L.A. Guns was formed after guitar player Tracii Guns left what was to become Guns N´Roses. He recruited guitarist Mick Cripps and bass player Kelly Nickels from
Faster Pussycat plus Singer Phil Lewis from Girl. Drummer Steve Riley later joined
L.A. Guns after drumming for W.A.S.P.. Because Tracii Guns had been in Guns N´ Roses the band got a lot of publicity when
L.A. Guns released their debut album in 1988.
L.A. Guns plays sleazy riff-based Hard Rock. When listening to the first track
"No Mercy" you get a good idea of the great guitar duels from Cripps and Guns. Even though the song is only 2:45 minutes there are 2 guitar solos. Other memorable tracks on the album is
"Sex Action", which was a minor hit. The ballad
"One Way Ticket to Love" is amazing. Phil Lewis light voice suits this ballad perfectly. I know some people who had a hard time adapting to Phil Lewis' light vocals. I love it. Listen to album highlight
"One More Reason" and you can really hear the rasp in Phil Lewis' voice.
This album contains some of
L.A. Guns best songs, which today are still featured in the bands live set. There is a lot of up-tempo songs on the album, which makes it a bit primitive because songs like
"Electric Gypsy",
"Bitch is Back" and
"Hollywood Tease" are made from a similar formula. However this debut album oozes youthful energy and an attitude that
L.A. Guns is ready to conquer world.
This album makes me think back to the late 80´s, where similar bands were dominating the music scene. I can easily imagine sitting at the
Rainbow Bar & Grill in 1988 listening to this album. 14 years later this album still rocks.
A classic debut album.
Written by
Michael Thursday, August 22, 2002
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