Customer Reviews

Freak Show

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

 

 

This band was just good clean rock and roll. The sound is early Van Halen all the way. It's a shame this release did not get the attention their debut received, because I think this one was better. Great guitar riffs, great grooves, good music to blast on a summer day. Check out 'Hang on St. Christopher', 'THC Groove', and 'Talk to your Daughter'.

I discovered this band just recently, it's a shame they got to record only four albums. If you like Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Ratt, Rock City Angels... You're gonna love these guys. Hang on St-Christopher talk to your daughter & do me raw are excellent tracks. A must listen to metal-hard rock fans. Their debut & Zaza are also great albums. I purchased them used (real cheap), hear what your missing !

By the time Bulletboys released their sophomore record Freakshow, in 1991, music tastes had started to change in a more alternative direction. Bulletboys were scheduled to release their follow-up album in 1990, however vocalist Marq Torien developed voice issues and had to push the recording of the record back several months. How does Freakshow measure up to their self-titled debut record? Well, I plan to let you know.

Freakshow in my own opinion, is Bulletboys strongest record of their career. The songs seem better written, and Torien's voice doesn't seem to have suffered from the issue's he had earlier in the recording process. Ted Templeman is back at the helm for a second time, and while I wasn't impressed with his production on their debut album, his work shines through quite well on here. Freakshow also saw the Bulletboys branch out and incorporate a more bluesy feel to the album, which I think serves these guys quite well. Now to my favorite tracks from the album, Talk To Your Daughter, Good Girl, Hang On St. Christopher, Hell Yeah!, Thrill That Kills and Freakshow are the standout tracks from Freakshow. The rest of the record falls just a bit short, and it ends up in the filler department.

Freakshow is overall a more well-rounded album than Bulletboys debut. It's actually quite enjoyable to listen to, and with the dirt cheap prices (I paid .01 for my copy), I don't see how you could go wrong.

the BulletBoys first record might have the hits (Smooth Up, Love of Money),
but Freakshow has the balls. Hell Ya, THC Groove, Hang on St. Christopher,
Goodgirl, Ripping Me are all killer tunes. this band definitely had a different
vibe than most of the late 80s bands of their genre, whatever you want to call
it. a very uncompromising, interesting record...

Song List
1. Hang On St. Christopher
2. Do Me Raw
3. Say Your Prayers
4. Ripping Me
5. Thrill That Kills
6. Hell Yeah!
7. THC Groove
8. O Me O My
9. Freakshow
10. Huge
11. Goodgirl
12. Talk To Your Daughter


Album Credits
Ted Templeman, Producer


Album Notes
The Bulletboys: Marq Torien (vocals), Mick Sweda (guitar, background vocals), Lonnie Vencent (bass, background vocals) and Jimmy D'Anda (drums, percussion).Additional personnel: Bobby LaKind, Ted Templeman (percussion on "Hang On St. Christopher"), Garth Richardson (background vocals on "Thrill That Kills").Engineers: Jeff Hendrickson, Mike Tacci, Lori Fumar, Jeff Poe and John Jackson.

I've always had some of the Bulletboys songs around that i've loved to rock to over the years, and with the quality of todays music, where it seems you can't find a band who knows there way around a guitar, or has to have a singer trying to sound like the sex pistols or something, I decided it was time to expand my Bulletboys collection.

I picked this album cause I had not heard of anything from this album.

I gotta say, after listening to it, I'm pretty disappointed in them. I was expecting to find gems like "Hard as a rock", "Rock Candy", "Hell on my wheels" or "Mean Green"... but what I found was an album that seemed like two decent songs surrounded in complete fillers.

At first glance of the title called, "Hang on St. Christopher" I was sure i would hate it, but it turned out to be my favorite track on this album. And it was also refreshing to hear vocals that where not just belting up a scream and sustain, instead being a lower pitch regular voice that I think these guys should do a bit more of.

The other song that I took a liking to was, "Talk to your daughter". It was interesting to hear the bulletboys use there sound and show us what they sound like doing some old classic blues riffs, nothing special, nothing fancy, just some good old down to the bone grinding blues.

The rest of the album, as I said, sounded nothing like anything more then fillers, written on the spot, and really made me think this was an album by a band who made there first album and had not had any tips on production value or that the songs where going no where, had nothing special to them, and sometimes when the lead singer is hitting these high notes and sustaining it, with two key changes/pitch changes to the one word sung out for 5 seconds, it really just started to give me a headache.

Other thoughts I had was that they where using cheap attempts at commercial structure, but not getting anything worth listening to again after it. It was like the backing bands vocals where trying to do something like.... I dunno, a band that plays parties, no one really pays attention to them, but you know they have the talent to do something great, but they just can't put a decent song together.

It was like it needed a comedian writing lyrics over it, then it would OK, but this is the bulletboys, not Dr Dirty.

The title track Freakshow seemed to be one of the worst songs on the album. I don't know why they thought that was worthy of taking the albums title, or maybe they decided to name the album that first, then at last minute thought they should do a song on it that matches the albums title, and threw any old thing together.

To me, the Bulletboys came off sounding like they have the talent to play, but they need help writing and composing things to play. And I'm only saying that about this album, all I have heard and owned previously is pretty much a collection of greatest hits. And it has puzzled me over the years why so many of my friends have never heard of this band, and why they where not more popular then they are... but if the rest of there albums are like this, 2 or 3 decent songs and the rest is just fillers never to be played again, then that is whats holding them back, they need there "Back In Black"/White Album/Dark Side Of The Moon" kind of hit record.

However, I may know nothing, this is just whats been going through my mind after hearing this album, the first full album by them I have ever heard.

Oh, well... hopefully there other albums where a lot better.

With This second stab at the rock world, Bulletboys decided to follow up there rocking debut with an album that although retains the fun of the debut, takes a bit of a darker turn.

Overall all the songs are well made, and worth all of your listening...but, the only problem is that not all of the songs grab you like all the songs on the debut did.