#8 Poison - Look What The Cat Dragged In: CC Pick Up That Guitar And Talk To Me

ROCKTOBERFEST: A Most Excellent Countdown of the 31 Most Bitchin Glam Metal Albums

#8 Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In (Released 1986) 3x Platinum, #3 Billboard 200

Bret Michaels (Silly-string! Chicks DIG silly-string!) - Vocals

C.C. Deville (Chicks DIG scarves, big hair and silly-string)  - Lead Guitar

Bobby Dall (No. 1 Bad Boy, I smoke cigs and spray silly-string into the audience) - Bass

Rikki Rockett (I want to see Tommy Lee drum standing! Silly-string standing up) - Drums

CC Pick-Up That Guitar And Talk To Me:

This man was nailing Pam Anderson at the height of her hotness. Pass the lipstick!

Glam Metal is the synthesis of glam rock, heavy metal, punk rock and blues-rock. Each band chooses to emphasis a distinct facet of glam metal to create their own distinct lending glam metal a dynamism that many genres are left bereft from their limitations. Poison, in my opinion, especially on their energetic debut, Look What the Cat Dragged In is the best average of these four disparate musical philosophies. Blues-rock is a rather minor contributor to the glam metal scene and Poison would not incorporate it until their next album (Open Up and Say Ahhh!), but the other influences are apparent in Poison's surprisingly raw, powerful and of course sleazy debut. The punk shines through the simple, raw, and unpolished riff-age that is produced on a shoe-string budget. Sonically, this is Poison's roughest albums with gang-barks rather than the polished, layered Def Lep gang-vocals. The chorus are reflective of the First-Wave glam metal instead of huge, pop choruses they utilize catchy shout-alongs with the lead vocal fills in between the hooks. The heavy metal is displayed on the flashy shred guitar solos performed by C.C. Deville, who emphasizes style over substance and the glam aesthetic of guitar squealing. Glam rock holds this chaotic mess with the strong ideal of creating repetitive and digestible songs. This guided Poison to the heights of metal superstardom of 1980's because they focused on what makes glam metal work: the hooks and that is what glam rock laid down for them.

I want that jackett OOOO soooo baddddd! Note the superfluous letters. That is how badddd I wantttt itttt. 

Of course, glam metal is the ultimate audio-visual genre and Poison took the image to whole new level in 1986. In 1985, Motley Crue debuted their Theatre of Pain outfits, which showed even the most garish-obsessed Sunset Strip hooker. In 1986, Poison, with their love for British glam rock were dead-set on topping Crue. Their look was a departure from the androgyny of Bowie in favor of dressing as their favorite pets: the very women they lived off of. They collected jewelry, accessories, women's clothing and of course hair-spray from their flavors of the month. The effect was to create one of the most effeminate images in glam metal and the most effeminate image from glam metal to actually cross over into the mainstream.  They looked like the ultimate party-band and had the songs to match. Their debut album beat out the Crue's (leaders of the glam metal) Theatre of Pain. They blew Ratt off the stage in terms of energy and crowd response. I am with you, brutha, what the fuck was this crowd on, friggin Ratt is way better than Poison. Ratt fired them as their opening act only to have re-hire them because Poison was the actual draw for ticket sales. They were hyper-sexual, a bit vapid, but incredibly, contagiously fun. I have always liked the Bret Michaels quote, "When you are putting out that much positive energy, there is going to be backlash." If they stuck to being rockstars, he would not deserve his current backlash.

Who does a guy going to have bang for his new shade of lipgloss?

So you have a song called Look What The Cat Dragged In and you dont lead off with it, welcome to the world of Bret Michaels. Though they did open their concert this past summer with it and was my favorite part of their set. There is a good reason for this. It is without a doubt, the HEAVIEST thing Poison ever produced and one of my all-time favorite songs. If all their songs sounded like this, Poison would easily rival Crue and Ratt as one of the best glam metal bands of all-time. Just a very bottom-heavy slab of metal with a great riff, that is as powerful as it is cool that serves as the fill in between lyrics. Bret Michaels sound on top form here sneering his way through some of the sleaziest lyrics: "I got a girl on the left on me, a girl on the right. I know damn well slept with both last night." The chorus is an irresistibly catchy gang-shout over the top of that ferocious riff.   Michaels almost purring "Sin after sin" notifies that smokin solo is up next and CC doesnt disappoint with one of his fastest and  entertaining solos. Look What the Cat Dragged In  is everything a glam metal song should set out to accomplish.

"I WANT ACTION TONIGHT, SATISFACTION ALL NIGHT!" is the opening hook on the single, "I Want Action". The song makes use of Rikki's bouncy drumming and swinging rhythm section that controls the song while CC plays a disjointed riff, which comes together upon each chorus. Michaels sings some of the most ludicrous lyrics in glam metal lyrics. The beginning is just plain dumb, that gets kinda rape-y ("If I can t have her. I will take her and make her.") before finishing  with the fun chorus. I am a sucker for the gang-chorus and then lead vocalist fills. Poison's Blame It On You does an even better job of this. This song also features the Van Halen trademark of the spoken-word skit/breakdown in the middle of the song.  One of the better singles off the album.

Play Dirty finds Poison at their toughest and debunking the myth that is a castrated pop band. At one point, Poison was actually  a metal band and this is a good metal song. The song begins with the attack of the guitar riff before Bret Michaels settles into signature, cool sneer. The riff is blasted into the head of the listener with few lead fills until the end, thus it is left to Michaels and the rhythm section to ensure the song never tires. Dall's well-timed bass line keeps the song sonically varied. The verses keep the listener intrigued until the one of better glam-styled choruses on the album hit.  With Michaels goes back to a purr as he says "Act tough." almost mocking the hyper-masculine culture of thrash metal, which leads into a drum solo. Drum solos are few and far between in glam metal and here's the shred-tastic solo, which CC follows with a shredding outro. This song demonstrates how to perfectly execute a song with one riff and keep the listener entranced.

Finally, the song that Poison into a household name and the symbol of glam metal, a superb work of art: Talk Dirty To Me. If Def Lep wanted to establish that they do indeed rock then Poison wanted everyone to know they are dirty. There is something about Michaels' vocal lines that always cause them to get impossibly stuck in my head. I think it only took 3 listens to this song before I knew every word. I think this also has to do with the fact that Michaels has among the best phrasing of any rock/metal singer I have ever heard. I almost always can understand him. This song also contains one of the all-time great vanity lyrics. "I know you can not wait. I would wait to see me too" The main riff always struck me as something out of a Ramones album, just a real simple buzzsaw riff that carries the song. The hook riff, heard at the beginning and during the chorus, seemed like the hook from a Sex Pistols song. The rhythm section is undeniably metallic very similar to Kiss. While Bret and his vocal lines have their origins in glam rock. Talk Dirty To Me may be the most glam metal, glam metal song as it is a perfect confluence of all its influences. Not to mention it is easily one of the best songs of all-time. I want you to tell me with a straight face that chorus doesnt want to make you party. Then when Bret exclaims "CC pick up that guitar and talk to me", I want you to tell me that isnt one of the best hooks of all-time. The solo is typical CC flash, but for a whole new audience in 1986 this song must have sounded like sex for your ears. I think that is what Poison was going for.

Most people associate Poison with anthemtic, vapid party metal. Well on their debut album they add a rawer, dirtier, sleazier twist that should be checked out at least once. This is Poison at their sleaziest before Bret decided to let all the criticism get to him and write "heart-felt" shit like "Something To Believe In". If you like hook-y, fun rock n roll than this is the best Poison offering. Excuse me, I have the urge now to play in silly-string. (see video below!) The fact that the lead single was called Cry Tough is just one of the most glam things ever! EVAH~!