Ah, Slammin' Gladys. One of the earliest pieces of heavy
metal/hard rock I can remember jamming out to. I was 8 or 9 at the time and
remember looking at the CD and wondering "why is that lady happy about
being run over by a train?" LOL Sexual innuendos aside, Slammin' Gladys
plays a very melodic hard rock with elements of blues added into the mix. A
little too heavy to be glam rock, but not quite heavy metal, so ultimately,
Hair Metal. David Brooks's vocals are a blend of glam and aggressiveness, which
make them perfect for this album. The riffs on this album still get my blood
pumping such as "Bet Your Life" or "Bad Attitude". There is
an interesting cover of "Piece of My Heart", which was originally
performed by Erma Franklin (Aretha's older sister) and was covered by Janis
Joplin (along with a few others). Slammin' Gladys has stated that their
rendition of the song is a cover of Joplin's cover of the song, so I guess it
would be a cover of a cover? At any rate, not a bad take on the song itself.
Songs like "Love Is My Drug" and "Lay Me Down (In The
Roses)" show off their 80's rock influences while "Where Were U"
and "Push" add a little more metal into the mix. There are a few ballad type songs here such
as "Down On Your Knees" and "What U Need". Honestly, this
is not super original, but I'll be damned if it isn't fun and catchy. If this
had dropped in the 80's, I have no doubt they would have had more success. Any
fan of Warrant, Skid Row or any other of the numerous hair metal bands that
dominated the 80's and early 90's would definitely get a kick out of this
album.
Highlights: "Bet Your Life" "Bad
Attitude" "Where Were U"
Rating: 4
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