Review Summary: Power To The People is definitely a step in the right direction, but it is also a purely interim album, with all the flaws and shortcomings common to such releases. Oh, and please, Poison: less “experiments” next time around, OK?
Oftentimes, the passing of a decade is just the transition from one number to the next highest, except with a different combination of numbers in its termination. The transition from one decade to the next does not necessarily imply an automatic shift in paradigm in relation to the previous ten years, and many of the fashion, social and cultural statements carry through and hang around for at least a couple more years. Sometimes, however, the time lapse happens to coincide with a generational change, and that’s when a complete revulsion of the previous status-quo usually happens. With a new generation comes a new set of ideas and the predisposition to look at their elder’s interests as outdated or silly, eventually leading to their progressive fading and demise.
This was exactly what happened in the musical world of the early 90’s. The rise of a new, disgruntled, unattached generation did away with the brighty-colored, perm-haired fashion statements, replacing them with tattered denim and lots of lumberjack patterns, in a style soon to be known as “grunge”. This style’s other main means of expression was their music,a loud, brash, abrasive mixture of punk, sludge metal and traditional rock which found itself ill at ease with the big, boisterous, intensely visual genre predominant at the time. What ensued was a veritable “ethnic cleansing”, with, for once, the minority having the best of the battle and wiping hair-rock bands under the rug for the duration of the decade, never to be seen or heard of again.
However, again, the shift from the nineties to the “oughties” brought with it more than a new millennium. With the grunge kids now having their own kids, and the nu-metal kids increasingly scoffing at what once was their favorite genre, the stage was set for the millenials – a heavily image-conscious set with a tendency for “hipness” – to become interested in the bands their parents loved at their age. With said parents still willing to embrace said bands – sometimes unabashedly so – the conditions were gathered for an “en masse” return of c*ck-rock and hair-metal. Bands began to timidly crawl out of the carpet, rearing their now-unpermed heads and testing the air for breathability. Upon realizing they could once again survive in this environment, most confidently stepped out and announced “We’re back!” And while visuals were severely toned down and an attempt at respectability was made, the rockin’ heart which beat within most of these bands even back in the day continued to tick, if a trifle more slowly.
One such band was Poison, who despite not having been away for that long – their absence lasted a little over five years – were regarded as ancient by most of the millennial public. Undaunted, however, by such perceptions, the band reunited with classic-lineup guitarist C.C. DeVille and set out on a creatively-named “Reunion Tour”, to see whether the climate was favourable. Seeing that it was, they took the next step, and recorded five new songs to tack onto a live-show recording and make a new album. That album, which would mark their return, was
Power To The People.
With laughably unfortunate artwork that might lead some to think it’s a pirate edition, this disc follows on the footsteps of releases such as
Alive II (by KISS) and Poison’s own
Swallow This! Live by presenting a mixture of live and studio tracks, seeking to give a little to everyone. The results, however, are sadly lukewarm and essential to pretty much nobody.
The first portion of the album is dedicated to the new studio tracks, of which the opener is the lead single and title track,
Power To The People. And to say it’s a puzzling choice for a single is an understatement. Its sound has nothing to do with what one typically associates with Poison, instead coming across as something akin to Prodigy, guest-starring Marilyn Manson, covering a bad late-period Mötley Crüe song. Think electronic Methods Of Mayhem, except even worse. It’s also, easily, the worst thing Poison have ever done in their career, and nearly manages to doom the entire album to disaster.
What’s even more puzzling is that any of the other songs would have made for a much more logical single, since two out of the remaining four are laid-back rockers similar to those on
Flesh and Blood, and another is an old-style ballad which would have fit nicely next to
I Won’t Forget You. The fifth is another unfortunate experiment, with a ridiculous pun title and lyrics which would embarrass a fourteen-year-old. As for its admittedly catchy teen-punk pastiche, it might work –
IF you forget it’s being performed by crusty, washed-out forty-somethings with twenty-year careers who should know better. Overall, this wildly inconsistent section just goes to show that Poison should forget about being hip for the kids and just focus on what they do best.
The live portion of the album is much less controversial and much more straightforward, basically consisting of a show rather similar to that depicted in 1991’s
Swallow This! Live. In fact, what is striking is merely how scaled-down everything is; the era for flash had passed, Poison were no longer on top, and they knew it. The intro is now more restrained, and while the drum solo retains close to its original length, the guitar solo is now barely over a minute long – and just as well, in an age where there is little patience for
Swallow This!’s ten-minute wankfest tomfoolery. Other than that, it’s just ten classic Poison songs, with seven of them being hits and the remaining three safe choices – although the omission of
Ride The Wind and
Your Mama Don’t Dance and the insistence on the okay-ish
Let It Play are a little puzzling. Performance-wise, nothing is out of place, Bret Michaels is still a magnetic presence, and C.C. overcomes his somewhat tinny guitar sound to make a welcome return to the band. As for the tracklist, it is even, with few standouts but no visible clunkers, either.
However, the problem here is the same as with every live album: nobody really
needs it, especially someone who already has
Swallow This! or the superior
Seven Days Live. This dooms this release to diehard material only, and even fervent collectors will eventually have to face the facts and realize that this is just not all that good.
Power To The People is definitely a step in the right direction, but it is also a purely interim album, with all the flaws and shortcomings common to such releases. Oh, and please, Poison: less “experiments” next time around, OK?
Recommended Tracks
I Want Action
Love On The Rocks
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
