Customer Reviews

Dog Eat Dog

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Chances are, if you sported big poofy-teased hair and lipstick in the 80s/early 90s, 1992 was not your year. With the release of Nirvana's "Nevermind," (1991) almost overnight, everything that had been cool was rendered obsolete and bands that had been huge were left out in the cold.

Warrant is the textbook example of one of those bands whose popularity was killed by the alt. rock and grunge boom of the early 90s. The LA quintet had actually come along late in the game, releasing two massive albums at the tale end of the hair-metal era, with 1989's "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich" and 1990's "Cherry Pie." While Warrant indulged in typical hair-metal cliché's; like the power ballads ("Heaven," "Sometimes She Cries") and the not-too-subtle sexual innuendos ("Down Boys," "Cherry Pie") they were actually one of the best bands to come out of the genre. The thing that separated Warrant from a million other hair-bands of the late 80s/early 90s is singer Jani Lane's solid-songwriting. While "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich" was a pretty superficial fluff-piece, it was very well-written and a heck of a lot of fun. "Cherry Pie," contrary to the public's perception (the video surely didn't help their cause) was a first-rate album that saw the band mature and branch out artistically.

Perhaps as a response to the grunge/alt.rock movements of the early 90s, Warrant made the most aggressive album of their career with 1992's "Dog Eat Dog." While the album is most definitely a pop-metal album, with strong melodies and sing-along-choruses, it's muscular, and avoids the candy-ass fluff that was pervasive on the band's first two albums. While the band's first two albums pretty much followed the typical hair-metal AOR format, of having a few killer singles surrounded by fluff, "Dog Eat Dog" is pretty solid without any filler. Thus "Dog Eat Dog" is the band's most honest, aggressive, well-written album.

The rapid-fire, hard-hitting "Machine Gun" makes for a strong opener. "The Hole in my Wall" sounds like a more aggressive yet slowed down "Cherry Pie." While its sexual innuendo is obvious, it is nowhere near as cheesy as "Cherry Pie" and actually has some teeth. Lane shows his real talent with the outstanding "April 2031." With its Pink Floyd Wall-era haunting children's chorus and apocalyptic delivery, had "April 2031" been released today by a totally unknown band, it would surely be praised. The beautiful baled "Andy Warhol Was Right" sounds a bit like "I Saw Red," only this comes off more powerful and sincere. Its orchestration works nicely. "Bonfire" is an infectious, outstanding rocker. "The Bitter Pill" is another balled with cool snyths that could have been a huge hit had it only been released a few years prior. "Hollywood (So Far, So Good)" is a total rip-off of Jane's Addiction "Jane Says." While not nearly as good, Warrant's version is still effective. "All My Bridges are Burning" and "Quicksand" are both solid rockers. "Let it Rain" is comparable to Warrant's huge hit "Heaven," only this sounds less generic, more heartfelt. "Inside Out" is by far the heaviest song Warrant ever penned and would even make Megadeth or Anthrax proud. The hard-rocking, bittersweet "Sad Theresa" makes for a good closer.

Timing is what really hurt Warrant and "Dog Eat Dog" in particular. If Warrant had come out five years earlier, with "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich" in 1984, "Cherry Pie" in '85, and "Dog Eat Dog" in 1989, it would have been a smash hit and several of its songs would have been hit singles and radio staples. But in 1992, Warrant didn't stand a chance, no matter how good their album was. The sad thing is when most people think of Warrant, if they remember them at all, they think of some cheesy hair-band, with white matching leather suits, or think of the ultra tacky "Cherry Pie" video. What they don't know is that Warrant was actually a really good band. Unfortunately, Warrant didn't actually reach their full potential until it was too late. It's no small wonder why "Dog Eat Dog" is generally considered by the Warrant faithful as the band's best album.

While Warrant's first two albums have recently been re-released and remastered with bonus songs, "Dog Eat Dog" did not get the same treatment. Unfortunately, "Dog Eat Dog" is now out-of-print and only available used. If you should see "Dog Eat Dog" at a used CD shop or at a church rummage sale, by all means pick it up. If you like 80s-style melodic hard-rock you won't be disappointed.

Lets just say that sometimes you have to pull for the underdog (no pun intended). I dismissed Warrant as wannaBe's until I saw them open for the Crue in 90 on the Feelgood tour. I didn't even watch their performance until they stopped me dead in my tracks with their performance of the (at the time) unrecorded song Uncle Tom's Cabin. Blew me and the rest of the crowd away and changed the way I perceived the band. Cherry Pie was a very cool slab o' rock, but Dog Eat Dog was absolutely brilliant! Some may say D.E.D was Warrant's stab at the grunge bandwagon, but it was heavy and thoughtful without a hint of trend whoring. A very un-Warrant disc of just tight playing, great lyrics, and underappreciated by the masses hard work. People can say till the end of time that grunge killed the 80's, but that's a cop-out. Fickle fans who are begging to be told what is great music because rock has become lazy and the masses of fans have too brought about the demise of what made rock and roll so great. The songs on D.E.D were ahead of their time. Listen to this cd today without the MTV, Blender jadedness, and you will hear amazing guitar solos, perfect production, and great songwriting at its best.

I should say that warrant is a very underated band, alltough they camed in a time where many people think music wasn't serious, they are great and talented musicians with a great lead singer in Jani Lane. I think this album is their best, very hard, but it also keeps the glam that put Warrant in the picture in the late 80's. I dont know why so many people criticize this great band, cause back then they used to be cool, as far as Im concerned Ive never been afraid to show what I really like, and not what people tell me to like, so I shout: WARRANT IS A GREAT BAND!!, this album rocks, the best songs on the album are: Machine gun, April 2031, Andy Warhol was right, The Bitter Pill and All of my bridges are burning, but overall it is a great record, so stop listening to stupid people who dont have their own taste and if you love rock n roll add this great cd to your collection, and dont be afraid to admit that you love it.

When this album flopped in 92 it was like the death knell for the hairbands. Funny thing though, Warrant sorta got the last laugh cause they made a timeless record. It's just a good old solid melodic rock album(remember those?). Excellent songs like Machine Gun, Hole in My Wall, All My Bridges Are Burning, and Let it Rain. This record Sounds really good- very clear and well produced. Joey Allen plays smokin guitar solos throughout, especially on Quicksand. Metal Sludge punching bag Jani Lane really was(and probably still is) a good songwriter and a fine singer.

Don't write this album off just because it's Warrant. When I first heard this I thought "Warrant has went heavy". This disc is peppered with great tracks like "The Hole in My Wall", "April 2031" (disturbing track), "Andy Worhol", "Bitter Pill" & "Let it Rain". Even the aggressive album cover and title shows that Warrant was experimenting and came out with some interesting & tasty results. Worth a listen!

I have to start by saying that I'm not a huge Warrant fan. While I own their first two albums, DFSR and CHERRY PIE, I think of Warrant as a solid but unexceptional hair band. After reading some good reviews here, I thought I'd take the chance and buy this album. Suffice to say, this one completely blew me away! Warrant, I didn't think you had it in you! First of all, its amazing how much more mature and heavy this album is, while still retaining enough fixture to their old sound, that shouldn't offend fans of their earlier work. "Hole in My Wall", "Bonfire" and "Quicksand" are great rockers, "April 2031" is an incredibably complex epic song, and the best on the album. "The Bitter Pill" is a great ballad. In my opinion, this is Warrant's best album, as its heavy and sophiticated enough for those who'd never normally listen to hair metal, yet it retains enough of the CHERRY PIE era bloozy grit to be relevant to fans of the old work. If you're a WARRANT fan, or just a fan of Hard Rock in general, try picking this one up, you may just find yourself pleasantly surprised.

DRFSR and Cherry Pie demonstrate Warrant's glam metal, late 80's rock that dominated the chart. From those albums, I was hooked. Yet, Dog Eat Dog was so different from these that I was slightly turned off. That was the early 90's. 1999 comes around I pick up Warrant Live, get back into the grove with Warrant's music and I decide to give Dog Eat Dog a try. Whoa! I waited TOO long to pick up this album. Even though it was a critical success, Columbia dropped them from the label for poor sales. Any true Warrant fan will tell ya that this is a fantastic album. The album is packed with a new breed of music that only Warrant could have created. Next time, I'm just going to get the new album based on the artist cause I know Warrant will only put out the best. "Andy Warhol was Right" and "The Bitter Pill" have to be two of the best songs I have ever heard. Plus, the addtion of April, 2031 brings Warrant to a new level of music. Fantastic!

This is nothing like like the Warrant albums of the past. I am not even a big fan of the other Warrant albums but this one always finds it's way in my cd player. This is a band with attitude playing and features Jani Lane's best written songs. It is a very heavy album and by that I don't just mean fast guitars. The lyrics,the mood of the album,even the ballads are all heavy. The funny part is I always thought the songs "I Saw Red" "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Bed Of Roses" from the album "Cherry Pie" would have sounded better great on this cd also.

If you are not a fan of Warrant then you will probably LIKE this album as it is in a category all by itself. Believe me, I never thought this band would have songs that would be this good. Examples are "April 2031" "The Bitter Pill" "All My Bridges Are Burining" and "Let It Rain" all of which are songs that have deep lyrics and great music. This is one of those rare albums that are overlooked and later become a must have. I think this happens to all bands. Even Kiss had their best album(in my opinion) with "Revenge". I won't review that one here but it is one overlooked by many that is another classic.

Bottom line here is this album is great. It is a very different sounding Warrant. If you liked what they were doing with "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "I Saw Red" then you will like this album. Again,if you are not a fan of Warrant you will probably also like this album. This is one of the best albums released that needs to be in your collection.

Stand Out songs: "April 2031" "The Bitter Pill" "All My Bridge Are Burning" and "Let It Rain" even though they are all great. This is just my current favorites.

For those who like 80's metal, I highly recommend this CD. It is a very mature-sounding 80's metal with a heavy chug. The first 2 songs, "Machine Gun" and "Hole In My Wall" are the 2 heaviest songs on this album. The melody in the guitar playing and keyboards throughout the album is awesome. "The Bitter Pill" is a killer heavy ballad.

"Andy Warhol Was Right" is a very interesting song. It starts off softer to set the tone of a little boy idolizing Andy. It finishes heavy, with the lyrics changing tune.

"My Bridges Are Burning" is a song depicting a young man sort of wasting his life away partying. The music fits (this song is a little faster pace). The album's closer, "Sad Teresa", is a really nice ballad.

Jani Lane and the boys did a great job with this album.

Like many who bought this album, I was already a fan of Warrant at the time. I had DRFSR, and thought it was okay, but nothing special except for a few tracks. Cherry Pie, despite the obvious sexual immaturity on the title track, was a great album from beginning to end. Every track was single material.

If it's even possible, Dog Eat Dog, was better, WAY better than Cherry Pie. Warrant grew and evolved tremendously as musicians and songwriters on this album. "Hole In My Wall" was always the highlight of the album, because it's got such a mean, nasty sounding guitar solo. "Andy Warhol Was Right" and "Quicksand" also gave me chills. Most of the album is dark, DARK, DARK! "Hollywood, So Far, So Good" is a decent enough song, being the only bright song on the album and essentially ripping off most of a Jane's Addiction riff (from "Jane Says"). That doesn't mean it can't be cool, though. "Bitter Pill" is really ambitious, and mostly succeeds, except for the operatic part, which is clearly a nod to Queen. Queen did it better, though, and I'm sure Warrant would say so, too.

Subsequent albums by Warrant would fail to live up to the quality and promise of Dog Eat Dog, although Ultraphobic had some good stuff on it ("Family Picnic" comes to mind). The band tried to change their sound after that, and they shouldn't have. They were really onto something with Dog Eat Dog.