Skid Row

This album is a classic! It belongs in every serious collection of music.Skid Row distinguished themselves from the legions of pop-metal bands of the late '80s and early '90s chiefly by their attitude, which was closer to Guns N' Roses than to Bon Jovi,Whitesnake or Def Leppard."Skid Row" is one of those albums that embodies that time of my life. From "Youth Gone Wild" to "I Remember You," the simple lyrics talked to every teenager growing at that time. There isn't anything great about any of the songs here, but they were the world to a lot of people back in '89. "18 and Life" is on the Classic Rock.
Big Guns -- Dirty lyric-filled, loud, slightly bluesy pop/metal anthem. A great opener.Sweet Little Sister -- Fast paced, heavy, but also extremely catchy and somewhat poppy tune.Can't Stand the Heartache -- Only a teeny bit less heavy, but more of an arena rock 'post love' anthem. Very underrated and another highlight of the album you won't hear on the radio.Piece of Me -- One of the hits/videos. Probably the toughest, heaviest song on the album. An angry sounding, almost straight metal tune about fighting and partying. It's still singable though.18 & Life -- The most well-known tune. A melodic but still hard-edged pop/power ballad about a suicidal guy named Ricky. A slight departure from what most of the era's bands' power ballads sounded like.Rattlesnake Shake -- Yet again, a tough, streetwise hard rocker about a prostitute. Reminds me of something Guns N' Roses would do.Youth Gone Wild -- Another well known, shout-along rebellious (yet fun) anthem. Loud and heavy, yet slightly melodic.Here I Am -- Not one of my favorites. A non-hit, rawer metal anthem.Makin' A Mess -- A fast paced hard rocker, but it strays from the 'Get Chicks and Party' theme of the album. A first person account of, what sounds like, spouse abuse. Told in an anti- kind of way, but not a ballad at all.
I Remember You -- The other power ballad of the album. A somewhat acoustic tune in parts, almost reminding me of Mr Big's hit "To Be With You." It still rocks, but it's probably the highest song here.Midnight/Tornado -- Yet another underrated rocker that got away.
This one has more of a melodic, power rock sound to it. It's somewhat heavy as well, but it's one of those songs even someone who isn't a fan of hard rock could like.Sebastian Bach's voice is incredible, and he brings the songs on this album to life. It is easy to see why SKID ROW stood out in the crowd of fledgling bands that emerged at that time. The songs don't sound "all the same" and there's absolutely no "filler" in this album. You can expect to enjoy every song.