'Lip Lock Rock' - Sleze

The Reddit Hair Metal sub reminded me of this track and hence today's post.

Hearing the demo for "Lip Lock Rock" always makes me chuckle. Of course it was recorded by Sleze who became Alice N' Chains... and then the famous Alice In Chains (after lineup changes, of course). I don't particularly think of "Lip Lock Rock" as Glam per se, although that is definitely the genre Sleze was going after. At least you can hear Layne Staley's range here. The lyrics are absolutely goofy and that's why this song is always good for a chuckle when I need one.

Comments

[Him]

This song always makes me giggle. It sounds like Primus is drunk!

And, of course, this has often led to the question: were Alice grunge or a pre-fab band that took on the leanings that got them fame? Me? I don't even think it is a fair question. Not because of the whole 'grunge v. metal' thing, which, to be fair, has some salience even as pundits, purists, and paupers like to act like it is a no-no to discuss.

Bands change, right? And some of those bands that some of us love have some 'interesting' early years. I am looking at you, Pantera!!!! Not kidding. But kidding. And some have some 'interesting' middle years. I am looking at you Dokken and Priest. Again, sorta' not really kidding, as bands on decline chase trends and/or get caught up in the moment and do a new thing. Why? Well, there are a host of reasons for that.

But Sleze was lame. It didn't work out. They found some flannel that fit. Jerry has new hair. Their legacy is secured. It worked out, save for Layne and then Starr (RIP). Now, if they can just muster a bit of Cantrell's latest solo album for their next one. Rainer Fog was a snoozer, esp. after the previous two.

We get it. You picked a spot. Cantrell is the ringmaster. But Duvall can do more than stand back and let you sling and sing (way too much of) it (his solo album, even if not of the same type, again proves this). Lest we forget, you are a lucky, lucky duck to have caught wind of what became AiC, right, Cantrell? So show the love and spread a bit of it.

Inez? He has proven himself inside and outside of metal and strikes me as a classy soul. Kinney? He slays me. He looks like an aggressively non-emotional robot behind the kit. But his algorithms don't lie. The man is a beast!!!

Thanks for the trip back, Allyson. Always love an origin story that sorta' kinda' works out (for some of the people involved, including Bacolas, who strikes me as a genuine fellow who just missed out on the 'right' gig and the 'right' time).

[Gogmagog]

I agree with virtually everything Him just said, but I am wondering what makes up the "middle years" for Dokken. I'd say they had an "interesting" start, based solely on the train wreck that was the first album. Not too long ago I wondered why I never play Dokken's first record, so I listened to it from front to back, and it was obvious. "Breaking The Chains" (the song) was the only thing on Breaking The Chains (the album) that wasn't cringe-inducingly bad. Honestly, I cannot imagine how a record label heard giving the band a mulligan for it, even after a three-year pause. I'm assuming Pilson replacing Croucier was a big part of the transition from awfulness of the debut to the beauty that was Tooth And Nail.

[Mike]

@Gogmagog - regarding Dokken’s “middle years” check out the Shadowlife album, pretty sure this is what HIM was referring to.

[Him]

Gogmagog, Mike is right. I consider those 90s albums the middle years. I consider the 00s-onward the later years.

Granted, you have to squint to hear a lot of good stuff during that time. But I do. I think, for all its obvious posturing, that "Too High to Fly" is a solid song, esp. since Don is singing(?) like he should be singing. There are other songs, too, that suggest he wasn't really the reason the band imploded . . . or, at least, he was just one of the reasons it did.

I find the more temperate approach that Lynch and Dokken take these days to be more gracious, and honest. Pilson? He was to Doikken what Ellefson was to Megadeth: the PR machine and ambassador, in good and band times (and even when they ditched Don and then came back, and then left, and them came back, etc.). Brown? Golf Cart DUI!!! Can't get that out of my mind!

Where do I put _The Lost Songs_? Somewhere, everywhere . . . given that Dokken tinkered with it so much that it really isn't 'old school', even if it retains some of the problems you mentioned . . . but also some bright spots that suggest (as you do) that they were heading in a better direction. Case in point: the Elektra re-release of BtC contains "Paris is Burning" (also included in one of their several 'best of' releases). That is a solid song. And live? Dokken shows what he was capable of doing when he was in his prime . . . and even before he moved on, as you note, Gogmagog, to the classic songs of the mid-80s.

Dokken, for me, is one of those bands that I return to again and again (and not to BtC!!!). Creative, a bit different than the pack, combustible. Nowadays, I listen to them more than I do some of my other favorites of the 80s.

Appreciate you both, Gogmagog and Mike. Love talking about this stuff.

[Gogmagog]

I gave up on Dokken after Dysfunctional, so I've never listened to anything on Shadowlife. I'm not sure I ever heard of that one before Mike's mention. My biggest beef about Dysfunctional is that Dokken (like Skid Row on Subhuman Race, and Warrant on Ultraphobic) completely changed stylistically to try and become a grunge band. None of those riffs sound anything like what was on Tooth And Nail, Under Lock And Key or Back For The Attack. The guitars sound awful, too, since either Lynch, Don D., or the producer was trying to replicate that dry guitar sound Pearl Jam, et al, gravitated to. I can't stand it, and never have been able to figure out why guitars (and rock music) can't sound good, even today.

[Him]

Again, as a non-musician, I can't always hear what others do. I am not sure what 'sounding good' actually means,, save to my untrained ear (I hear ti and I like it). To my mind, that is why there are soooo many genres and sub-genres of music that both delight and baffle me. So much the better, I say. Music is for everyone, even if not everyone likes the same stuff. And I know you and I (and, I hope, everyone) agrees on that point.

I think, and we discussed this before, that there are quite a few grunge songs that sound good. And I think that there are several of those 'grunge-like' Dokken songs that also sound good (I named one and would be curious what you think). I even know of some (truly) who came to Dokken and other bands of this genre in the later stages and actually prefer those albums to the classics. Why? I guess that is a function of when you are born and what strikes you as cool. Sometimes, it sticks. Can't begrudge them that either.

Speaking of sounding good, where do you rate a metal band like Omen? I love them, esp. the first (and parts of the second) album. I also like, when I am in a non-metal mood, the Dead Kennedys. What's your take on them?

These are honest questions,Gogmagog, given that I respect your opinion and appreciate how you drive home a point and make me rethink some of my own.

And the funny thing is, like you, I can't really stand Subhuman or Ultraphobic, even if I liked the former's music back in the day and wandered into like the latter's music later in my life. Again, opinions. They are a slippery thing.

[Gogmagog]

When I said "sound good," I wasn't referring to style or song construction, but I just meant aurally. How the vocals and guitars and drums actually sound on the recording. St. Anger could be the best metal album ever, but I'll never find out because of the way the drums sound. Most of the grunge era stuff is like listening in mono instead of stereo. A perfect example is the "redux" version of Pearl Jam's Ten. Brendan O'Brien removed much of the reverb from the vocals and the fullness of the guitar sound, and the result is a tinny mess. IMHO. The band loves it. I don't.

Never got into either Omen or the Dead Kennedys. Stylistically, me and the Dead Kennedys were never gong to match. As for Omen ... the bass-akwards hellscape I grew up in was not conducive to discovering lesser known metal acts. When Ride The Lightning came out I had to spend money on long distance calls to find a record shop that actually had it in stock, and then drive 45 minutes to the next town over pick it up.

Right now, my go-to non metal is The Fratellis. Lawler (Jon Fratelli) is a first rate songwriter, and the band has grown up much in the way we were talking about Winger a little while ago. Instead of angry young Scots, they now make rock music for adults. And Codeine Velvet Club, Lawler's project after The Fratellis imploded in the late 2000s. I also found this just intoxicating. Never heard of May before I stumbled onto this cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HfBAmcI6_Y

[Him]

Gogmagog, though it is late in the game (no one reads these things beyond the scroll line), I appreciate the reply.

First, I totally get your point about the DKs, esp. after you qualified your previous points with the note about the 'aural' nature of your likes and dislikes. As for Omen, I also get it: if you haven't listened to them, why would you know or comment (even if I would love to hear your thoughts on their debut) about them?

I, like you, found one shop where I could get imports and even independent releases when I was younger. But, you get what you can based on what you find and so on. And this was after my family moved from a place where most of the known bands were known and shops (like Tower) were easy to find. Imagine have such a great valve and then having it shut off.

Didn't know that I knew the Fratellis. But I did. I knew Chelsea Dagger must be a song that someone played at some point. Not bad at all. And Imelda May, though not my normal cup of tea, would be great to see in a small venue.

So. thanks again. I really appreciate actual responses, no less new finds and paths not (yet) taken.

[GNR]

"Social Parasite" - Alice in Chains Music Box Album. Great song

[Gogmagog]

"Chelsea Dagger" got used in an Amstel Gold advert:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRnGpr5D8nY

It's also the goal song for the Chicago Blackhawks. And I think it's the sixth or seventh best song on Costello Music.

We Need Medicine and Eyes Wide, Tongue Tide are just phenomenal albums, particularly "This Old Ghost Town," "Jeannie Nitro," and "Rock And Roll Will Break Your Heart" on the former, and "Baby Don't You Lie To Me," "Desperate Guy," "Slow" and "Down The Road And Back ... Again," from the latter. Though "Down The Road ... " is a bonus track on the deluxe edition, and I'll never know how an AOR exec could ever approve that one not being on the official release.