Waking the Dead

L.A. Guns | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 20, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Spitfire
• ASIN: B00006BTBN
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,372 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Don't Look at Me That Way

2. OK, Let's Roll

3. Waking the Dead

4. Revolution

5. The Ballad

6. Frequency

7. Psycopathic Eyes

8. Hellraisers Ball

9. City of Angels

10. Don't You Cry

Editorial Reviews

2002 release for this group of hard rockin' L.A. misfits. Produced by Andy Johns (Van Halen, Led Zeppelin). 10 tracks including, 'Don't Look At Me That Way', 'OK, Let's Roll' & 'Revolution'. Spitfire.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is rock 'n' roll back? No, but the L.A. Guns are., August 25, 2002

By 

"dokken6008" (somewhere drinking decaffeinated tea.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Waking the Dead (Audio CD)

Introduction:
>>>It's only been a year since the L.A. Guns released their first studio album on Spitfire Records, and here they are again along with a new bass-player, a new (classic) producer, and renewed "spunk" in 2002 with yet ANOTHER release. Read on....

The songs:
>>>"Don't Look At Me That Way" is a future L.A. Guns classic. Sincerely, I haven't heard an L.A. Guns rocker this GOOD since "Over The Edge", and that was in '91! 'Waking The Dead' is really the band's best since 'Hollywood Vampires', in my opinion. Other great tunes include the title-track (accompanied by a fantastic guitar solo, courtesy of Tracii Guns), "City Of Angels", "Frequency", the September 11th tribute "OK, Let's Roll", "The Ballad" (the Gunses' best ballad since "Crystal Eyes") & the a Guns throwback, "Hellrasiser's Ball". Actually, come to think about it, the only track on the entire disc that I do not find some redeeming value in is "Psycopathic Eyes". Many of the Guns fans seem to find it a quite enjoyable tune, but the punk-vibe sounds out of place on such a "metal-ish" record like 'Waking The Dead'.

The music:
>>>Tracii's riffing has improved a great deal since we least heard him on 'Man In The Moon'. The riffs on tracks 1, 9, and 3 are awesome. Most would have to agree with me when I say that Tracii's rhythm playing HAS gotten a lot better, having heard him on 'MITM', without Mick Cripps' assistance.

Enough of that already, how about that "new guy", Adam Hamilton? Man, that dude is great! Hamilton is the Gunses' new and current bass-player, and this 4-stringer's technique is the perfect compliment to Steve Riley's and Tracii's playing. As soon as I popped my copy of 'Waking The Dead' cd in the player, I felt a completely new and different energy out of the L.A. Guns that I had never felt before. I've said it before and I will say it again: I am SO glad that that Muddy-dude is gone now--he added nothing, and I mean NOTHING to the Gunses' sound. He only dettracted, if anything.

Also, has anyone noticed how Phil's voice has improved over this past three or four years? He hasn't sounded this good in quite some time--even on 'Man In The Moon'.

As for Steve, I really like the drum kit he used on 'Waking The Dead'. Should we thank his drum tech for this one?

The sound production:
>>>A thousand times better that that heard on the band's previous, more bluesy rock 'n' roll album, 'Man In The Moon'. Andy Johns is a classic producer as he has produced everything from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to one of the 80's finest bands, Cinderella.

The cover artwork:
>>>10 out of 10; the band's best EVER. Maxine is a phenomonal artist.

The overall result:
>>>Rock and roll might not be booming over the FM radio airwaves or even on your television for that matter, but the L.A. Guns sure are back. So far this is the best album of 2002 in my opinion and I never used to be a real big fan of the Guns in the first place! When it all comes down to it, 'Waking The Dead' is a phenomenal rock 'n' roll album. It exceeded my expectations by far and part of that credit is due to the Guns'new bass-player, Hamilton, and the mixing/production staff involved on the record. Classic rock 'n' roll not your thing? Then avoid 'Waking The Dead' by all means, because if good quality music is not high-priority on your shopping list, then you'll be sincerely disappointed with this one.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This IS What ROck 'n' Roll Is All About!, July 20, 2003

By 

James Walsh (Mesa, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Waking the Dead (Audio CD)

Several bands of the 80's metal genre released albums in 2002. Poison, Bon Jovi, Jackyl, Dokken, and others are on that list. Unlike a lot of pretentious critics, I will not spend the entire review of this album debating myself on if L.A. Guns was a hair band. That is an irrelevant fact to any band and I will not mock a genre that produced some of the best music ever. Simply put, this is rock 'n' roll the way it was meant to be.

From the opening track of "Don't Look At Me That Way" with a riff that rivals anything Iron Maiden has done to the final track of "Don't You Cry," L.A. Guns has produced an album with no filler, and thus no bad songs. Every song is genuine. Especially the song "Ok, Lets Roll" which is a tribute to Beamer, the gentleman who is considered a hero for saying that phrase before he prevented another American tragedy on September 11, 2001.

So, what are my favorite tracks? Hellraiser's Ball, City of Angels, and Revolution get my head banging so hard I need a medicine chest to get rid of the insuing headache!

Bottom line, this album is metal. Throw away the word pop, throw away your misconceptions of hair, throw away any divisions of metal that you choose to water down the genre with. This is metal the way it was intended from the unsung metal Gods, L.A. Guns!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothin' but the best here!, September 24, 2002

By 

Jonathan Ringlefunkk (Daytona Beach, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Waking the Dead (Audio CD)

Ever since "American Hardcore," I have picked up everything the Guns have released with a good deal of reluctance. It's not that I didn't want to hear their sound expanded beyond "Cocked and Loaded" (actually the experimental "Vicious Circle" is still my favorite Guns album), but I'm always a little afraid of who the L.A. Guns might consist of at the moment and how that will affect the incredible chemistry they seem to have had up 'til that point......

So when "Man in the Moon" comes out a year ago, and Steve, Phil, Tracii, and Mick are all back, I'm thinking it's not gonna last - definitely a great album, and a much needed dose of good, hard rock - but not gonna last.

Not only did they last, but the new album, "Waking the Dead," is certainly one of their strongest. Everything the other reviewers have said is true - the songs rock, Phil's voice is incredible, production is awesome (as in, justice is finally done to Steve's power on the kit), and Tracii and Adam flat-out kick...

Most hard rock/metal bands seem to water down their "comeback" albums a bit, or else they try and return to exactly how they used to sound, and it comes off phony and outdated......all I can say is this is the real deal.

You hear "Don't Look at Me That Way," "Revolution," and "City of Angels" and you know that these guys are playing and writing as hard and passionately as they ever have.