Rough Edge: Various Artists: Hollywood Hairspray 5 CD Review

VARIOUS ARTISTS

"Hollywood Hairspray 5" (Perris Records; 2006)

While it goes without saying that the entire purpose of these "Hollywood Hairspray" collections is to promote the bands that appear hereon, it should be said that, hot damn, these CDs are fun to listen to!

"Hollywood Hairspray 5" is a collection of sixteen "new and unreleased tracks from the greatest glam rock bands worldwide." Please don't let the phrase "glam rock" scare you away. While most of the bands on this CD probably have big hair and wear too much make-up, the music, for the most part, isn't the flimsy pop rock that often gets associated with the genre. There are hints of bands ranging from Aerosmith to Motorhead to Poison throughout this CD, and virtually all of it is harder and raunchier than you might expect.

Following is a tracklisting with a brief comment about each track.

1. Chris Laney "Instinct Animal" (Sweden): A solid rocker that sounds a bit like the best of Warrant;
2. Hollywood "Hearts On Fire" (Sweden): Fast tune softened by flooding keyboards;
3. Dirty Rig "Suck It" (USA): One of the best tracks on the CD, a pounding tribute to AC/DC and Motorhead;
4. RadioVipers "Pusher" (Italy): Sleazy little number with rusty razor guitars;
5. Bastardz "Pills" (Brazil): Driving tune that could have come off an early Guns N'Roses demo;
6. The Deadthings "Forever Damned" (Australia): Punk/metal combo;
7. Sweet Cheater "Dancin' on My Grave" (USA): Motley Crue meets Poison best describes this track;
8. Gunshy "Hold On To Your Dreams Tonight" (USA): Starts out like a twisted ballad then morphs into a gently galloping rocker;
9. On Parole "Midnight in Her Eyes" (Sweden): Straight forward rock tune with a great guitar riff back;
10. Jack Viper "Merry Go Around" (UK): Weird little track with punk attitude vocals and a boogie-like rhythm;
11. Alter Ego X "Devil Woman" (Netherlands): Heavy Southern-tinged guitars. Sounds a little like Molly Hatchet;
12. Silver Dirt "Go! She Said" (Switzerland): Bluesy guitar with an Aerosmith rhythm;
13. Backseat Superstars "Love Story" (USA): Sex Pistols guitars with straight rock vocals;
14. Snow "Razorblade Kiss" (Brazil): Radio friendly hard rock with an irresistible beat;
15. Nice 'N' Sleazy "Rock 'N' Roll Addiction" (UK): Raw, raunchy glam, simple but effective;
16. Straight Fork "Women, Whiskey, Weed & Lies" (USA): Southern-tinged hard rock with a title to fit.

For more information, check out http://www.perrisrecords.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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