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
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