One of the most popular bands of the 80's era is back. With hit singles and MTV charting videos
Warrant certainly made a great impact on the glorious days of Hard Rock. Now they are back in the same line up that recorded their 3 strongest albums "DRFSR", "Cherry Pie" and "Dog Eat Dog" expect for singer Jani Lane, who now pursues a solo career.
Guitarist Erik Turner, bass player Jerry Dixon re-united with drummer Steven Sweet and lead guitarist Joey Allen. The present singer of
Warrant is another "star" from
Warrant's heyday, namely Jamie St. James who fronted Black N' Blue.
Even though categorized as a hair band only the first 2
Warrant albums were Hair metal. "Dog Eat Dog" took a harder approach, which was followed on "Ultraphobic", while "Belly to Belly" was more alternative. "Born Again" is founded on old school 80's hard rock but definitely with a modern touch that characterized
Warrant on later albums
The most characteristic factor on "Born Again" is the fantastic guitar work by lead guitarist Joey Allen and Rhythm player Erik Turner. Their dynamic playing was huge factor and a main reason why I adored the "Dog Eat Dog" album for a lot of years. The two guitars are wide and both plays some really cool parts. "Born Again" is an album made in respect to their old fan base but still a record that doesn't dwell in the past and this is not an attempt to write "Cherry Pie" part 2.
So the big question is - does "Born Again" live up to the expectations? Both yes and no - it's a mixed bag of songs. Lots of people will say "Don't you miss Jani Lane on this one?" Sure do - but if Jani was in the band it would not have been a record like this - and that is meant in a positive way.
Track by track review:
Devils Juice displays a musical tight band and the song has a spark of modern rock to it.
Dirty Jack opens with a dobro intro, which brings back
Uncle Toms Cabin associations because of its acoustic feel.
Dirty Jack has cool drive and layers of guitars.
Speaking of
Uncle Toms Cabin!
Bourbon County Line has breaks and a groovy kick ass rhythm like the aforementioned song. Otherwise there isn't much that dates back to the old albums.
The song is among album highlights with its brilliant chorus and overall a successful attempt to write a great Hard Rock songs in the year 2006. The guitar duo Allen/Turner is scary and Jamie St. James voice fits the song perfectly.
Jamie St. James was a huge asset in Black N' Blue and a Black N' Blue song like
Hold on to 18 is immortal. However, though I still like him - his vocal range sounds a lot sparser compared to the 80's. On
Hell, CA St. James sounds a bit strained.
Hell, CA. is a modern song with toned down guitars and a chorus that somehow reminds of a Lenny Kravitz song.
In general big choirs dominate the choruses on the album. St. James is again a bit weak on
Angels, which is another modern approach song with a great guitar solo. The same goes for
Love Strikes Like Lightning which is structured like a rap song with gang choir on the last word.
Props up to
Warrant for not trying to re-create
Heaven or
I saw Red. The only ballad
Glimmer is a fantastic power ballad that builds up to the great chorus. The full chorus with thick guitars and St. James in vocal top form makes this a fabulous track,
Roller Coaster is a 2,40 minute fast melodic rock song. I am not too fond of the chorus
Down In Diamonds is among the few songs that traces back to the 80's. The chorus is great and Allen plays a great melody line throughout the chorus.
Despite a verse line that goes "I Will always be your downboy"
Velvet Noose doesn't have anything in common with
Down Boys. The crunchy guitars and great harmonies deserve a better chorus than this one.
Roxy. YEAH - just by the title you know this is a fun rocker. I am a sucker for 80's Hard Rock and this rocker dates me right back on the sunset strip. I love this song
Allen and Turner's guitar duel in
Good Times is the highlight of this fast rocking song that is the hardest on the album.
This is a new
Warrant and the band sounds very strong on the songs that succeed like
Roxy, Down in Diamonds, Dirty Jack, Glimmer and
Bourbon County Line - all really great songs. However, there are a few weak tracks that drag down the overall impression of the album and also ruin its consistency. Since it has been such a long time coming my personal expectations to the songwriting were above what
Warrant actually managed on "Born Again". An anticipated, but also disgruntled Welcome back!
Written by
Michael Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Show all reviews by MichaelRatingsMichael: 6.5/10Members: 4/10 - Average of 1 ratings.
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