L.A. Guns is one the most classic bands based in the Hollywood scene. "Tales from the Strip" is not a concept album, but it deals with
L.A. Guns' long time affiliation with L.A.'s legendary rock scene located on the Sunset Strip.
It Don't Mean Nothing strongly opens the album in vintage
L.A. Guns vein. It has the same attitude and vibe that was featured on their first album. Phil Lewis' voice sounds great and new guy, Stacey Blades, fires off some great leads and solos.
The mixture of electric- and acoustic guitar adds moods to
Electric Neon Sunset. Stacey Blades has a warm and thick bluesy tone that makes you forget about Tracii Guns. Stacey Blades is a passionate player, who chooses his notes by feel.
Gypsy Soul is a bouncing rocker which
L.A. Guns masters, while
Original Sin follows the groovy and heavy style from the latest solo album "Waking the Dead".
My personal favorite is the power ballad
Vampire. Early on the song was leaked on
L.A. Guns' web-site. The lyric references to old songs like
Rip and Tear and "Cocked and Loaded" does any old
L.A. Guns fan heart good. The music also follows the vintage
L.A. Guns style. Musically it's a mixture of
Kiss of Death, Crystal Eyes and
The Ballad. However, the band has progressed since the early days and
Vampire sounds a bit more sophisticated.
Hollywood's Burning has a great drive.
6.9 Earthshaker is the one of two album fillers. The instrumental track builds on a groovy riff ala Led Zeppelin's
Moby Dick - furthermore there is a drum solo to make the
Moby Dick reference complete.
Rox Baby Girl is another song that dates back to the vintage
L.A. Guns sound. Andy Johns has provided the album with a powerful monster sound with Phil's voice in center. Still Andy John and the band managed to keep a raw drive in the songs.
Stacey Blades plays a classic riff with a little tail on
Crazy Motorcyle. Again a high energy level and the kick ass drive from the older days are kept. The powerful drive cannot totally make up for the boring chorus.
Skin is another pounding rocker with a groovy riff from Adam Hamilton. Phil Lewis takes his vocal range to the limit.
The chorus on
Shame displays a band still eager to rock and a band that still has lots of edge. The energy level is very high throughout the album and it incorporates the best elements of L.A Guns.
L.A Guns sound like they are on top of their game. "Waking the Dead" was amazing and even after the departure of guitarist Tracii Guns, the band has kept the energy and powerful drive from "Waking the Dead". These elements combined with the debut album's cocky attitude makes this album an explosive cocktail- this is perfect transferred into music on
Resurrection, which is another album favorite.
Amanecer is a 3 minute instrumental piece and a beautiful counterpart to
Tarantula from "Vicious Circle". The classical inspired guitar leads to album closer
(Can't Give You) Anything Better Than Love. (Can't Give You) Anything Better Than Love holds many emotions. The song ends the album on a high note and underlines the overall high quality from a band that definitely doesn't sound "has been" at all. However, the future is wide open for
L.A. Guns, who sound as strong as ever.
The album's lyrical focus is inspired by the significant 80's rock scene that
L.A. Guns took big part in. With producer Andy Johns at the helm,
L.A. Guns delivers a new studio record of original songs that best can be compared to an energizer bunny.
"Tales from the Strip" is one of
L.A. Guns' finest discs. Nothing can compare to first 3 classic albums, but "Tales from the Strip" comes right in after these classic masterpieces along with "Waking The Dead". Stacey Blades deserves lots of credit on this album. On "Rips the Covers off" he did a great job and my suspicion only proved right - Stacey Blades fits in perfect with the band.
The CD has a raw feel to it and an energy level very alike their first record. A lot of the songs sound like classic
L.A. Guns material. Especially Phil Lewis vocals are right up-front and the charismatic singer delivers a fantastic vocal performance on "Tales from the strip". He definitely has one of most characteristic voices.
Overall this CD has a great band feel to it. The songs are written by all members and the high quality in the songs makes this a great and worthy "album of the month" August 2005.
Written by
Michael Tuesday, September 6, 2005
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