Post by jptheprofessor on Jul 27, 2006 21:28:10 GMT -5
WARRANT – BORN AGAIN (Down Boys Records) Warrant’s first album in five years, Born Again, signifies a rebirth and a return back to the basics for the group. Four-fifths of the Warrant line-up responsible for the two albums that marked their meteoric rise, 1989’s Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich and 1990’s Cherry Pie, is back together; lead guitarist Joey Allen, rhythm guitarist Erik Turner, bassist Jerry Dixon and drummer Steven Sweet. Replacing longtime singer Jani Lane is the former frontman of Black’n Blue, Jaime St. James, who offers a similar but slightly grittier voice than his predecessor. Born Again finds Warrant returning to the type of melody-driven, hard-hitting rock and roll that made the band a household name to begin with. Strong song hooks ride on powerful, weighty beats and busy guitarwork, and are developed with ‘The Saint’s’ gritty voice and fleshed-out vocal harmonies. There are plenty of highlights, including the hefty funk-driven opener, “Devils Juice;” tough rockers like “Dirty Jack” and “Bourbon County Line;” catchy midtempo exercises like “Angels,” “Love Strikes Like Lightning” and “Roxy;” and the fast-paced, rampaging closer “Good Times.” The group maintains a hard-rocking consistency throughout the dozen tracks, slowing down only once for the power ballad “Glimmer.” Lyrically, as expected, Warrant doesn’t solve world problems here, but they don’t give us anything quite as tacky as “Cherry Pie,” either; instead touching on familiar themes of mean streets, misspent youth, the rock and roll life, seductive vixens and more. The group does take on a more sarcastic tone about left-coast survival on “Hell, CA.” Produced, engineered and mixed by Pat Regan, the album sounds sharp and solid, with relatively little in the way of special effects or major polish. On Born Again, Warrant returns to carrying the torch for basic, ballsy, metal-edged rock and roll; and ultimately proves that beyond the big hair and sleaziness of their earlier commercial peak, these guys can still create some fundamentally good hard-nosed rock and roll. This album should please fans of their late 80’s/early 90’s peak, and connoisseurs of old-school hard rock in general.