Review Summary: Dangerous Toys gets very little attention for realeasing great hard rock/hair metal albums in the time period they did. No band that debuted after 1987 ever released as quality a record as Dangerous Toys's debut, and it ranks up there with some of the gre
Dangerous Toys is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting hair metal bands out there. While I have grown out of hair metal, especially that of the likes of Motley Crue and such (Faster Pussycat especially), Dangerous Toys has actually continually grown on me. While they are almost one of the best examples of 80's hair metal, I tend to enjoy their typical yet not so typical sound, and they have grown to be one of my favorite bands of the genre, although they got little attention after the hair metal revolution was killed off when they came out, in 1989.
Overall the album has all the elements you could really want from a hair metal record. You have the good time party songs, "Teasin' Pleasin'", "Take Me Drunk", "Sportin' A Woody", "10 Boots Stompin'". You have the more serious or straightforward rockers, "Queen of the Nile", "Scared", "Bones in the Gutter", "Outlaw","That Dog". And of course you have your power ballads, "Here Comes Trouble" and "Feels Like A Hammer".
Of course one of the most famous songs from this record is Teasin' Pleasin', which features catchy, upbeat riffs and typical but decent lyrics. It picks up tempo and then slows down for a bluesy bridge, which definitely adds some flavor right before the song begins to bore you, although it is still, overall, a great tune.
Sportin' A Woody features the same kind of catchy hair metalish riff and typical lyrics as "Teasin'". The whole song in my opinion is overrated by Toys fans and I consider it to be just average, along with the likes of Ten Boots Stompin', however I enjoy the latter more, as it is yet another example of Mike Watson's unique style, which I have always loved.
Take Me Drunk, in my opinion is the worst on the album, as Jason McMaster's vocals are far from up to par in terms of fitting the song. The whole riff and arrangement just gets very annoying and is one I generally skip, although I'll give the chorus some credit for being catchy enough to listen to the first minute and a half of the track. This is also apparent in That Dog, another one of those songs that I just find to be average. I think the lyrics are fun to listen to sometimes and it placed well in the album.
Here Comes Trouble is a great song that is mostly pretty heavy but dynamics change quite a bit back and forth between ballady and heavy. The solo is great and the feel of the song is awesome too. It's one of the better on the album, but it is far from a pure power ballad, as Feels Like a Hammer is. "Hammer" is a more than decent track with solid bass playing, of course, and straightforward lyrical and musical arrangement, and nice use of dynamics throughout.
Outlaw and Bones in the Gutter both have the sort of driving hard rock feel that I love to get off of a Dangerous Toys album. Both are fairly simplistic but the arrangement of everything, bass especially, make both songs great. "Bones" definitely lets Watson shine some more, and is a prime example of the right thing at the right time without being boring about the whole ordeal. It also features a pretty cool sounding solo. Outlaw is one of the heavier on the album, and the guitar part in the verse, although a bit simplistic again, is great.
The album also has a laid back but driving rock feel to it, not as light or popish as Teasin' Pleasin, but not as raw sounding as Outlaw or Bones in the Gutter. This would include Scared and Queen of the Nile, which are probably my two favorite songs on the album, Queen of the Nile especially. Both, lyrically, are just genuinely well put together, and mesh well with the layered arrangement of the songs. Queen of the Nile features Mike Watson, Jason McMaster, and Mark Geary's drums at their best, while both Scot Dalhover and Danny Aaron keep the melody driving and flowing, with probably the best solos on the record.
Overall, this album is definitely above average. The songs I don't like as much are made up for by the ones I absolutely love, and this album is totally deserving of a 4.5. Most of the bands in this particular genre that came around so late in the game never released anything worth listening to, and for Dangerous Toys to release the quality album they did for that time period (being the end of the 80's), is stunning, and is definitely worthy of being noted with the likes of Dr. Feelgood, Out of the Cellar, and Pyromania. Although it was never critically acclaimed, nor did it recieve much attention, the album is definitely a must have for fans of Motley Crue, Ratt, Def Leppard, etc.
PROS:
Mike Watson's bass is flawless
McMaster's vocals and the drum lines are both very fitting within the songs
QUEEN OF THE NILE
Scared
Teasin' Pleasin'
Outlaw
Feels Like A Hammer
Great solos, not showy but fitting and cool sounding
CONS:
Sometimes typical hair metal riffs;nothing special in certain songs
Sport'n A Woody
Take Me Drunk
