Poison - Native Tongue

OKAY!

I owned this C.D. for A couple of years , and well with the exception of
two Songs I never cared for the C.D. . It was not the Poison that I fell
In Love with in 1986 "Look What The Cat Dragged In" . However like I said two songs on this C.D. I did like , yet "Stand" the only one of the
two that was ever released , or played much of . It is my Opinion that
the Song " Bodytalk" should have been another Hit from this C.D. January 7, 2008

Time to draw the line, Stand!

This album was a very controversial one when it came out in the nineties, because the band changed style with Native Tongue, passing from a very cheesy, bubble gum, party type of hair metal to true, serious music. Serious that by no means means boring, but on the contrary "music with serious value", with serious quality. It was controversial even because it came out in a difficult decade for the music, the one that saw the end for a lot of hair metal bands and the beginning of the grunge era. So I guess that a lot of people who loved hair metal took a position against this album because they tought that Poison, the epitome of hair metal sold themselves to jump on the grunge winner wagon. So it is an album that was born in a very hard time. maybe it was not the right choice for the band I don't know, but at the time probably it was the only thing they could do with CC that was almost a Junkie unable to play anymore and grunge rapidly overlapping their original style. So what could they do? Probably one of the wisest thing to do could be to invest in the quality of their music, on the true value of music trying to maintain their identity, but injecting in their formula a sort of hyper fuel. And they did. It was the only serious thing they could do to survive. Try to imagine if they chose to release another album like "Open up and say ah!"... probably the whole world would have judged them CLOWNS in those years. So they took one of the guitar youngest and brightest stars, one with a killer look, the ability to write killer songs, incredible guitar chops and with a bluesy style that could take them to new places, to new more serious, more value music. A very good idea it was. And which kind of album cam out from this chance they took? A very strong album, made entirely by Richie Kotzen's songs at the point that now that we have a lot of Kotzen songs albums, now we know that Native Toungue came out entirely by his pen. A very strong blues infected album with killer songs and more that few true ANTHEMS that sold very well and had great hairplay and videoplay if I remember well by the way (Stand, Until you suffer some). And the album stood the test of time, a lot better than any album of their no matter what the die hard fans of the band may say. It is a killer album that trascended the genre boundaries and took the guys in a land they never were legitimate to enter, the true value music. I love all the albums from the band even the cheesiest ones, but Native tongue stays way way above the others in terms of songwriting qualities, musical values, attitude, musical chops, consistency. By the way in my opinion this is even one of the best album from Richie Kotzen ever in my opinion, a lot better than his albums from Mr Big era and a lot better than some of his solo albums (very good albums by the way). This one and Mother Heads (the best form Richie in my rating) stand on the same very high quality level. I think a lot of people who hate hair metal could love this album and a lot of people who love it could love it too. But this album is not a bi**h. It has value, personality and integrity. Too bad the guys decided to fire Richie for a stupid story. The band could do very good things if they continued to be together. The next guitarist the band decided to try (the fabolous Blues Saraceno) for different reasons didn't success in taking a comparable contribution to the band. Native toungue is a true treasure for me.


November 21, 2007

Nothin' But a Bad Time

You don't want this. Trust Me. Poison made a good party band. Their ability to headline tours nearly 20 years since their prime will attest to that. However, when they tried to take themselves too seriously, the party was over. With Native Tounge, CC Deville was gone, they brought in a guitar prodigy (Ritchie Kotzen) and they tried to get bluesy. No thanks. Unless you already have Poison's first two partied-up releases, their third so-so release, and you just have plain bad taste in music, leave this turkey in the cut-out bin. September 15, 2007

I was proud of the guys

I know it must have been such a shock for the guys in Poison to experience C.C.'s departure. Considering all the years they had been together! I was really proud of the guys for 'picking up the pieces,' moving forward and putting out this new album. I was attending college at the time and a local radio station broadcast the entire album live from start to finish. It was late at night but I still wanted to stay up to hear the new disc. Although "Native Tongue" Poison was certainly a different sounding band than their prior records, I was pleased with the results. Years later I am still fascinated with these songs, especially, "Bastard Son of 1000 blues," "Theatre of the Soul" and "Until You Suffer Some."

July 26, 2007

A worthy follow-up to Flesh and Blood

80s rock bands didn't have it easy in the 90s. With the overnight popularity of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, just like that, almost instantly, bands like Motley Crue, Poison, Warrant, Skid Row, etc, were suddenly completely passe. Most old-school rockers probably didn't even know what hit them, as they went from the arenas to theatres in just a few short years.

In 1990 Poison were at the top of their game. That year saw the release of their third multi-platinum album "Flesh and Blood" and their first headlining arena tour. Songs like "Unskinny Bop" and "Something to Believe In" dominated MTV and Poison were one of the most popular bands of the very early 90s.

Unfortunately for Poison, however, in the fall of 1991 the band suffered two major blows. First was the release of Nirvana's "Nevermind" which completely changed the landscape of hard rock, and second was the departure of lead guitarist C.C. Deville.

Knowing full well that Poison's brand of power-pop, anthem-laden hard rock was out-of-touch with the times; the band sought a new direction. Guitar virtuoso Ritchie Kotzen was brought in as Deville's replacement, and in early 1992, the band started work on their new album.

Old-school hard rock and metal bands reacted differently to the musical sea change in the early 90s. Some bands like Motley Crue tried to embrace a current sound, whereas others, like Arcade (Stephan Pearcy's post RATT band) and Vince Neil lived in a vacuum, not acknowledging that anything had changed. Poison, however, took a different path. Rather than try to jump on a bandwagon or remain stagnant, the band attempted to mature, while at the same time keeping many elements of their signature sound intact. In early 1993, Poison's new album "Native Tongue" was finally released.

In some ways, "Native Tongue" sounds like the natural follow-up to "Flash and Blood." Listening to "Flesh and Blood" you can see where the band was going, incorporating elements of blues into their sound, along with some mature themes. The three minute sex-laden anthems that had so defined the band's first two albums were eschewed, in favor of longer songs with greater musical complexity. All this was done fairly successfully, as "Flesh and Blood" came of as a sincere, non-pretentious attempt for Poison to grow as artists.

"Native Tongue" sees Poison delve further into the bluesy ballad/anthem territory that made its mark on "Flesh and Blood." Gone, however, with the departure of Deville is the power-pop styling that defined the band's sound on their first three albums. Kotzen, a far more technically proficient guitarist, gives the album rapid-fire riffs and solos, far more complex than anything the band had seen before. Kotzen's writing on the album is apparent, as the band's level of musical sophistication increased significantly. Many of the band's key signature elements are still in place, however, such as strong harmonies and sing-along choruses.

The album's title track, "Native Tongue" is a short drum instrumental with effects, and sounds like theme music from "King Kong" setting the mood of the album. Injustice is addressed in "The Scream," a would-be arena anthem which makes for a great opening song. The album's first single and minor hit "Stand," written around the time of the L.A. riots, is another attempt to look at prejudice and inequality. A soft-spoken balled with force and a church choir, the song is ambitious and effective. The mid-tempo "Stay Alive," is a pretty good rocker that keeps up the momentum. One of the album's strongest songs "Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice)" is a balled that Bon Jovi could only dream of writing. The rocking "Body Talk" and "Bring it Home" are good, although the latter sounds a little flat. The album mixes it up a bit with "7 Days Over You," featuring a horn section, which works quite well. "Ritchie's Acoustic Thang" is a short instrumental that's pretty cool. Another very strong track "Ain't that the truth" is quite catchy and would have been a good choice to use as a single. The balled "Theatre of the Soul" sounds like a mature update of "Every Rose has its Thorn." "Strike up the band" sounds like a gritty remake of "Ride the Wind;" although not as good, it's still effective. "Ride Child Ride" is a good, if not great rocker. "Blind Faith," another more lyrically mature song about taking chances and having confidence, is another very strong song. The bluesy closing "Bastard Song of a Thousand Blues" is good, if not overly long.

Although "Native Tongue" was an earnest attempt to mature and stay relevant, the album unfortunately bombed. Kotzen was soon fired from the band for sleeping with drummer Rikki Rocket's girlfriend and the album was soon forgotten. Throughout most of the 90s "Native Tongue" sat in the cut-out bin next to Vince Neil's "Exposed," (1993) Motley Crue's self-titled (1994) album and David Lee Roth's "A Little Ain't Enough." Today the album is ignored by the band themselves, as they play only "Stand" live; and even then only occasionally.

While "Native Tongue" may not be a masterpiece, it's still a pretty good album, one that deserves to be heard. If you see a used copy lying around, give it a chance.


March 18, 2007

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