Slave To The Grind – Skid Row

When I bought this album I was initially disappointed. I felt that Skid Row had moved from the LA Sound to a heavier, deeper almost thrash sound. But, after all these years I recognise this as a great album. I prefer it over Skid Row with the heavier sound and lower cock-rock influences. I fondly remember seeing the band a few times in the early 90s and this brings me back to those times. Watching Sebastian Bach tell Brent Council to fuck off and then play “Get The Fuck Out” to a crowd of 60,000 in Wembley Stadium was great. The band had been warned not to play that song and Bach read out the letter to the crowd. Good times.

This is an excellent album and I enjoy it still. There are great songs, a ballad- cos that’s what rock does, and heavy not-quite-thrash songs.

Monkey Business is great.
Slave To The Grind is great.
Get The Fuck Out – is a song for 2020, and good.
Riot Act would require a lot of mosh-pit.
Mudkicker is heavy and bouncy.

Look, someone has put this on YouTube. I was there, man. Wait for the incitement to riot! But it was a great show.

“You’re standing too close what the fuck’s with you, you ain’t my old lady and you ain’t a tattoo, no need to whimper, no need to shout, this party’s over, GET THE FUCK OUT”.

Skid Row – Skid Row

I’m not sure how I first found out about Skid Row but I do know that they were something to do with Bon Jovi. I suspect I saw them support a band and then I went ahead and bought their album. It is possible they supported Bon Jovi at Wembley Arena and then I saw Skid Row again supporting Guns ‘n’ Roses at Wembley Stadium. Look, this is a high quality cock rock album. It’s a great mix of late 80s riffage and attitude. It’s great. Sebastian Bach has a great voice or at least he did. He left under a cloud of non-disclosure-agreements and such like, I was never hugely interested in all the politics. I remember being slightly amazed by the bass player and the chain he had going from his earring to his nose ring, I always thought that was rather cool.

Big Guns – a classic. Proper rock intro to an album.
Sweet Little Sister – sexualising your younger sister, that’s what the 80s were about.
Can’t Stand The Heartache – showing the sensitive side with a sad song about falling in love with a wrong-un. Oddly it’s quite a nice upbeat song which feels cheery.
Piece Of Me – nice rolling bass riff to start and then continues to be a good song.
18 And Life – obligatory slow one about how shit everything can be for some and how you end up getting detained by the state.
Rattlesnake Shake – one of the weaker songs on this album but it’s still pretty good and fun.
Youth Gone Wild – I love this song, I mostly love the bang bang opening.
Here I Am – Lovely decent fast riff. Well structure quiet bit leading into a bluesy solo. Great.
Makin’ A Mess – fast paced twelve bar blues? Another proper sing along song on an album full of them. Has a really good middle eight with some slamming beats.
I Remember You – Bleaugh, obligatory ballad, a pretty good one though.
Midnight / Tornado – another weaker song, but it’s OK.

I really enjoyed seeing this band and I have always received a decent level of pleasure from the music of theirs that I own,