Skid Row (Gary Moore/Brush Shiels/Noel Bridgeman) (CD - 1990)

Recorded at Royal Recorders, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

The material on Skid Row is mostly typical pop-metal fluff, but since Skid Row was one of the hardest bands to find commercial success during the hair metal fad, the songs sound angrier and more aggressive than the lyrics and hooks might indicate. Part of this is due simply to the musical talent in the band, and part of it is due to vocalist Sebastian Bach; his tendency to oversing actually gives some much-needed nasty attitude to most of the songs, and when the music does match those sentiments (i.e., "Youth Gone Wild"), the results fulfill, rather than merely hint at, Skid Row's potential. But the melodies and songwriting are pretty consistent throughout the album, even if they aren't as close to true heavy metal as they sound. The hit power ballads "18 and Life" and "I Remember You" are musically generic, but Bach's over the top delivery makes them guilty pleasures as well. ~ Steve Huey minimize