L.A. Guns
"Man in the Moon"
Spitfire Records
By Vinnie Apicella When I first heard they were coming out with a new record my thoughts were, "Hmm. now what are they gonna do next?" Is this the original L.A. Guns we're expecting to hear? Did they get yet another singer? What are they gonna sound like? I mean I thought the whole current Van Halen cliffhanger knew no equal, but these guys came close. Well as an answer to the obvious, L.A. Guns does feature 4/5's of the original lineup sans bassist Kelly Nickels. "Man in the Moon" or whatever was the working title at the time several months ago I believe was to be a return to the classic style of the early and best loved material. It's not quite full circle but it's a start. Featuring a more stripped down style, gritty and determined, they're apparently not looking for a quick '80s flashback cash-in with what I'm hearing here. First tune, "Man in the Moon," reminds of some of the riff-driven and raucous material they featured on the all too underrated "Vicious Circle" 1994 release-heavy Rock with a soothing verse and grinding chorus. Follow up "Beautiful" is a quick turnabout in ballad form that's got its roughshod qualities but seems to be lacking a little top end presence. Then again, the entire recording sounds very confined and by song four I'm realizing it must be by design as they're really going for this mid-70's blues-based hard rock jam band quality-I'm not sure if it totally suits them but its definitely got a little groove. Fans of the first two records should find something to dig here but we're definitely not resting on past laurels by riding high commercial expectations. Further, the last "new" material I'd heard by these guys was that "Greatest Hits & Black Beauty's" thing they did a couple years back when they first re-teamed with Phil Lewis and remixed their old classics and went the way of high tech for a few new ones-so this is really a throw back here! "Spider's Web" tears (and rips?) a page right off of their classic "Cocked & Loaded" '90 release, while "Don't Call Me Crazy" gets my pick as the strongest cut among the rest. Definitely the most emotional, downright disturbed to be sure, but it possesses all the dynamic qualities that have made L.A. Guns a step above just those other one or two album Glam band rip-offs drinking themselves to oblivion today. Opening with a very slow build up, the tune reaches climax by the catchy and emotional chorus while Traci's distorted riffs add that extra element of texture to offset the otherwise melancholic vibe. file right next to "One Way Ticket," ("Hey World") and "Crystal Eyes," but definitely not a "Ballad of Jane" rip-off! I think for most this will be a record that takes some getting used to. It's a step in the right direction for the band-actually the second, the first being that to achieve any real level of success again it probably was in their best interests to reform-but they've gone away from the formulaic style or "full circle" tendency to explore a deft and more roots-oriented approach that carries its own weight rather than ten years of guilt-ridden baggage packed to the seams with unfulfilled commercial promise.
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