some of what had occurred before this monstrosity inflicted itself upon us. It is actually a cover of a Girl song, which was the band Phil Lewis fronted before joining L.A. Guns, and was co-written by Lewis and Phil Collen, who went on to mega-fame with Def Leppard. This is followed by "Shoot For Thrills", which is a cover of a Sweet Pain song written by bass guitarist Kelly Nickels, who had come from Sweet Pain to join L.A. Guns. "Down in the City" is the final song on the album, which ends the album on a high note after the short lull in the middle.

When this was first released, I thought this album was just terrific. It was different enough from other similar bands that it stood out from the pack, and could make its mark without unnecessary comparisons to the other bands of the genre that were either established or starting themselves. It contains that style of high energy hard rock that makes the best standard of the hair metal genre. Sing along choruses with energetic guitaring and drumming that is found on the majority of the tracks here gave us all a belief that here was another band set for greater things. Band turmoil and the approaching grunge phenomenon probably stifled that it the long run, but this album still holds up all these years later, which is a fair sign that they had the right ingredients.

Rating:  Fall from grace, child in time, born of thunder, one of a kind.  4/5

Listen to full album here

500. L.A. Guns / Hollywood Vampires. 1991. 3/5

Coming on the heels of their excellent first two albums, the L.A. Guns had the chance to propel themselves to super-stardom with their third LP, Hollywood Vampires. As it turns out, the ingredients are all here, but they don’t seem to have been mixed in the right quantities.

What is it about this album that doesn’t quite allow it to reach its potential? Certainly, following on from their initial successes they should have been ready to conquer the world. However, in general the songs here don’t have the same spark about them, the same buzz that catches your attention and makes you want to listen.
Is it the obvious attempt to recapture the success that came with “The Ballad of Jayne”? Is that where my problem lies? Because I HATE that song, believing it is a blight on their otherwise excellent record to this stage of their career. It does feel that they are looking for that ballad hit again, and it affects the remainder of the album in my view.

Now it’s not all bad, so don’t take it that way. Songs like "Kiss My Love Goodbye", "Some Lie 4 Love" and "My Koo Ka Choo" still carry a punch that reminds you of who you are listening to. But in the end, it just didn’t quite carry over. And that is a real shame.

Rating: Not the step forward I was expecting. 3/5

499. L.A. Guns / Hollywood Rehearsal. 1998. 2/5

This is a Japanese compilation, comprising tracks which had previously been unreleased. It includes demo's and outtakes, alternate versions, and a number of cover songs ranging from bands such as Led Zeppelin, Sammy Hagar and The Clash.

As with most albums of this type, it holds a certain amount of interest for the first two or three listens. After that, it is something that only hard-core fans will ever take a great interest in. Unless you are a fan of the songs covered (I am not) then it is more likely to collect dust at the back of your CD cabinet. I know my copy was, and will now do so again having done the right thing and reviewed it.

Rating: Not for me, but others may disagree. 2/5

457. L.A. Guns / Greatest Hits and Black Beauties. 1999. 3/5

When L.A. Guns arrived on the scene in the late 1980’s, I was just finishing high school, and so was probably at the peak of my malleability in regards to music. L.A. Guns first two albums left an impression.
Here we have their greatest hits album, with a few odd bits and pieces thrown into the mix, most likely to help sales to people who already had all of their material. Their best and most well known stuff is here – “Never Enough”, “Sex Action”, “Rip N Tear”, “No Mercy” and the still awful “Ballad Of Jayne”.
As with so many greatest hits albums, sometimes you are better off just getting the original albums and listening to them. That is certainly the case here. I would suggest to anyone likely to go out and get this to just get the first two albums instead.

Rating: Good enough for what it is. 3/5.

175. L.A. Guns / Cocked & Loaded. 1989. 4/5.

On the first episode of Season 4 of this podcast, I related the story of the formation of the band L.A Guns, and the recording of their eponymous debut album. Their journey from individuals in different bands finally coming together and finding a recording contract and putting out an album at the peak time for glam metal in the US, saw an immediate success and recognition in those markets.
Indeed, such was the success, that the touring phase to promote that album was eventually cut short from what it could have been, and the band was rushed back into the studio in order to write and record a follow up album, one no doubt that their management hoped would build on the initial success the band had created. And having seen the bands around them of their genre and what they were producing, the band would have known that they needed to lift the ante when it came to their sophomore album. Bon Jovi, Poison, Motley Crue and others of their ilk had albums out that were high in the charts, or soon would be. At this point in time, no one knew what was just around the corner in the music industry, and that this period was the hot spot for the glam and hair metal genre, with heavy promotion of these bands all over MTV and other music video platforms. If a band could put out the right album, it could well be that they could set themselves up for whatever the future would hold. It was in this environment that L.A. Guns came up with “Cocked & Loaded”.

“Cocked & Loaded” is a step up from their debut album. It definitely is jump started by Steven Riley on drums. Riley had joined the band after the recording of the first album, and his enthusiasm on the kit is appreciable here. And that is transferred through to the majority of the tracks on the album as well. This immediately feels like a more energetic album than the first, with more momentum through the songs, less stalls and less attempts to make this something that it is not. Along with Riley’s great drum work, Kelly Nickels has a great bass sound on this album, and the guitaring from the twin engines of Mick Cripps and Tracii Guns is excellent. Powerhousing over the top is lead vocalist Phil Lewis, who sounds like a real front man on this album, not someone feeling their way like he did on the band’s first album.
Still, come into the album knowing what to expect. The titles of the songs make it a dead giveaway if you aren’t sure. These are songs that are in the best traditions of the glam metal set, born of the L.A strip and citing the kind of references that proliferated the lyrics of the time. But the songs themselves are catchy and entertaining to those that enjoy this sub-genre of the music. The opening trio of “Letting Go”, “Slap in the Face” and “Rip and Tear” open the album in pleasing style, all in your face with great vocals and stinging guitars. “Sleazy Come Easy Go” is less enticing, the staccato beat of the music and channelled chorus vocals is a bit low brow and not of the same standard as the opening songs. This is immediately rectified by the best song on the album, “Never Enough”, the culmination of the band’s hard work to produce an anthemic track that appeals on all levels, again through a great combination of the vocals and Tracii’s guitar licks.
The middle of the album doesn’t quite maintain this energy, with songs that change from the successful style of the opening, and probably overstay their welcome by being both too long and less engaging. “Malaria” is five and a half minutes of drum machine like rhythm and chanting of the song title in a long drawn out fashion that incites boredom rather than status quo. This is followed by the one real song on the album that disappoints. And – yep, you guessed it – it's the ballad. And you can’t miss it, because the title of the track is “The Ballad of Jayne”. And yes, it was released as a single, and yes it became the highest charting single by the band, number 33 on the US charts. And the video was all over MTV. But you know, is that the purpose it serves? And is that worth it for the record company and band management? Take that song off the album (and when I recorded this album to cassette back in the day I did) and this album is INFINTIELY better. OK, they perform it well, and some out there may like it. Good luck to you if you do. Tag onto this “Magdalaine” which brings similar tones lyrically with a more upbeat theme, but at a touch over six minutes drags on far too long.
“Give a Little” hits back a little harder, especially with the dual guitar lead in the middle of the song. And the Willie Dixon blues riff of “I’m Addicted” does showcase Tracii Guns fine guitarwork, but I’d have been more interested if they had written an instrumental that was in this vein rather than covering this song. This energy is injected further into “17 Crash” and “Showdown (Riot on Sunset)” both of which equal the songs of the first half of the album. And while “Wheels of Fire” and “I Wanna Be Your Man” make the run into the end of the album enjoyable enough, they aren’t quite of the same strength of those that have come before them.

Unlike most of my memories of albums, I cannot say with any certainty when I first heard this album. I have memories of one of the songs being on a compilation CD put out by Hot Metal magazine, but I’m not positive as to when I first heard or got this album. While it would make sense that I had a recorded cassette version of this album at some time around its release, I know I didn’t have my own copy of the album until much later. I think, much like the band’s debut album, I always enjoyed the first half of this album more than the second half. I do remember thinking at the time that if they took the best of both albums then they would have had a spectacular release.
I have had this album up against some stiff competition over the past couple of weeks in regards to listening, both for upcoming episodes of this podcast and just listening to albums in general. And I still enjoy it. But I think I notice the dead spots more now than I did when I first had the album. Or perhaps I chose to ignore them at that time. Or perhaps I have just forgotten them over the songs that I do enjoy a lot. Whatever that answer may be, those dead spots appear more noticeable to me today than they did in the past. And while if I was to be picky I would probably allow it to drag down my whole enjoyment of the album, I don’t look to do that here. The easiest way to express my feelings about the album is that the majority of the songs are terrific, and the two or three that don’t exactly scoot my boots are not bad, just less interesting to me.
The success of this album, and particularly the single, directed the follow up album into much tougher waters, trying to retain the same lyric base and some of that glam metal sparkle, but trying too hard to replicate the success of the ballad, and all of this with the growing onset of the storm that changed the fate of so many glam metal bands in the 1990’s. For this peak period of existence however, “Cocked & Loaded” is a fun way to spend 45 minutes or so.

61. L.A. Guns / American Hardcore. 1996. 3.5/5.

When you first hear this album, it is quite amazing the change that L.A. Guns have made from their first two releases. If you didn't know their history, you would be hard pressed to be convinced that they began their lives in the heyday of L.A glam metal.

American Hardcore is the name of the album, and the direction they have taken their music. And some of these songs really rock. And yet, there is the classic 'metal' ballad (a slight contradiction in terms I know, but you know what I'm getting at) with Hey World, which, given my usual contempt of such songs, isn't bad.

What I've Become, Pissed and I Am Alive are great tracks, that are the norm on an album that is a significant release in the order of a band who came from an era of glam, and has transformed themselves into a band of higher standing on a different plane.

Rating : Still a pleasant surprise to be had. 3.5/5.

28. L.A. Guns / A Nite On The Strip. 2000. 3.5/5

Having recorded their previous album Shrinking Violet and started touring, there was a change in tact not long after, and former members Phil Lewis, Mick Cripps and Kelly Nickels suddenly returned to the group to reunite the band's classic lineup. From here, the tour reignited, and striking while the iron was hot, the band recorded this live album at the Key Club.
The resulting album and live set contained none of the songs from the previous two albums, reverting to material recorded only by this line-up. The price you pay when you are doing 'reunion' gigs.

There is a good vibe about the whole album. It acts as a 'greatest hits live' package, kicking off with "Face Down", and then into some of their best known and greatest tracks, "Sex Action", "One More Reason", "Kiss My Love Goodbye" and "Bitch is Back".
"Over the Edge" sounds better here than it does on the studio version, while there are songs in the back half of the concert, especially "Never Enough", "Nothing Better To Do" and "Rip N Tear".

Sometimes it is difficult to imagine how songs will translate from the studio to the live stage. This is a good effort in capturing the excitement and vibrancy of this band in their natural environment. The song selection is terrific, and the band appear to be enjoying themselves. Always a bonus when it comes to recording a live album. Worth a listen.

8. L.A. Guns / Wasted [EP]. 1998. 3/5.

At a time when L.A. Guns was an evolving property, on the verge of splitting into two separate bands with two different agendas, this EP is actually surprisingly very listenable. It tends to delve into a slightly heavier direction than the day to day L.A. Guns material.

Six songs make up this EP. The first four songs are all new material, and they do rock. Featuring new vocalist Ralph Saenz, they are all better than average tracks. This is then followed by a remake of their biggest hit, entitled "Jayne 98", which, as with the original, I can take or leave depending on my mood at the time. The EP is topped off by a cover version of KISS' "Cold Gin", which is also worthy enough.
Perhaps the most notable thing about this EP is that it is the only recorded material the band made with their lead singer. He has since gone on to bigger things as Michael Starr in the band Steel Panther.
As always, EPs can be a difficult thing to review and rate, especially one such as this where there isn't really any interconnecting pieces. It really is a stand-alone piece that doesn't connect anywhere due to the changing nature of the band at the point this was released.

Rating:  We have ourselves to blame.  3/5

7. L.A. Guns / Hollywood A Go Go. 1997. 3.5/5

This is a pretty thorough and impressive greatest hits album. There is no argument here as to whether the band’s best songs have been captured, because they are all here.

As much as I have always enjoyed L.A. Guns, I must admit that over the past week or so that I have had this going around at work, I have discovered an ever greater admiration for them. There have always been the regular songs that I love – “Show No Mercy”, “Sex Action”, “One More Reason”, “Never Enough” – but I have grown a greater affection for songs like “Killing Machine” and “Long Time Dead” and others that I didn’t necessarily harbour before.

As a result, I heartily recommend this album to fans and non-fans alike. If you are looking for a quick fix, and don’t want to go out and just buy the first four albums, then this will do the job nicely.

Rating:  Oooh baby, it’s never enough .  4/5