Warrant Reviews
Warrant goes full speed ahead right out of the starting gate, proving right from square one that they intend to distinguish themselves above all by their songwriting. Every cut on this album is a strong, instantly memorable melody packed with power. No other debut album in the glam-metal genre boasts such a consistently strong array of compositions as DRFSR. It's their attention to detail, as much as anything else, that raises Warrant's songs above the herd: uncommon little twists most glam composers won't think of. The little melodic twiddle at the end of the instant-classic riff of Down Boys. The key shift in the prechorus of Sometimes She Cries. The call-and-response of Ridin' High. The ascending bass in the chorus of DRFSR. I could go on, but I won't... Still, the power-packing is done by the performances as much as the writing, so let's not forget the non-Jani's, okay? Each one of the guys puts in a worthy showing here, consistently all the way through: a good, solid, rockin' band! If pressed, we could single out a few high points, such as the high-speed precision harmony solos in DRFSR or the dazzling trades of So Damn Pretty, or the cool drum roll at the end of the last verse of Down Boys. But all this quality playing is always directed to enhance the songs --- accomplished yes, show-off no!
- High Point: Down Boys
- Honorable Mentions: Ridin' High, Cold Sweat
So sue me, but I think Warrant is wonderful. Sure, with the guys' goofy, sex-crazed image, it's hard to take them seriously, but they aren't meant to be taken seriously. And of course their music fits tightly into that old record-company hit-making formula, but the songs nevertheless contain heart. For all the gloss, glitter and good times that give Warrant a slick finish, underneath the quintet has a wide-eyed ingenuousness that's rare in the world of commercially based hard rock. It's that quality that gives the band its charm. Granted, if Cherry Pie had copped the hooks that brought Warrant's debut album, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, to double-platinum status, the band would have lost me completely. But instead the Down Boys have taken a few odd twists and turns. Uncle Tom's Cabin, for example, is a warm combination of down-home acoustic guitar and hard-hitting rock. Then there's Song and Dance Man, which contains some surprisingly introspective lyrics about the nature of the music biz. There are also the usual sex-and-more-sex rockers that brought Warrant its infamy -- the punchy title track; Love in Stereo, with its kicky honky-tonk piano; and the fast'n'fun Sure Feels Good to Me. Oh, yes, and let us not forget the ballads. After all, Heaven was every teenage girl's theme song in the summer of '89. The one that'll probably do it this time around for Warrant is Blind Faith, but my personal preference is I Saw Red, a tearjerking tune that contains soulful inspiration underneath its melodrama. Warrant is not a band that forces itself to fit the mold of hit songwriting -- the guys just do what comes naturally to them. Is there anything wrong with that? Nope. In fact, that's exactly what's so right about this group. And the almost guaranteed success of Cherry Pie -- if you'll forgive me -- should be Warrant's just dessert.
PERFORMANCE: Tightly wound; HOT SPOTS: Sure Feels Good to Me, Love in Stereo, and I Saw Red; BOTTOM LINE: A songs-and-sass success.Round two for Warrant is a knock-out success, with Cherry Pie oozing over with Jani Lane's short and sassy songs. Warrant is one light metal band that can connect when it kicks ass on cuts like Love in Stereo, with its guitars-going-crazy sound, as well as when it kisses and makes up on the Billy-Joel -on-steroids power ballads of I Saw Red and Blind Faith. While guitarists Joey Allen and Erik Turner are largely responsible for giving Lane's songs their aural oomph, filling in their crisp riffing with lightning-strike solos, they and their mates distinguish themselves by never resorting to excess. Cherry Pie is notable for its two- and three-plus minute songs that don't waste punches, delivering their musical might with a tightly wound energy and authority.
The guys decide to flex their muscles a bit.... Once again, Warrant delivers a solid collection of well-crafted and mercilessly catchy songs with their now-legendary imagination and attention to detail. Heck, even their [self-admitted] "throwaway" title cut has unsuspected depth! Dig these lyrics: Swingin' in the living room, swingin' in the kitchen
Most folks don't cuz they're too busy bitchin'"Too busy bitchin'." What this is, is a commentary on how people's relationships tend to grow cold as the cares of daily life pile up on them over the years, with the implication that it doesn't have to be that way. Social commentary in Cherry Pie, folks! The unexpected extra twist in a Warrant song!
Or another fine example of the guys' care and craftsmanship: in Love in Stereo, there's this cool little riff that begins rolling behind the first guitar solo. Okay fine. However, most bands would then repeat that riff throughout. But here, the next repeat of the riff ends on a new chord: surprise! The third riff is the same as the first, and we think, "Aha, two alternating riffs", like some bands will do. But the fourth riff ends on yet a different chord! What we have here is not a repeating riff, but a four-riff structure to back up the soloing. And the beauty of that structure is twofold: it flows naturally rather than sounding like these surprise chords were shoehorned in "just to be different"... and the first riff of the structure also happens to be quoted in the song's prechoruses beforehand! Now is that songwriting or what?! I could go on: the acoustic intro to Uncle Tom's Cabin gives it a Mark Twainesque, venerable tale-telling air, but the pulverizing riffs underscore the story's true menace; Mr. Rainmaker opens with a Metallica-worthy dark crunch the guys hadn't tried before; I Saw Red becomes a soaring epic fusion of the stateliness of grand piano, the wail of guitar, and Jani's most impassioned vocal performance ever; in Bed of Roses, we see the beginning of a new awareness in Jani's writing, a compassion and concern for the downtrodden.... So Cherry Pie does represent a step forward for the guys. Maybe not a huge one at this point, but a single step is how every journey begins....
- High Point: Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Honorable Mentions: Love in Stereo, I Saw Red
Warrant have emerged as one of hard rock's most consistent hit makers. On their third album, Dog Eat Dog, the band does little to diminish that reputation. While the album may be a little more dark and experimental than the group's two earlier platinum efforts, such new songs as Machine Gun and Andy Warhol Was Right showcase the lyrical and musical sophistication of the band's main man, Jani Lane. Certainly, Warrant is something of an acquired taste, for at their heaviest they still fall short of true metal. But for those who enjoy classic hard rock played with style and surprising sophistication, Dog Eat Dog delivers the goods. HIT
The dogs come from Warrant, who've been spilling blood, sweat and beers in places like Italy and Switzerland this fall, but who named their new album, Dog Eat Dog, in honor of their all-American bow-hunting hero Ted Nugent. Fans of Nugent's own Dog Eat Dog should check out Warrant's new Inside Out, with Joey Allen's speediest metal riffs ever. Forget everything you thought you knew about this band -- this is one muscular record. It's not like they've completely given up on singing lonely ballads or eating cherry pie, but Warrant is doing things they've never done before: using talkbox solos, Nashville tuning, and a 30-piece orchestra. The legendary "Moron Fish & Tackle Choir" (security guards, engineers, anybody else handy) sings some German opera in the middle of The Bitter Pill [sic]. Machine Gun is about the sort of weapon you get tattooed with (and the canines on the album cover have been tattooed plenty.) But All My Bridges Are Burning takes on drug addiction and April 2031 explores what Jani Lane figures the planet's gonna look like forty years from now -- unlike these guys' old haircuts, it's not a pretty sight.
Who are these guys?! Dog Eat Dog represents the biggest stylistic shift to date in Warrant's recording career. Their intentions to produce heavier work are obvious: so's the fact that they succeeded. Even so, some songs here would fit pretty comfortably onto either earlier album: Machine Gun, Bonfire, Sad Theresa, are all recognizably Warrant tunes. But for almost everything else, you can just hear the suits in the Glam Metal Album Committee sitting around chucking them out: these tunes would never be allowed onto Cherry Pie or DRFSR:
- The Hole In My Wall: "too sonically inventive"
- April 2031: "too environmentally aware"
- Andy Warhol Was Right: "too introspective"
- The Bitter Pill: "too ambitious"
- All My Bridges Are Burning: "too socially aware"
- Inside Out: "too brutal"....
And also note that, even on a "heavier" album, Jani still insists on including an acoustic ballad: proof that these things are really important to him, and important for him to share with us. However, this time the guys put it at the end and allow a break beforehand: so that those fans who appreciate his ballads have a moment to settle their ears down and savor it to the full, and those unrepentant metalheads who just can't stand ballads have time to get up and stop the album before it comes on [good marketing strategy!]. Dog Eat Dog is Warrant's most important album and also their weakest, and strangely enough for pretty much the same reasons: It's their most important because for the first time it proves to the world (and maybe even to the guys themselves) how much range they have, how many different things they can do well. It's their weakest only because one of them has to be, right? And this one is it, just because it's scattered: by trying to do everything, the album ends up lacking a strong, cohesive identity as a unit of music. All their other albums hang together as a unified experience more than this one does.
- High Point: The Hole In My Wall
- Honorable Mentions: Inside Out, All My Bridges Are Burning
I think these guys are still walking funny after being shafted so bad bytheir record company with their last release Dog Eat Dog,an album that was brilliant and deserved far better than it got.Even so, these guys are back with a solid effort, which includes a fewchanges such as a full-time keyboard player (even though I can't hear himon any songs!). Singer Jani Lane is still a great writer, and even thoughhe still writes sappy ballads like Sum of One and Stronger Now(which surpass any of the sappy ballads he wrote before), there's a muchheavier edge to the lyrics and the music. Part of this might be becausehe collaborates with the other band members rather than handle it all byhimself. As for the other stuff on this, it has a harder, more "modern"sound to it, keeping Warrant out of that '80s rut that so many otherbands fall into. Most notably this can be heard on Followed, Undertowand Ride #2, and my favourite track Family Picnic. Personally,I'd like to see these guys do well with this album -- they are gettinga lot of airplay stateside, which is good to know. Who knows, they mightbe part of a whole new '80s bands for the '90s trend?
It wasn't too long ago that Warrant was one of the biggest bandson the planet Earth. Their first two major-label releases sold a combinedsix million units, but when their third disc failed to attain platinumparadise, they were dropped like the proverbial cold fish. After a fewyears of wandering in the wilderness, apparently seeking divine intervention,Jani Lane and the "Down Boys" are back with Ultraphobic,a hard-rocking, eminently listenable disc that should please many of theband's long-time fans. Such tunes as Undertow, Family Picnic andLive Inside of You give listeners a taste of both the rough andthe gentle side of Warrant, and both sides are delivered with anabundance of style and substance. Though the music scene has shifted awayfrom Warrant's pop/metal style in recent years, these L.A. dudescan still write and perform with the best of 'em.
- Rating: **** out of 5*
Excuse me while I peel myself off the wall.... Now this is an album that demands to be taken seriously and willnot be denied! There's nothing left of the glam-pop-metal genre in thesesongs, except for the fact that they tend to be strong melodically, whichis a Good Thing. There are undeniable Seattle influences here [the Alice in Chains-like chord bends and vocal harmonies of Undertow,the Soundgarden-ish intro riff to Followed], but it comes off as natural growth, absorbingthe changes in the world around us, rather than jumping on 1992's bandwagon.And these changes are tempered by the guys' own musical strength and hard-wonmaturity. For Ultraphobic is easily Warrant's most mature andconfident work: I'd go so far as to say their best work (even thoughtheir poppier sutff has more pure, carefree fun in it). And it'snot just the influx of new blood, either: Followed is squarely inthe vein of "new Warrant-style" songs, but it was written entirelyby "old" guys. Nope, this is a rejuvenation of the band as a whole, andit looks good on 'em! The Ultraphobic Warrant is a more serious beast than itsearlier incarnation. Jani's concern for the plight of the troubled, begunin Bed of Roses, expanded in All My Bridges Are Burning,deepens into the social think-piece of Family Picnic. Followedtackles the issues of cults and social control. Undertow grappleswith personal rage... it quickly becomes apparent that these are songsabout things that actually matter to the guys. It's like we're hearingjust who they really are, for the first time. Maybe this "investment ofself" is what makes Ultraphobic so good. As do other things, of course. One example: Beau Hill seems to pay moreattention to Jerry here than ever before, bringing out an unprecedentedvariety of bass tone. Jerry repays the favor with some extra-tasty work-- the rolling lines in the verses of Followed, the stark-but-coolmelodic motifs in the choruses and bridge of Crawlspace, the increasedpunch he adds to every riff.
Another example: Rick 'n' James's Kingdom Come background addsa flavor of Led Zeppelin to the proceedings [check out the solobreak in Followed], steering the sound away from standard "post-grunge"into something more classic and timeless.Also note that, just like on Dog Eat Dog, they end the albumwith a moment's silence and a ballad... but this time the spacebeforehand is noticeably longer, to allow everyone the extra time necessaryto peel themselves off of the wall. The guys are so considerate,aren't they? Overall, this is a particularly resplendent phoenix that has risen fromthe glam ashes, and it bodes well for the continued creative future ofWarrant. All they gotta do now is get people to forgive them forhaving hit ballads [tsk!] and dressing up in fancy clothes [tsk tsk!] wayback when, and they'll have it made.
- High Point: Undertow
- Honorable Mentions: Followed, Family Picnic
From the ashes of the 80's comes this best of package from a band I think put it all together the best, Warrant. At first they were knocked as Poison clones, but I think that quickly changed when their second album,Cherry Pie (represented here by six songs includingan acoustic take of I Saw Red) hit the stores. And maybe their third album stiffed sales-wise, but the band was maturing maybe a little before their time. Now Epic/Legacy has seen fit to represent the band witha rather nice sixteen-song hits package (with liners by Metal Edge's Gerri Miller). And you know what? It still feels too short. Anyways, considering the musical climate, this could have been a piss-poor "cash-in" job, so kudos to whoever threw this together. Even if you own the three 80's Warrant albums, this is still worth it for the unreleased Thin Disguise,the acoustic I Saw Red and their killer cover of We Will RockYou. A nice closure on that chapter known as the 80's.
Okay, so this is a blatantly obvious attempt by the band's former labelto squeeze out every last cent possible. But so what? The Best ofWarrant chronicles the career of one of hard rock's most uniqueand talented bands. Tragically, Warrant often times gets lumpedin with the rest of the "hair bands." These bands put image in front ofmusic and what this album proves is that while no one can deny that Warrant'simage was outrageous, they had the musical ability to live up to the hype.With the liner notes written by none other than Metal Edge'sGerri Miller, the 16-song album takes the listener through everystep of the band's repertoire from infectious arena anthems to heart-wrenchingballads. What this translates to is a very well-rounded album that, unlikemost "Best Of..." collections, actually does an admirable job of attemptingto represent the band's career, not just the hits that made them famous. From Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, the song representationis flawless: Down Boys, 32 Pennies, Heaven, D.R.F.S.R, Big Talkand Sometimes She Cries. Of course with every "Best Of..." albumthere are songs that die-hard fans, such as myself, would like to haveseen included. From this album, I would have tacked on So Damn Pretty(Should Be Against the Law), but that's just me. Perhaps the most interesting song selections come from the CherryPie era. Of course the album's title track appears, as does UncleTom's Cabin. I Saw Red is here too, although the listener istreated to the acoustic version of the song, which is absolutely breath-takingand first appeared as a b-side to the official version. Best of all isthe inclusion of Thin Disguise, which was a b-side to the album'stitle track. I still can't believe that this song was never put on CherryPie, which proves that Warrant is so talented that theycan "throw out" better songs than most bands put on their albums. I waspleasantly surprised by the next couple of songs, none of which were evenreleased as singles (to my knowledge) but were highlights of CherryPie nonetheless: Bed Of Roses, Mr. Rainmaker, and SureFeels Good To Me. However, The Best of... then takes a disastrous turn withthe song selection from Dog Eat Dog, my favorite Warrantalbum to date. Of course I expected Hole In My Wall and MachineGun to be featured on this album because they were released as singles.But how could they not put on The Bitter Pill, which was not onlyreleased as a single, but is one of the best, if not the best, Warrantsongs of all time? It is almost criminal. The album ends with the band'scover of Queen's We Will Rock You, which first appeared onthe Gladiator soundtrack. Interestingly, Blind Faith,which was a minor hit for the band and appears in its acoustic form asa b-side to We Will Rock You, does not make an appearance. Regardless,the album as a whole is a must have, no matter what level of fan you are.Gerri Miller herself says it best when she says, "What propelled this quintetto heights not matched by the majority of its Hollywood peers was simple:great songs."
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Credit: Chris Spahn