L.A. Guns – Tales From The Strip

artist website

publisher

impulse buy

Mascot Records
Produced by Andy Johns

For the last three years nothing has been straight forward for the L.A. Guns. With the return of original vocalist Phil Lewis in 1999, stability seemed to have returned to a band that had seen too many lineup changes. Then at the end of 2002 founding guitarist and the bands’ namesake Tracii Guns left the band mid-tour to form Brides of Destruction with Mötley Crüe‘s Nikki Sixx. Guns were forced to cancel their slot on the Monsters of Rock UK tour with Alice Cooper and Thunder, and their future looked uncertain. Fast forward to 2004 and a rather surprising covers album release on Mascot Records appears featuring new guitarist Stacey Blades. So evidently, they hadn’t missed a beat.

And now in 2005 Stacey rips and tears his way through a brand new studio album with a precision Tracii has been unable to demonstrate for many years. With Lewis also on magnificent form, Tales From The Strip is easily the Guns best album since the glory days of their eponymous debut, Cocked And Loaded and Vicious Circle. And it’s possibly even better than those. At fourteen tracks it’s also a good length, and within that only two songs could actually be termed “ordinary”.

The Guns angle this time seems to be for the slow burning L.A. rock song. I don’t mean “ballad”, I mean slower-paced, driving heavy rock. They have a theme this time out as well. The album title gives it away, really. It’s all Hollywood and Sunset Strip from one to fourteen.

It’s Stacey’s playing that really steals the show. His soloing on openers It Don’t Mean Nothing and Electric Neon Sunset is top-drawer and he even saves the ordinary tracks Gypsy Soul and Hollywood’s Burning, while the whole band are simply majestic on the balled Vampire. Drummer Steve Riley demonstrates his immense abilities on the instrumental 6.9 Earthshaker and bassist Adam Hamilton plays several layered guitars and bass on the stunning instrumental piece Amanecer, much in the same way KISS‘ Ace Frehley did on the legendary Fractured Mirror.

With other exceptionally strong tracks in Skin, Resurrection and Shame, and an infinitely better production job from Andy Johns than he achieved on either of the previous two albums (Hamilton’s bass lines sounding particularly dangerous) Tales From The Strip is one of the hard rock albums of the year so far.

“ slow burning L.A. rock ”

Tracklist: It Don’t Mean Nothing / Electric Neon Sunset / Gypsy Soul / Original Sin / Vampire / Hollywood’s Burning / 6.9 Earthshaker / Rox Baby Girl / Crazy Motorcycle / Skin / Shame / Resurrection / Amanecer / Can’t Give You Anything Better Than Love

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Hard Rock, L.A. Guns