Artist - Various Artists
Album - Stripped – VH1 Classic Metal Mania
Label - Sidewinder Music
Reviewer - Robin Steeley
Released early this February on Sidewinder music, VH1 Classic Metal Mania: Stripped is a plethora of all your early metal favorites. The album is a compilation of the best hard rock ballads from the ‘80’s world of hair metal. It includes acoustic versions of hits from Poison, Night Ranger, Scorpions, Cinderella, Queensryche, Tesla, and Winger just to name a few. It even features a rare acapella track of Extreme’s “More Than Words”.
From the first notes of Poison’s “Every Rose Has its Thorn” to the very last chord of Great White’s hit “Save Your Love” it will take you back to the decadence that abounded when this music was created. Jamie Talbot from Immortal Entertainment produced the compilation and the production quality is outstanding. VH1 Classic, a 24-hour network that presents music videos, concerts, and music specials, will promote the album heavily on its station.
It struggles to get across the notion that the 80’s glam rock days weren’t all about aqua net, spandex, and make up, these bands produced heartfelt ballads that gained them recognition and a whole new audience of teen girls. Years later, those teen girls are all grown up and missing the nostalgia those songs created, Stripped gives them the perfect opportunity to re live those moments.
My favorite tracks were Scorpions live version of “Wind of Change”; it really captures the quality of their sound live, and I also loved Queensryche’s live “Silent Lucidity” as well as Warrant’s “I Saw Red”, Tesla’s “The Way it Is” and my own personal all time favorite, Great White’s “Save Your Love” which has a live introduction telling how the song was originally written.
Overall, the songs are a gathering of imports, live recordings, and even a few new acoustic tracks and should be a must have for any arena rock collector.
VH1 Classic Metal Mania: STRIPPED Full Track Listing:
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" Poison (4:27)
"Sister Christian" Night Ranger (5:08) New Recording)
"Wind of Change" Scorpions (5:30)
"Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)" Cinderella (5:09) (New Recording)
"Silent Lucidity" Queensryche (5:29)
"More Than Words" Extreme (4:09)
"I Saw Red" Warrant (3:44)
"The Way It Is" Tesla (6:03)
"Miles Away" Winger (3:58)
"Ballad of Jane" L.A. Guns (4:56) (New Recording)
"When The Children Cry" White Lion (4:30) (New Recording)
"When I Look Into Your Eyes" Firehouse (4:04)
"Fly To The Angels" Slaughter (3:22)
"More Than Words Can Say" Alias (3:51) (New Recording)
"Save Your Love" Great White (5:25) (New Recording)
