Dear Poison: We Want New Music, Not Another Rehash
Friday, October 8, 2010 at 12:01AM So Poison will release a box set November 9. The box set, called Nothin’ But a Good Time: The Poison Collection will feature “34 studio hits and concert recordings, plus an exclusive, limited edition ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ bandana.”
Seriously.
A bandana? Oh my.
Why, oh why, do these bands we love keep doing this to us? Must we have another rehash? The box set will have the songs on 2 CDs. I’d say this would be worth buying if there was a rarities disc, too but as it stands, who needs this? It’s all music we already have.
Songs included in the box set include "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," "Unskinny Bop," and "Something To Believe In," among others. The cool part is that the box set includes a full-color booklet with photos.
But seriously, we need some new music. Or some rarities. Or a DVD…something rare or new. Rehash, repackage, re-scam-the-loyal-fans-who-love-you. Whatever. Poison will soon celebrate 25 years of Glam. If that doesn’t call for new music, I don’t know what does. Sure, we’ll all still want to hear “Look What the Cat Dragged In” when we see Poison in concert. But we’ll take a couple new tunes, too.
Nothin’ But a Good Time: The Poison Collection will be released via Capitol/EMI.
Here's Bret Michaels' new video, too. "Riding Against the Wind"
Reader Comments (27)
This is about bands giving the fans something from the vaults.
If these guyz or Capitol or whoever the hell put this box together would have done that they would have sold a helluva lot more and might have even generated enough interest to inspire ol' Brett to get off his high horse, grab the boyz and get serious about an album of new material AND a REAL tour!
"Look What The Cat Dragged In II", where are you?
It's always good to get a bit of friendly debate going. :)
Firstly, I think your speculation that a new album would sell better than a greatest hits package is unrealistic. Poison's first three albums have sold better than anything subsequent to that. I'd lay down even money that Open Up & Say Ahh... STILL sells more units in a year than Hollyweird. You might argue that that's an indication of the relative quality of the albums (although a few people here have expressed a lot of affection for Hollyweird), but I'd suggest that it's got more to do with the fact that people buy what they're familiar with. If this box set sells well, then Capitol might express an interest in encouraging the guys to put out a new album, but if the history of Poison is anything to go by, they have to fight tooth and nail to prove to any record exec that they're still relevant. It's not fair, but it's true.
Second: you're making the assumption (like a lot of people, I reckon) that the reason Poison aren't sitting down and writing together comes entirely down to Bret's ego. You actually have no real evidence of that. The guys in Poison have a history of being fairly tight-lipped and diplomatic about their opinions of the other band members, at least in public. There's been a bit of grumbling, but certainly nothing of an Aerosmith-level bun fight. You perceive this to be a case of Bret deliberately holding out, but I'm sure the man himself may have a different take on it. In any case, I've never once heard him speak dismissively of Poison (or his bandmates) - and I wish I could say the same for the others. The tension that traditionally existed between Bret and C.C. is of no news to anyone, and has always seemed to make their songwriting collaboration a trial, but Rikki and Bobby have their complaints too. Like it or hate it, this clash of four egos has always been a big part of the Poison dynamic (as it is for a lot of bands). It's not right to blame any one person for that. If any one of them isn't digging it any more, then what reason do they have to stick around and go through agony with a bunch of other musicians who are all pulling in different directions?
The fact is, they're never going to write LWTCDI again - nor should they. They're not in their early 20s anymore. They're four men, approaching 50, who all have kids and mortgages and responsibilities. Even if they had a motivation to write mid-80s glam, I doubt that their heads are in that space these days. Just because you love that album... that doesn't mean that they do...
But a big part of why my affection for Poison has continued over these 20-something years is because they have evolved and moved on - just like I have. I really like their later albums. I really like their solo stuff. They've continued to be relevant to me, simply BECAUSE they've changed. No artist should ever stand still...
But I guess that's just my take on it. :)
All I'm talkin' about is a little integrity. They sort of had it in spite of themselves with "Look What The Cat Dragged In".
I would personally classify that as somewhat of a breakthrough Rock'n'Roll album.
To me, it's one of the pillar album of the first wave of 80's L.A. Glam Metal, up there with G'n'R's "Appetite", Crue's "Too Fast For Love", L.A. Guns' "Cocked & Loaded", Dokken's "Under Lock And Key" and Ratt's "Out of the Cellar"...
So, here's my strategy for Poison...
It's really quite simple...
1) Put out a Box Set with the Paris stuff on it plus other rarities, not just the hits repackaged...
2) Put out new album of all original material that frickin' R-O-C-K-S!
And not give a damn whether it sells anything!
That's when they might do just that!...
THIS IS GNA B THE NEXT PSYCODELIC NU MUSIC HIP OP BIZZ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqEdKmmS-VE