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Sleeze Beez - Screwed Blued and Tattoed (Atlantic)
1990
1. "Rock in the Western
World" (3:29)
2. "House is on Fire" (3:45)
3. "Screwed Blue'N Tattooed" (3:38)
4. "Stranger than Paradise" (4:05)
5. "Damned if We Do, Damned if We Don't" (3:47)
6. "Heroes Die Young" (4:27)
7. "This Time" (3:59)
8. "When the Brains Go to the Balls" (3:44)
9. "Don't Talk About Roses" (3:31)
10. "Girls Girls, Nasty Nasty" (4:09)
I checked out these guys on the advice of several emails. "Sleeze Beez", despite their name, have more in commone with AOR and pop metal than they do with sleaze rockers like Faster Pussycat. For instance "Damned If We Do, Damned If We Don't" features a horn section reminscent of 80's Aerosmith. At times I am reminded of Def Leppard and at others Skid Row. However, that is not to say that the Beez don't rock hard or that they are a clone of any other band. As a matter of fact. "Rock in The Western World" is a tough as nails rocker that sounds more like something out of L.A. than something out of Europe, which Sleeze Beez are from. "When The Brains Go To The Balls" is an interesting song title that I think every single guy could have related to at sometime in their life.
Sleeze Beez - Power Tool (Atlantic) 1992
1. "Appetizer"
(:37)
2. "Raise A Little Hell" (3:50)
3. "Watch That Video" (4:24)
4. "Dance" (4:36)
5. "Like A Dog" (2:28)
6. "I Don't Want To Live Without You" (4:44)
7. "Head to Toe" (4:07)
8. "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is" (3:48)
9. "Bring Out the Rebel" (4:41)
10. "Fuel for the Fire" (3:18)
11. "What's That Smell?" (2:18)
12. "Pray For A Miracle" (4:54)
I hate to say one band sounds like another, but sometimes it is inevitable. This is the case with "Power Tool," which sounds quite a bit like Def Leppard circa "High N Dry" & "Pyromania." Actually I think this is the direction most metalheads wanted Def Leppard to go after "Pyromania" rather than that "Pure Some Sugar On Me" crap. But enough ranting about Def Leppard for Sleeze Beez is a fun and enjoyable listen. For the most part this disc rocks hard and has enough hooks to have had me listening several times within days of getting this disc in the mail. The musicianship is actually quite impressive. Check out the clean guitar interlude in the middle of "Pray for a Miracle" and see if it doesn't send your jaw dropping down to the floor. Not only is it well executed but it just sounds so good in the middle of that song. It's unfortunate that these guys didn't get a bit more exposure with this disc as they have the looks, the hooks and the sounds to compete with the radio rockers. Several songs, like "Bring Out the Rebel", "Dance" and "Watch that Video" could have been big MTV hits in the hair metal era. "Dance" actually has a slightly more glam sound to it, sounding a bit like Dangerous Toys. However, I think this one just came a couple of years to late for that market. Regardless of the timing, "Power Tool" is a good disc and one that will see many, many plays for years to come. "Power Tool" is now out of print but sells for around $5 used. Special thanks to James for picking this one up for me.
The cover of this disc is strikingly familiar to Enola Gay's "Pressure" disc.