This record unfolds like a live show…"Secrets"…what other song could have opened their record and as I learned shortly thereafter seeing VAIN's live show?? "SO YA THINK YOU KNOW MY SEEEECRETS?????? WELL YA DOOOOOOON'T!" Oh hell yeah man! This is track 1! Sexy guitars everywhere! It was overwhelmingly amazing. I put track 2 , "Beat the Bullet" in the era of "hair bands" or whatever people are calling it, at the top of the heap. Dripping with snotty, cocksure attitude and rib-cracking guitars to boot it was everything Rock and Roll was about to me. Loaded with hooks and players who could….ACTUALLY PLAY! As a band, VAIN is criminally underrated as far as they guys that make up it's parts as musicians goes. Danny West's wah-wah intro and solo in this jam were just VITAL! As a kid, I went right the hell out and got me a wahwah pedal! Thanks Mr. West! "Who's Watching You"….yeah man! The follow up video with more snakes and chicks! Nothing but hits here people, let's go! "1,000 Degrees" just oozes the hot, sex vibe! Jamie Scott just tearing shit up on lead guitar! Sick stuff! SEXY GUITARS!!!! I distinctly remember wildly hi-fiving my buddies because of that line at the end of "Aces"…"THAT'S RIGHT BABY! I GOT THE HEARTS, DIAMONDS, CLUBS, SPADES AND YOUR ASS!!!!!" "Smoke and Shadows"….clearly the tune you want on when it comes to making' out! "Mom's not home wanna come over to my place?". Haha! Totally. That HAPPENED. The hits just keep on coming! "No Respect"! Title track, classic intro that unleashes a balls out classic! I saw VAIN live for the very 1st time a year later in June 1990 at L'amour in Brooklyn. Me, front and center against the barricade surrounded by 1,000 half naked chicks. Unbelievable. I just remember absolutely losing my mind and making out with random girls. Total grope fest in the crowd. I was absolutely the youngest dude in there and there I was, thanks to VAIN getting shown around the block by random babes in their late teens to early 20's. Sexiest show I've ever been to. To this day. Amazing. I still have the set list that was scrawled on a torn out Penthouse magazine page. Changed my life. Got on the tour bus after the gig, but that's a whole OTHER tale! On to "Laws Against Love", produced by the keyboard guy from…Winger? Yeah! Coolest thing that dude ever did I'm sure! Thanks Winger guy!!!! THEY GOT LAWS!! Awesome. "Down For the 3rd Time" is a personal favorite. One of the hookiest things I've ever heard. Classic VAIN formula! I learned how to write songs in the VAIN method: HOOKS, HOOKS and then add……MORE HOOKS! Amazingly sexy bridge in this one with dueling lead guitar sickness after. On the bass and drums tip, Tommy Rickard and Ashley Mitchell just shot right for the crotch. DIRECT HIT! "Icy"! This one was for the kooks who thought Vain might just be a little soft…WRONG! "RED LIGHT, BLUE LIGHT…BUT SHE'S A HARD GIRL!". What the hell does that mean? Who cares?! Turn that shit up! I have a friend named Isis and this song will always remind me of her! Smokin' Hot! "Without You", the girls loved……slowing it down for the ladies…..great guitar solos and fade out jam session…..yeah man, VAIN could jam….Davy doing some leads too! Now "Ready"……just a barn burner with the intro that anybody who loves VAIN will never forget…."MR.WEST!!!!!!" Danny West peels the fuck out, GTO style with the Chuck Berry flavor and "Ready" just burns the whole damn thing to the ground! Davy, Jaime and Danny all taking leads and then………. "SHOOT IT!" You were exhausted after this album was done but you wanted MORE! Then it seemed….VAIN just slipped off the radar……what the fuck? We could speculate about this forever but forget that noise, they're still doing' it! They have released more records that kick ass! (perhaps I'll do a write up on those too…hmm) I'd like to personally thank Davy Vain, Danny West, Ashley Mitchell, Jaime Scott and Tommy Rickard for making one of the best Rock and Roll records of all time. It still sounds fresh, ballsy and SEXY as hell! I'm always turning people on to it to this day over 20 years later! That's the mark of greatness. VAIN, you have achieved that. Be proud of yourselves. If not for that then for the fact you gave an awkward kid the guts to get up and write his own songs too. ALL DUE RESPECT TO "NO RESPECT" and VAIN! Now and Forever! RN'R4EVAH! XO, -Michael Pate ELECTRIC BLACK HORSE!
KRASHCITY Magazine Issue 10
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