Customer Reviews

Look What the Cat Dragged in

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

 

 

When someone thinks about the 80s Hair-Glam metal scene, one of the first bands that pops up is Poison. Lead singer Bret Michaels, guitarist C.C. Deville, bassist Bobby Dall and drummer Rikki Rocket were a big part of the Hair metal movement. They looked like girls, they had poppy songs and big hair, the band had the look, songs and feels of the Glam movement and moving to LA on the sunset strip they were at the right place at the right time and MTV supported them and boosted the band's career. Everything seemed right at the time, Poison's debut "Look What the Cat Dragged In" was released in 1986 when Glam was already big with bands like Ratt, Bon Jovi and Motley Crue.

The album starts out with "Cry Enough", one of the best songs of the album. With this first song you know exactly what Poison is all about and get the feel of what they were doing. "I Want Action" is great, the band is full of energy on this song . "Talk Dirty to Me" is one of the band's best known songs and a very good one too. It had a great riff, catchy and just a great song. "I Won't Forget You" is a ballad, not as good as "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" of course but still a very good ballad."Play Dirty" is another good song. "Look What the Cat Dragged In" is one of my favorites here, catchy and silly with lyrics like: "Oh my god look what the cat dragged in, livin' my life, sinner to sin" don't have any depth but they weren't mean to and they don't need to. "Want Some Need Some" another solid song for Poison. "Blame It on You" is not bad but it's not great either. "#1 Bad Boy" is probably the song I like least, I don't hate it but it's pretty cheesy. Back in the 80s this may have worked but not in these times. "Let Me Go To the Show" is a solid 80s track and I really like this one.

You can't help but feel ashamed listening to some of these songs but in the same way you like them. I rate "Look What the Cat Dragged In" at four stars. Let's face it, Poison's music doesn't have much depth and they really aren't a five stars band. One thing: they do know how to have fun and those songs certainly are just that, fun. Don't take this music too seriously as it clearly wasn't meant to be, and despite having many haters Poison is a good fun band. Under all this makeup there is some rock n'roll to the band not just looks, they aren't great musicians but altogether the band makes it work.

If you're a fan of the glam metal sound of the 80s, check out Poison if you haven't already, the band achieved more success with their next album "Open Up and Say...Ahh!" and was very popular during the late 80s and early 90s. While the band changed their sound and matured in the 90s this is the sound that got them famous and it's they're known for. This album has been remastered along with "Open Up And Say...Ahh!" and "Flesh And Blood" in 2006. This remastered edition is the way to go,it got a much needed sound improvement.Those remasters have bonus tracks,single versions or demos which are a nice bonus.

This was the first LP I bought with my first weekend job wages.I had seen the video on MTV, CC, The blonde bombshell, stole my heart with his guitar playing, from that moment I was a Poison fan and always will be.
Following several house moves and one country move!! I lost my LP and was so so happy when I saw this album again. I had to have it.
It sounds as good today as it did when it first came out, (obviously better being digitally remastered). But I tell you, Poison had and still has that magic from the first opening track to the closing one, this album shows the world why we adore the talented quartet that is Bret, CC, Bobby and Rikki. The Glam Kings!!
Rock on boys, we love ya!!

Look What the Cat Dragged In is a solid debut from 1986 by the glam metal band Poison. Of course, lots of people have already heard the songs "Talk Dirty to Me" and "I Want Action," but I think the other songs here also have great hooks and melodies.

In my opinion, the songs on this album, while being well-polished, still have just a little more of a raw, bar-band edge to them than songs on Poison's other albums--especially "Play Dirty" and "Want Some, Need Some." The title track is downright HEAVY, and "I Won't Forget You" is a really nice ballad. As a guitarist, I can tell you that C.C. Deville's guitar work and solos are fantastic throughout the album, and the rhythm section really pounds too. Bret Michaels isn't what I would call a technically gifted singer like Rob Halford or Michael Kiske, but I think his style works just fine for Poison's music.

I highly recommend this Poison album, as well as the two that followed it, Open Up and Say...Ahh! and Flesh & Blood. This is perfectly-executed glam metal.

Has it really been 20 years since the original release of Look What the Cat Dragged In? 1986 was the year that "hair metal" truly established its dominance over the music industry. Albums like Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, Europe's The Final Countdown and Cinderella's Night Songs all played a role in bringing metal to the top of the pop charts that year, but it was Poison's makeup drenched debut album that sealed the deal.

Look What the Cat Dragged In was the ultimate victory of style over substance. Poison's over-the-top stage antics and outrageous glam appearance had as much to do with their success as their music, which wasn't exactly groundbreaking. The songs on the band's debut were by-the-book odes to getting laid, talking about getting laid, partying (to get laid), and drinking (before, during, and after getting laid). It's shallow as hell, and easy to make fun of 20 years later, but at the time this album made perfect sense to me. Obviously I wasn't the only one to think so, because the album sold a zillion copies and featured some pretty huge radio/MTV hits like "I Want Action" and "Talk Dirty to Me."

Look What the Cat Dragged In may be a pretty basic album, but it certainly made an impact. Scores of lipstick and spandex bands would soon come out of the woodwork, though none of them ever really came close to Poison's success. The band had a chemistry and personality that was hard to beat, and that was reflected in their music.

The 2006 reissue of Look What the Cat Dragged In gives the album a much needed tune-up. If you've ever had the original disc in a changer with some more recent albums, you can tell that its sound quality is quite poor. You almost need twice the volume just to hear it. Thankfully, this album has been digitally remastered and the sound quality is as good as anything released today. They also added three bonus tracks. The first two are early versions of "I Want Action" and "I Won't Forget You", which are a bit rougher than the album versions. A demo called "Don't Mess Around With Jim" is also included. This is a stomping, bluesy number that really doesn't fit with the rest of the album, but is interesting enough as a bonus track.

Great sound quality, and whoever did this one finally got the remixed version correctly on here for "I Won't Forget You," which is listed on the recently-released greatest hits but is only the original version. This is not an earlier as one reviewer wrote, but a later remixed version for the video and single when it was released as a single. My only suggestion would have been for them to have included the original version of "Cry Tough" which if you look at the liner notes, was remixed before the album came out, thus the version many of you have heard is not the original. Coincidentally, the guy who remixed "Cry Tough" on the album is the same guy who later remixed "I Won't Forget You" for the video/single, which the reissue doesn't credit.

Great debut album re released for the 20th anniversary with bonus tracks. Should've included more demos from that time like 'Rock like a rocker', 'Steal away the night','Razors edge' and 'Ain't sayin nothing'

The Good
Look What the Cat Dragged In (as well as the other releases) sounds a lot more crisp and clean as I remember it, but still shows how the group was honing their sound. That's not a bad thing, but Poison really blows the roof off these songs today. Sometime you forget that songs like "Cry Tough," "I Want Action," "Talk Dirty to Me," and "I Won't Forget You" were from their debut album (and that it was 20 years ago!). The bonus track included are 7" inch mixes of "I Want Action" and "Cry Tough," as well as an unreleased cut "Don't Mess Around with Jim."

Open Up and Say...Ahh is where Poison really made their mark. Oddly enough this release didn't spawn as many hits as their debut, but it does contain their most successful track ever "Every Rose Has It's Thorn." In addition to that, MTV favorites "Nothin' But a Good Time," "Fallen Angel," and "Your Momma Don't Dance" will refresh the memories of your youth. Another notable change is the inclusion of the original album cover. Honestly, it's quite tame even for back then. I even discovered a few long-lost album tracks that were just as good as the singles ("Back to the Rocking Horse," "Tearin' Down the Walls"). Bonus tracks include one song "Livin' for the Minute" and a 10 minute interview that involves the band talking about themselves and the album (from back then).

Anyone that loved Poison's first two albums kind of got a bad taste in their mouth with the release of Flesh and Blood. Once again, not because it was bad, but it was because Poison was starting to drift away from their over-the-top pop-metal sound, to a more gritty and bluesy sound. The most memorable rocking track from this album would be "Unskinny Bop," but for the most part, the other hit singles were ballads or borderline ones ("Life Goes On," "Ride the Wind," "Something to Believe In"). Bonus tracks include and acoustic version of "Something to Believe In" and an unreleased instrumental demo of "God Save the Queen."


The Bad
Doesn't make much sense on the part of Poison and Capitol to remaster and release these albums within months of releasing an 18 track greatest hits package. Who wants these three albums when you can just have the best songs all on one CD? For the bonus tracks maybe? I doubt it. None of the bonus tracks are anything special. Who the hell cares about 7" mixes and an interview? How many times are you going to listen to that? Sure there are a couple of unreleased tracks, but take it from a Poison fan, you can live without them.

The Verdict
Nice to hear the sound updated, kind-of neat to hear the unreleased stuff, but your better off picking up The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock. It has all of the hits and none of the filler (well, except for the new cover songs).