Poison
Brett Michaels attended Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He became interested in music because of his love of bands such as KISS, Sweet, AC/DC, and Aerosmith. Michaels formed the band Paris in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1984. The band, which later became Poison, moved to Los Angeles in 1985 to begin touring the clubs. The rest is history as Poison became on of the most successful glam band to come out of the Hollywood scene in the 1980's.

Look What the Cat Dragged In Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In (Capitol) 1986

1. "Cry Tough" (3:39)
2. "I Want Action" (3:05)
3. "I Won't Forget You" (3:34)
4. "Play Dirty" (4:04)
5. "Look What The Cat Dragged In" (3:08)
6. "Talk Dirty To Me" (3:43)
7. "Want Some, Need Some" (3:39)
8. "Blame It On You" (2:32)
9. "Number One Bad Boy" (3:14)
10. "Let Me Go To The Show" (2:45)

Poison! They're America's favorite drag queens from Hollywood. (Even though they were originally from the East Coast. I believe Bret Micheals was from Pennsylvania.) On "Look What the Cat Dragged In", Poison took Kix's schtick added a couple more cans of Aqua Net, some pink fish net pantyhose and a sort of campy, glammy, wam-bam-thank-yo-ma'am, party vibe and somehow managed to win the hearts of an American hard rock crowd in 1986. It wasn't about musicianship or even anything serious for that matter, it was all about "having a good time." Fun was the theme of the day, and it worked well for this album. Of course they looked ridiculous, but it was the right look for the right time, backed up by a healping heaping of memorable party anthems like "Talk Dirty To Me" and the instantly likeable "I Want Action". Can't say Poison were ever one of my favorite bands, but every so often this album is a fun nostalgic revisit and certainly one of the more entertainting albums on the lighter side of heavy metal.

Native Tongue Poison - Native Tongue (Capitol) 1993

1. "Native Tongue" [instrumental] (1:01)
2. "The Scream" (3:49)
3. "Stand" (5:15)
4. "Stay Alive" (4:23)
5. "Until You Suffer Some (Fire & Ice)" (4:14)
6. "Body Talk" (4:01)
7. "Bring It On Home" (3:55)
8. "Seven Days Over You" (4:13)
9. "Richie's Acoustic Thang" [instrumental] (:56)
10. "Ain't That The Truth" (3:25)
11. "Theatre Of Soul" (4:41)
12. "Strike Up The Band" (4:15)
13. "Ride Child Ride" (3:53)
14. "Blind Faith" (3:32)
15. "Bastard Son Of A Thousand Blues" (4:57)

Enter the musically depressed 1990's which totally destroyed good time rock and roll. Poison entered into a new era of rock and roll with a new guitarist and a darker, more serious outlook on life. However, when one thinks of serious rock and roll or heavy metal, Poison are certainly not one of the bands that come to mind. It's not that the Poison members aren't talented musicians, but the band overall is known more for the party anthems, the good time rock and roll and the outrageous stage show. It was all about having a good time. "Native Tongue" seems to be the band's attempt to be taken seriously as musicians. New guitarist and songwriter Richie Kotzen has a bluesier style than former guitarist C.C. Deville. What results is something that most long-time Poison fans were disappointed in. It's not that the music is bad. On the contrary, there are some very good songs on here. However, that "rock and roll all night, party every day" vibe is just not as present. Ted Nugent said it best, "It's all about the f'ing attitude". Well that attitude just isn't here. Despite this, Bret's voice is actually at it's best here, the production is superb and there is no doubt that the musicianship is much improved. If this album had been released by any other band I think most people would have loved it. Because it was Poison many fans didn't give it the time of day.

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