Customer Reviews

Wasted in America

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

 

 

If you liked metal in the 80's, this is a hidden gem that you absolutely need to find and purchase. This one along with their first release, Black out in the Red Room, are so much better than even the most popular metal bands of the 80's. Just take a listen to the first four tracks on this CD to see just how slick this band was-you'll find yourself wondering why this band was not more popular. If you like or did like metal at all and do not have this one, find it and take a listen-you will not be sorry.

These cats never hit it big because they were just too damn hip for the masses to grasp. It's an odd mix of GNR & The Chili Peppers, sort of a hard rock funk stew. Jizzy Pearl does sound a lot like Axl but has a beatnik vibe that makes him unique. Title cut hits hard with droning melodic guitars and Jizzy's Alice Cooper like snarl. Spit and Yucca Man lock in to relentless grooves. This band was obviously tight as hell when they made this record. Don't know much about Skid, but the dude could write, and not just good riffs- check out the lyrics on Social Sidewinder. Fave is Miss America- perfect blend of slick 80's rock with skeptical lyrics and a hint of grunge. For what it's worth, all of this bands' records are solid. Also, check out Jizzy Pearl's website- www.jizzypearl.com. This guy is funny as hell and very intelligent. His latest solo record Just A Boy(available only on his website) is five stars in my humble opinion.

Love/Hate were certainly an enigma in the early 90's - as most pop metal bands were trying to do the Bon Jovi thing with slick ballads and cheesy rockers (some decent, such as Danger Danger, some awful, such as Trixter), Love/Hate basically did the Guns N' Roses thing but a little heavier and less accessible. Gutteral, sleazy "pop" metal that is a direct descendent of Shout At The Devil and Appetite For Destruction, but with more humor and musical tricks injected into the songs. Every player is firing on all cylinders, the guitar tone and solos are heavy but not always obvious or expected, and vocalist Jizzy Pearl's screech is one of the better examples of typical 80's metal. I read a review once that called this the 2nd best metal album of the 90's, and I wouldn't be too quick to disagree. Wasted In America was a great effort from a sadly unnoticed band that deserved to be a major player, I guess they never had a sappy enough ballad to break them through to the masses. Nearly every tune on here is a keeper, and last but not least, you can probably find it fairly cheap.

Best Tracks:
"Wasted In America" - Straight up driving rock with great guitar.
"Spit" - Queen-like vocals on the intro always crack me up, they make lyrics like 'Throbbing, pulsating, gyrating, hyperventilating' sound angelic. After that it's a slamming GNR meets Chili Peppers-type tune.
"Yucca Man" - Who knows what this is about, but it's heavy and the musicianship is great.
"Happy Hour" - Way left of center lyrics go hand in hand with this odd timed beat, all the time changes and musical/lyrical quirks make this as artsy and proggy as heavy Crimson or Rush.
"Tranquilizer" - Beautiful intro is deceptive, kicks into metal around 1 minute. Great song, love the guitar all the way through.
"Dont F*** With Me" - The band's odd sense of humor pops up, this is a charming and hilariously catchy sing along - a childish and essential rant that is 10000 times better than "Get In The Ring" or any other hateful tracks for it's sense of humor.

Wasted In America is Love/Hate's best album (in my opinion). I'm just happy that it's still avaliable!! I'll play a hole in it!!!!

Let it be known and acknowledged throughout the realm that this is a good album. It resonates with debauchery, slumming, and general otherwise occupations pursued while drinking. It's easy to look at this band's song titles and think that this is all, yet Jizzy and co. place a stamp of adventure and peril on living on the wild side and the slippery slide of booze becomes a mantra, yet one chanted beneath the winsome altar of Dionysus. ':
This is probably their most "fun" album. Let's Rumble" reeks of barbed wire and oil spills; the songs are heavy and true to Thor. "I'm Not Happy" is a daft mix of liquid thunder and poignant melodic malaise.
"Wasted in America" is a look back at the boys on top of the world and the seemingly good times that resonated onto vinyl/cassette/etc..
Love/ Hate was/is much better than the average metal band of the late 80's and should be given a second look by the Rolling Stone crowd and their ilk. If you belong to this Men's Health demigod group, contrite yourself with three straight listens of "Wasted in America" and a devoted drink of at least six Budweisers (Zinfandel and Syrah acceptable). Then apply yourself to the prescribed regimen of 200 ab crunches- though they'll seem insignificant at this point, given the jokerish majesty that is "Wasted in America". All hail the king- and the joker!

I was expecting some rockin tracks like "Rock Queen" on this one but it's not really here. This album is also (too produced). Its ok but their first CD is better.

If you like Love hate firste 1 Blackout in the red room .
You will like Wasted in america .miss love hate