Skid Row's last album was released in 1995, so "Thickskin" is a long awaited return from one of my favorite bands.
Skid Row's music has always changed from album to album often moving in a harder direction. This time the style has changed. When listening to this album it is hard to associate the music with the name
Skid Row.
The change of direction towards a more modern and straight Rock must be ascribed to main songwriters Rachel Bolan and Snake Sabo, who once again are responsible for most songs. Johnny Solinger has only co-written one song, so the old partnership, who wrote
Skid Row's hits is responsible for the new style.
"Thickskin" does not have any weak songs on it. The best track is the modern rocker
Ghost, which sounds a lot better than the US rock songs penned by Creed, 3 Doors Down, Matchbox 20 etc. The vocals from Solinger are very strong on this song. His voice fits the new style and basically he sounds a lot like today's rock singers. He rarely hits the real high notes as
Sebastian Bach did on
Skid Row's earlier records. Again that has something to do with the new musical style, since the high screams wouldn't fit in.
Other highlights include, the atmospheric
Swallow Me, which builds a bridge to earlier material with it's hard riff and the newer direction.
Born a Beggar is very melodic and a favorite from the first listen of the album.
See You Around is a ballad, where
Skid Row really succeed in their modern rock style.
The preview track off the album
Thick is the Skin is the one, which reminds most of previous
Skid Row material. It's a straight rocker, but not the best melody wise. Furthermore there is a re-recording of
I Remember You, which has gotten a shot of steroids. Actually this version sounds like a different song. Another of the few references to old
Skid Row is the solo on
One Light, which has a similar sound and emotion as
Breakin' Down from "Subhuman Race". In my book
One Light sounds like a hit. The song has an acoustic guitar on the verse and builds up for the melodic chorus.
I do miss the dynamic guitar duels from Scotti Hill and Snake. Overall I would have wished for some more lead breaks from the 2 guitarists, since they complement each other well. The solo on the re-recording of
I Remember You has a Twang guitar playing a "surf" riff. Compared to the original solo, which was emotional and inventive, this solo lacks everything the original solo had. There is no killer riffs on the record. Even though
Skid Row now plays a different style, some great riffs would have spiced the record. They had 8 years to come up with some.
Skid Row themselves have produced the album and it sounds great. Since I have been expecting this record for 8 years I must admit that I was disappointed at first. However, when you get used to
Skid Row year 2003 "Thickskin" grows on you. There are lots of great melodic tracks, which lacked on "Subhuman Race", but their modern approach with focus on melody is in favor of the old style.
Written by
Michael Monday, August 25, 2003
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