Artist: L.A. Guns
Label: Mascot Records
Release: 2006
Rating: 3.5/5
L.A. Guns first showed up as the L.A. supergroup of the day in the late ’80s and stayed at the top of the glam metal heap for years with a string of great albums. The glam metal crowd of the time took them in with open arms, but few (even among you) probably know that, alongside Blind Melon, L.A. Guns are basically what was left over after the official formation of the original Guns`n`Roses lineup. Some members of those two bands even shared school desks with the future GNR guys back in their youth. So the ties, beyond the musical direction, run much deeper than you might guess at first glance. L.A. Guns, unlike their glam metal peers of the time, also had a much stronger connection and kinship with legends like the Stones, AC/DC and the New York Dolls.
What Tracii Guns pulled a few years back, inviting a few “Ratt” buddies to work on a new project with the aim of founding a new version, L.A. Guns II, is still a downright disgrace in rock circles. The original and current vocalist Phil Lewis was long considered one of the great rock frontmen. He had the charisma that comes with the job and a voice in which an attentive listener can at times make out his British pedigree. Then again, if we’re being real, the fact remains that L.A. Guns only really mattered in the first era, when Phil was the one warming up the mic. After his temporary departure they tried, unsuccessfully, to replace him with a whole string of singers (Chris Van Dahl, Ralph Saenz, Jizzy Pearl) and a few others not even worth mentioning. That attempt only confirmed that Phil is what gives the band its real weight and recognition. Even though the Tracii Guns/Paul Black version of the band was doomed from the start, the Phil Lewis/Steve Riley pairing is the one that still conquers stages and halls around the world. And even though they no longer win over huge crowds or sell enviable numbers of albums, they remain a big band that older fans of the glam metal scene like us especially love to look back on.
The live CD/DVD album before us, titled “Live And Dangerous”, is a nod to the rough, notorious live performance of a club gig in Hollywood, the kind of show that helped them build their status and reputation. Listening to the album, or even better, watching the DVD, you can tell the band played on all 8 cylinders (i.e. like the proverbially good American “V8” engine). The performance of the individual songs is a road race past all of L.A. Guns’ biggest hits, and the members show almost jazz-like precision and an uncanny ability to anticipate each other’s action and reaction. A song like “Never Enough” sounds better than ever, and Phil’s vocals are surely the best in the last few years. Tracii’s replacement, guitarist Stacey Blades, gives it everything he’s got, which only proves that Tracii was the one dragging the band down and later publicly trashing it over the internet (how low). For those of you who didn’t buy or don’t know their last two or three albums (you missed a lot, since that period has some of their best songwriting), this “Live And Dangerous” release can serve as a good instant stand-in for what you missed. The bombastic “Hellraiser’s Ball” makes that case and also confirms that the band managed to keep, and above all sharpen, not just the name but the edge and quality of their performance.
Finally, one last thing worth stressing: L.A. Guns remain one of the few from that golden glam metal era to hang on to both a healthy fan club base and a constant worldwide stage presence, despite several trend-driven shifts in the world’s leading musical direction. The real proof is “Loud & Dangerous”. (loud and dangerous)
Lineup
Phil Lewis – vocals
Stacey Blades – guitar
Adam Hamilton – bass guitar
Steve Riley – drums
Track list
1. No Mercy
2. Sex Action
3. Never Enough
4. Over the Edge
5. Rock N’ Roll Outlaw
6. Nothing Better to Do
7. Hellraisers Ball
8. One More Reason
9. Electric Gypsy
10. Ballad of Jayne
11. Rip and Tear
12. Don’t Look at Me That Way
13. Hollywood’s Burning (DVD)
14. It Don’t Mean Nothing (DVD)
