Park Avenue leads to…SKID ROW! But Skid Row leads to Grant’s Rock Warehaus!
This week on Grant’s Rock Warehaus, we talk about a band that Grant has been digging seriously for the last several weeks, ever since seeing former singer Sebastian Bach on an 80’s cruise. We don’t talk just Bach. We tackle the Johnny Solinger years, the unfortunate tale of Erik Grönwall’s short stint, and of course, current lead singer Lzzy Hale. Take a look at my Skid Row collection, including The Atlantic Years box set (unboxing!), my original 1991 vinyl of Slave to the Grind, my Japanese Best of Skid Row, and a rare promo single from 1995.
Grant and I tried to cover as much ground as possible. Album artwork is discussed, and a few underdog records are praised. I tried to highlight what I think are some incredible and underrated ballads that might be forgotten in the shadow of “I Remember You”. We shone a light on the talent of all the members, and questioned what they could have done differently through their career. Leading to the present day, we have some suggestions for Skid Row about their future and reissues we want to see happen.
It’s all here, on Grant’s Rock Warehaus with your host, Grant Arthur!
Skid Row did a pretty good job of replacing the irreplaceable Sebastian Bach on their fourth LP, Thick Skin. It earned a more than healthy 4.25/5 stars, in part due to the charismatic vocals of Johnny Solinger. For their second album with Johnny, they re-teamed with producer Michael Wagener, but had mixed results in repeating the magic.
Revolutions Per Minute is heavy enough; there was no issue of the band going soft. There was a dip in quality from the songwriting department, strongly dominated by bassist/leader Rachel Bolan. Strangely, they chose to pad out the album with a cover (The Alarm’s “Strength”) and a remix. It’s worrisome when the best song is a cover. There’s a distinct pop-punk vibe on many songs, which one has to trace back to Bolan. Dave “Snake” Sabo has two co-writes, and Scotti Hill a mere one.
“Disease” is very Skid Row, nothing outstanding, but a strong enough way to open the album. The punk-like “Another Dick in the System” is better. With Solinger scraping the ceiling with his screamy high notes, it’s reminiscent of old Skid Row circa Slave to the Grind. “Pulling My Heart Out from Under Me” follows with an 80’s Elvis Costello vibe to the guitars. This one is quite a departure from Bach-era Skid Row, and a decade later I’m still not sure if I like it. You can’t fault a band for experimenting, but if the results aren’t good enough, that’s a tough call. I’m not sure if “Pulling My Heart Out from Under Me” is good enough. The worst of the punk influenced songs is “White Trash”, which is so indescribably bad that I won’t even try. It’s not funny and not good. Back to something that sounds like Skid Row, “Nothing” is one of those tunes that you could imagine was written in 1988 for the debut album.
Influences collide on “When God Can’t Wait”. Johnny Solinger is a country guy, and Rachel Bolan is a punk guy. It seems 1+1 does indeed =2, and the sum total of punk and country is rockabilly. I have to admit to liking this one, even though I’m still not sure if it’s any good. I definitely prefer it to the next tune, “Shut Up Baby, I Love You” which doesn’t have much going for it aside from the full-metal tempo.
Strangely, the best original song is “You Lie” which begins as nothing but pure country. Only after the twangy guitar solo does it accelerate into rock territory, but it’s the country part that rules. The final track is a “Corn Fed” remix, which adds slides, harmonica and accoutrements. At least that ends the album on a good notes. The CD does start to drag a bit with two lacklustre songs, “Love is Dead” and “Let it Ride”, so the remix of “You Lie” is a smart way to end it.
You get the feeling that Skid Row had potential for a great album, but only came up with enough good songs for an EP.
Thickskin came out in 2003, a full 8 years since their last record. They’d been through a lot, including firing their charismatic lead singer. Sebastian Bach was one hell of a frontman with a voice to be envied. In was Johnny Solinger, the little-known frontman of Texas band Solinger. Could they gel as a band, and put out a decent record?
Yes, they could and did.
Solinger only has one writing credit on Thickskin, leaving the majority of the writing to Rachel Bolan and Snake Sabo That pair wrote much of Skid Row’s older material anyway, and the sound does not stray far from classic Skid Row. Thickskin sounds like a natural followup to the excellent Subhuman Race, though less twisted and exploratory. Where Solinger succeeds is in continuing to sing in the Skid Row style. He doesn’t stray too far from the blueprint, although his voice does not have the power of Bach’s. He still throws in the shrieks in the right places, the roughness, the toughness, and the expressiveness. If only he’d avoided those Nickelcrap-sounding moments on “Swallow Me”, but hey, he didn’t write the song.
Song-wise, we have an album here that comes pretty close to Subhuman Race in quality. There are those who prefer early Skid Row, when they were more hard rock and less dark heavy alterna-rock. That’s fair — but be forewarned, this album won’t turn you around. I find that very few weak songs blemish the album, and even the weak songs have pretty strong choruses.
My favourites include “Ghost” (killer chorus!), “Born A Beggar” (even better chrorus!), “Thick Is The Skin” (the sort of speedy metal that Skid Row did on Slave to the Grind), and “See You Around” (a sort-of ballad that reminds me of “I Remember You”). Most controversial of all was “I Remember You Two”. This remake is more a re-imagining of the hit ballad as a fast punk rocker. And it works! Try to listen to it as if you don’t even know the original song exists. It’s fun if you can accept it.
Impressive also-rans include “One Light” (another ballad) and “Hittin’ A Wall” which is pure speed and aggression. Solinger succeeds at pulling off both extremes. He also pulls of the more grungy styled lead vocal on the opening verse of the title track, a Weiland-esque moment. He’s versatile enough to do the job.
One complaint: the lame-o cover art. When Baz was in the band, his father David Bierk provided some pretty wild paintings. This cover is lifeless, not even barely hinting at the rock and roll thunder within.
I have to give this album a solid:
4.25/5 stars
It’s the best of the Solinger era, and the song “Born A Beggar” still makes my road tapes 10 years later.
SKID ROW – United World Rebellion Chapter One (2013)
I know Johnny Solinger’s been in the band longer than Sebastian was. I know the band probably hate Sebastian’s name even being brought up in a review such as this. I’ve been standing by the band through their last two albums (2003’s Thickskin and 2006’s Revolutions Per Minute). My interest waned quite a bit, on the long wait between releases by the band. This new EP (5 new songs) is failing to rouse me from my ambivalence. So I’ll just come out and say it: Guys, get Sebastian back. It’s time. If Eddie Van Halen can get up on stage again with David Lee Roth and grin that grin of his, then Rachel Bolan can get over Sebastian Bach.
The thing is, there’s nothing wrong with United World Rebellion. (Last album was a “revolution”, now they’re having a “rebellion”. What will the next album be? Defiance, disobedience, dissension, heresy, insubordination, insurgency?) It’s heavy like old Skid Row. It has squealing, howling solos like old Skid Row and riffs reminiscent of the classic stuff. Johnny’s throwing everything he’s got into his performance. It’s just…not memorable.
The most striking song is the first one, “Kings of Demolition”, which is really good. Only problem: It’s more than just a little similar to “Monkey Business” from Slave. “Monkey Business” is a great heavy song, but you’re not going to top it by re-writing it. It’s downhill from there. I must have played this EP eight or nine times now, and I still can’t remember how “Let’s Go”, “Get Up”, and “Stitches” go. They are all heavy, riffy…and non-descript. The only song that stands out is “This is Killing Me”, the token ballad (right smack in the middle of the EP), and it stands out only because it’s a ballad. You can hear the (intended?) similarity to a certain hit ballad by the Sebastian version of Skid Row…but without his soaring vocals. Once again, you can’t create a new memorable song if you’re repeating an old one.
Sorry guys. I’m usually in favour of bands carrying on with new members, because I’d rather have that than no band at all. Unfortunately, Skid Row needs Sebastian Bach as much as Sebastian Bach wants to be in Skid Row. Johnny can take a proud bow, because he’s no slouch and he did the best job possible. I wanna see it happen.
2/5 stars
EDIT: May 15 2013 – There is a European version coming with two bonus tracks, both covers. Bastards.
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