Customer Reviews

Born Again

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

3.5 Stars

Warrant's first new studio album in ten years is both a reunion and a revamping. "Born Again" (2006) marks the return of original lead guitarist Joey Allen and drummer Steven Sweet, along with holdovers Erik Turner (guitar) and Jerry Dixon (bass). Gone, however, is lead singer/songwriter Jani Lane.

Even with 4/5ths of the original lineup intact, it can't rightfully be called Warrant, can it? After all, Lane, a gifted songwriter, wrote all the band's songs and supplied them with all their memorable melodies and hooks. It was Lane's finely crafted songs that defined the band's music. Whether it be pop-metal with the band's semi-classic first two albums, "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich" (1989) and "Cherry Pie," (1990) or a stab at alternative rock in the 90s with "Ultraphobic" (1995) and "Belly2Belly Volume 1;" Jani Lane WAS Warrant.

So with 4/5ths of the band reunited without Lane, the band is, well, uhh...Born Again? Rather than go with a generic unknown (as Skid Row did for Bach's replacement) Warrant wisely opted for a veteran of the 80s hair-metal scene to fill in for Lane. Lane's replacement, Jammie St. James, alumni of the underrated pop-metal band Black N' Blue, is a more than adequate replacement. He may not be the songwriter that Lane is (Dixon wrote or co-wrote most of the album's songs) but he has the pipes and charisma to front the veteran hair-metal dinosaur that is Warrant. Guitarist Joey Allen sounds as great as ever and his return is more than welcome.

While Warrant's classic third album "Dog Eat Dog" (1992) went for a heavier sound as a response to the changing sea of rock from pop-metal to grunge, and while the band's later-day 90s albums embraced the alternative sound of the times, "Born Again" lives in a vacuum, completely unaware of its surroundings. If someone presented me with "Born Again" and didn't tell me a thing about it and asked me to guess, I'd estimate that it was from around '88, from the sunset strip.

While "Born Again" definitely sounds retro, without Lane it doesn't really sound like vintage Warrant. It actually sounds more like Black N' Blue than Warrant. However, if you are a fan of 80s pop-metal, Lane or no Lane, you will definitely enjoy this album. While "Born Again" may not be a classic pop-metal recording, it's certainly enjoyable and fans of the genre should pick it up.

Let's get this out of the way right up front: it doesn't sound like old-school Warrant. How could it? Jani Lane, who wrote and sang all the songs, is long gone. Surprisingly though, this CD is remarkably solid. Most surprising to me is the quality of the recording. Let's face it, Warrant's not on a major label anymore, so they don't have millions to waste in the studio. This sounds as good as anything in the Warrant catalog.

Born Again is 4/5 of the original Warrant line-up, with Black N Blue singer Jaime St. James in Lane's place. The majority of the songwriting was done by bassist Jerry Dixon, with a few credits here & there to St. James & Joey Allen. Nothing on here sounds like Cherry Pie or DRFSR, but the overall vibe of the record is closer to these first 2 releases than any of Warrant's recent discs (Belly to Belly, Ultraphobic).

The only letdown on hete is the lyrical content. There's nothing particularly clever or new here, just a bunch of lines that rhyme. Get past that, though, and this CD is a pleasant surprise. Kudos to the Warrant crew for putting together a solid album on their own without Lane.

This is a kick a** album. One of the more known hard rock bands of the late 80's/90's comes back in solid form with a new frontman. Yeah, it takes a little bit to get comfortable with the new voice, but I think Jaime St James knows how to lay down the lyrics. He certainly has the experience.
This is a great album, and I am not just saying this because the mainstream music scene blows either. You could put this right up the with Warrant's early works. My favorite will always be Dog Eat Dog, but this one delivers the goods..............

3.5 Stars

Warrant's first new studio album in ten years is both a reunion and a revamping. "Born Again" (2006) marks the return of original lead guitarist Joey Allen and drummer Steven Sweet, along with holdovers Erik Turner (guitar) and Jerry Dixon (bass). Gone, however, is lead singer/songwriter Jani Lane.

Even with 4/5ths of the original lineup intact, it can't rightfully be called Warrant, can it? After all, Lane, a gifted songwriter, wrote all the band's songs and supplied them with all their memorable melodies and hooks. It was Lane's finely crafted songs that defined the band's music. Whether it be pop-metal with the band's semi-classic first two albums, "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich" (1989) and "Cherry Pie," (1990) or a stab at alternative rock in the 90s with "Ultraphobic" (1995) and "Belly2Belly Volume 1;" Jani Lane WAS Warrant.

So with 4/5ths of the band reunited without Lane, the band is, well, uhh...Born Again? Rather than go with a generic unknown (as Skid Row did for Bach's replacement) Warrant wisely opted for a veteran of the 80s hair-metal scene to fill in for Lane. Lane's replacement, Jammie St. James, alumni of the underrated pop-metal band Black N' Blue, is a more than adequate replacement. He may not be the songwriter that Lane is (Dixon wrote or co-wrote most of the album's songs) but he has the pipes and charisma to front the veteran hair-metal dinosaur that is Warrant. Guitarist Joey Allen sounds as great as ever and his return is more than welcome.

While Warrant's classic third album "Dog Eat Dog" (1992) went for a heavier sound as a response to the changing sea of rock from pop-metal to grunge, and while the band's later-day 90s albums embraced the alternative sound of the times, "Born Again" lives in a vacuum, completely unaware of its surroundings. If someone presented me with "Born Again" and didn't tell me a thing about it and asked me to guess, I'd estimate that it was from around '88, from the sunset strip.

While "Born Again" definitely sounds retro, without Lane it doesn't really sound like vintage Warrant. It actually sounds more like Black N' Blue than Warrant. However, if you are a fan of 80s pop-metal, Lane or no Lane, you will definitely enjoy this album. While "Born Again" may not be a classic pop-metal recording, it's certainly enjoyable and fans of the genre should pick it up.

Just like many of their peers from the decade of decadence, Warrant returns with a new singer and a new studio album, attempting to dish out their product with no record company support and only fanfare to help it along the way. With a number of spins of their new disc completed, I can honestly say that Warrant delivers one of the best new albums that any group from their era has released in quite some time.

With the return of Steven Sweet and Joey Allen, all of the original noisemakers in the back are reunited. While the musical style is a nice return to the form of their heyday, it is nowhere as noticeable as in the group-chant style backing vocals that really made Warrant's sound so unique in the 80s. Additionally, Jamie St. James delivers some excellent vocal work, and certainly does an admirable job as Jani Lane's replacement. It is not difficult at all to really get into the music without giving a second thought to the fact the singer is different, which simply says to me that the change is pretty seamless. Well, at least vocally.

The one downfall to this CD would come in the songwriting area, lyrics specifically. There are more than a few instances where the lyrics fall into that "Things that make you go CRINGE" category, which if you're a fan of Jamie's Black 'N Blue days, you are all too familiar with. On multiple occasions, the lines feel forced, contrived, and just rhyme for the sake of rhyme. However, all of these lines only add to the charm of the album, and I actually find myself looking forward to singing along to "Live like I live in Russia!" every time Dirty Jack comes on.

In all, this really is a very solid record that will take you back to the times when hair metal ruled the MTV airwaves, yet still somehow manages to avoid sounding overly dated. I don't think Billboard will be having much to do with it, but I stopped caring about the mainstream decades ago. If you're a fan of Warrant's early work and still buy albums from bands of that time, this one is as good as any, and I highly recommend it.

This band was one of the biggest punching bags for the rock critics back in the late 80's..some of it deserved(white leather outfits in the video for Heaven comes to mind). But, while those rock critics are now selling insurance the cats in Warrant(sans Jani Lane who is doing god knows what) are cranking out melodic heavy southern california rock. They also aren't trying to "fit in" with any trend. They are clearly comfortable in their 40's something skin and are just playing what they know. Dirty Jack has a throbbing groove that would have been a hit 20 years ago. Bourbon County Line starts off with a monster riff which reminds me of how great it is to have Joey Allen back in the fold. You might not recognize him as he's half bald(it happens folks) and wears glasses, but this cat wails throughout(check out the solos in Angels, Down in Diamonds, & Roller Coaster). Jamie St James(x Black N Blue) sings just fine. His voice isn't quite as emotive as Lanes' but it is tuneful and he gives off a vibe of confidence and positivity that fits right in. He also wrote the best song on the record- Roxy. This is the classic 70's/80's style sleaze rock track that makes Warrant a fun band to listen to. I'm glad these guys have stuck it out. They may not make platinum albums any more but there are still a lot of folks out there like myself that appreciate how good this music can make you feel.

I have all the Warrant albums, and even though Jani has left the band, I had to hear this new album. After listening to it afew times it really grew on me. I like most of the songs on the album. My favorites are "Dirty Jack", "Burbon County Line","Devil's Juice". The other songs are not bad either. It will grow on you if you are a fan.

First I want to say if you like really good 80's to mid 90's rock then this cd will be with out a doubt one of your favorite cd's!!!This cd is more raw & heavier than anything else Warrant has done.I love it!!!Their new singer comes from a band that has been one of my all time favorite bands.These guys new how to write very good songs & had a AWESOME sound & style with killer ballads & just plain kick a** rock tunes!Black-n-Blue should have been bigger than Poison,Motley Crue,Ratt,Dokken,& yes Warrant.They just did not get the exposure they needed.Anyway I'm not trying to take anything away from Warrant but this does not sound like a Warrant cd it totaly sounds like a Black-n-Blue cd.Jamie St.James is one of the best rock singers out there.This cd should be bigger than Cherry pie or D.R.F.S.R. All the songs are AWESOME on this disc,one of my favorite songs is Glimmer.Everone should buy this cd.I seen it in the store looked at and put it back because I thought about the last few cd's they put out & I did not want to waste my money.Then I read a review here on Amazon about the cd & in one review they mention Jamie St.James.As soon as I read that I went back down to the store & bought it.It's Sooo worth the money!!!Anything Jamie St.James has been a part of has been AWESOME!!!I wish more cd's ROCKED like this one.I liked the original Warrant back when they first came out.As musicians the band members are AWESOME & still are but Jani Lane as a singer on a scale of 1-10 is like a 6 or 7.Jamie St.James as a singer is like a 12!!!Well I hope these guys stay together for a while so we can enjoy a few more cd's from them!I hope you enjoy this disc as much as I do!!! And remember What goes up must come down "Rock on"!!!

If I didn't know better, I would believe that this was recorded around 1985 and that's alright by me. Good ole straight ahead hard rock and roll like we used to crank back in the day! Actually, with Jaime St. James vocals, it's not to far removed from a Black 'N Blue album. If you're in the market for some good old school 80s rock, with no hint of modern day music, you can't go wrong with this.

This is a pretty good album,but without the signature sound of Lane's voice it's hard to call it Warrant. The band still has the sound and can still rock. It's not their best but it's a good listen. If they want to get back on the scene, they need to pull it back together with Lane for the reunion.