Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A definite improvement over Stick It To Ya, February 15, 2008
With its hit singles, Slaughter's 1990 debut Stick It to Ya might have brought the band most of their fame and glory, but their 1992 follow-up the Wild Life was a much better overall album. All of the elements that made Stick It to Ya such an uneven album are present - the clichéd lyrics, cookie-cutter hair metal style, and Mark Slaughter's high pitched wail - but somehow the band manages to make things work this time around.
What works in the Wild Life's favor is that the album has a much more melodic feel to it. It's still full of your basic love songs and party anthems, but the songs are catchier and more consistent than they were on Stick It to Ya. There is less of what I'd consider filler on this album. Sure, a hair metal album with 14 tracks is bound to have a few duds (Dance for Me Baby and Shake this Place come to mind), but it's a lot more consistent than the previous album. The album is again dominated by Mark Slaughter's signature vocals, but he appears to have learned when to hold back that sonic wail.
As much as I still enjoy this album (and similar releases by Firehouse, Steelheart, and Nelson), it's not really surprising that it was blown away by Nirvana and the rest of the grunge scene. The grunge movement provided a necessary wake up call for mainstream music, even if it soon became every bit as repetitive as the hair metal scene had become. Besides, all the Nirvana albums in the world can't change the fact that for a time, millions of people were buying albums like this one, even if they won't admit to it now.
NOTE: The 2003 reissue of the Wild Life features digitally remastered sound and a pair of bonus tracks. The digital remastering really cleans up the sound of the album, bringing it closer to today's standards. The bonus tracks are a demo version of Real Love and a "gather `round the campfire" sing-along called Perfect World. It's a shame they couldn't add the song Shout It Out from the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991 Film) soundtrack. That would have made more sense as a bonus track than another demo song.
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
always a slaughter fan, July 20, 2003
This albulm is good time fun rock and roll. Days gone by has always been a very meaningful song to me. It takes me back to the times when this song came out. I dont know why it didnt get much airplay its a great song. Shake this place is another personal favorite. Most fell in love with slaughter when stick it to ya came out, but for me it was the wild life that made them my #1. I recommend all their music if youre looking for a positive vibe. Unlike most of the 80's bands who have tried to change their sound to match popular music today, slaughter's latest studio albulm BACK TO REALITY is full of good time rock and roll. I havnt heard an albulm of its kind in years, and it was very refreshing. The live show is also great!!!
|
|
|
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even Better Than The First Slaughter Album, August 27, 2004
Slaughter has always been, and will always be, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. In 1990, Slaughter released their first album, "Stick It To Ya", which was very good. And then in 1992, Slaughter released "The Wild Life"- which turned out to be even better than their first album. Here is a rundown of every track:
"Reach For The Sky"- A good feel good song, a good way to open an album. There is a cool intro at the beginning of this track.
"Out for Love"- A heavy metal rock anthem. At the beginning of this track, there is a replay clip of the Slaughter song "Up All Night"with car sounds.
"The Wild Life"- A song about a girl who parties all the time. The best song on the whole album, and defintely one of the best songs Slaughter has ever recorded.
"Days Gone By"- A very pretty ballad that shows Mark Slaughter's talents as both a songwriter and a pianist. Sounds a lot like Queen.
"Dance For Me Baby"- Not one of Slaughter's best songs, but pretty good.
"Times They Change"- A song Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum wrote during the Gulf War. A clip of this song appeared on the January 16, 1992 NBC segment on the one-year anniversary of the U.S. bombing on Baghdad, and clips of the special appear on this song.
"Move to the Music"- A fun song, shows Blas Elias's talent as a drummer.
"Real Love"- This track sounds very 80's, and it is about a guy who was dumped by his girlfriend, and is depressed because he can't find real love. Don Johnson should be jealous by the fact that he didn't write this song.
"Shake This Place"- One of those fun songs that makes you want to throw a big party with loud music.
"Streets of Broken Hearts"- One of Sluaghter's prettiest ballads. This one should have been a hit.
"Hold On"- A nice and catchy ballad.
"Do Ya Know"- Not one of my favorite Slaughter songs, but this one is very good with a good message. Sounds like a song Gene Simmons would write. I won't give away this one, because it is one of those songs that is so good that you have to listen to the lyrics to figure out what the song is about.
"Old Man"- A Slaughter blues song. Not something I ever pictured, but for their first attempt at blues, Slaughter did a pretty good job.
Accoustic version of "Days Gone By"- This is the version of "Days Gone By"that is performed only on accoustic guitar. Very pretty, you can listen to the music and know what the lyrics are while just listening to the music.
Original demo of "Real Love"- Good thing the original demo of "Real Love"wasn't released as a single, but cool to have on the album anyway.
"Perfect World"- A very patriotic song about what it would be like if we could live in a world with peace and no war or fighting. A good song to listen to after 9/11 and this whole Iraq mess.
So there you have it all. "The Wild Life" is a very good album, and you should hear it for yourself.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Slaughter 
