LA Guns have the be the single most inconsistent band in rock n roll. The same outfit that delivered classics like their debut, Cocked & Loaded, Hollywood Vampires, Vicious Circle and Waking The Dead are also responsible for the turkeys American Hardcore, Shrinking Violet and the very average albums The Missing Piece, Hollywood Forever and The Devil You Know. Now have another absolute turd on their hands. When seeking to defend a particular sound or direction, I often hear words like raw, live, 70s infused, punky… I prefer a more direct approach – like unlistenable, demo quality and shite. It’s not like all the songs suck, I’m really taken with the heavy ballad ‘Diamonds’ for example and there are some memorable hooks elsewhere. But it all just sound terrible. There’s some of the old school punky vibe of the debut and Vicious Circle in some tracks and some good ol’ LA Guns sleaze elsewhere, but the album is totally unlistenable. It sounds like an audience bootleg of a 1975 Sex Pistols show. The mix is horrid, the drums sound like they were recorded in the same lavatory Tracii Guns recently played a gig from and the vocals are so hollow, its hard to imagine how they could be so badly recorded then mixed into the tracks. Tracii Guns sounds like a guitar god on several tracks, he’s a class player; and Phil Lewis still has the voice, but hearing both at their best without risking permanent damage to your ear drums is just not worth it. This album cannot be played at loud volume. Or any volume really.
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