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James
 Rep: 664 

Re: LA Guns

James wrote:

I downloaded LA Guns first few albums. Hadn't listened to them in a long time. Brings back a lot of memories of the early 90s.

Boy....talk about a band that's just one song away from launching into the stratosphere....but never gets there and then the window is painted shut.

They've got a few killer, catchy rockers.....Never Enough, Malaria, Kiss My Love Goodbye, Electric Gypsy, I Wanna Be Your Man....but nothing on the level of a Jungle, Enter Sandman, Rock of Ages, etc.

They've got a couple damn good ballads....The Ballad of Jayne, It's Over Now....but nothing on the level of a SCOM, Nothing Else Matters, etc.

So close....yet so far away.

It had to be frustrating. A band closely associated with GNR yet is never able to escape their shadow.

For starters, the debut album isn't good enough. The second album, Cocked and Loaded, might have put them in a better position to contend. Time was running out

PaSnow
 Rep: 205 

Re: LA Guns

PaSnow wrote:

Yeah. Its ashame they didnt get much of a chance in 91/92. I recall Mr Big being the last glam band with a hit song being played on MTV around October 91. Then that was it.

Jayne was a great song, minor hit. Geez, Black Crowes had perfect timing, a year before grunge yet the public was still starved for a guns followup.

I mean, LA Guns was pretty big, but really coulda used a boost from a monster album or song or two.

bigbri
 Rep: 341 

Re: LA Guns

bigbri wrote:
James wrote:

I downloaded LA Guns first few albums. Hadn't listened to them in a long time. Brings back a lot of memories of the early 90s.

Boy....talk about a band that's just one song away from launching into the stratosphere....but never gets there and then the window is painted shut.

They've got a few killer, catchy rockers.....Never Enough, Malaria, Kiss My Love Goodbye, Electric Gypsy, I Wanna Be Your Man....but nothing on the level of a Jungle, Enter Sandman, Rock of Ages, etc.

They've got a couple damn good ballads....The Ballad of Jayne, It's Over Now....but nothing on the level of a SCOM, Nothing Else Matters, etc.

So close....yet so far away.

It had to be frustrating. A band closely associated with GNR yet is never able to escape their shadow.

For starters, the debut album isn't good enough. The second album, Cocked and Loaded, might have put them in a better position to contend. Time was running out

Can't believe I missed this. I gotta be the resident LA Guns expert here.

Yeah, they were thisclose to being huge. If I had to give up the GNR or LA Guns catalog, I'd get rid of GNR in a second. LA Guns have just been more productive.

I believe their best album Vicious Circle from 1996. Has some experimental stuff and some clearly influenced by grunge, but it's still LA Guns. Waking the Dead is also damn good.

Over the Edge from Hollywood Vampires is my favorite from them overall. Dark, moody, a ballad that opened an album. No one did that.

The recent stuff now that Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis are back together is pretty damn good. Aggressive, heavy, just taking-no-shit hard rock. Their latest song is called Let You Down, and it's a somber moody track no too far removed from Over the Edge. It's on Spotify, and I linked to in the What Are You Listening To thread.

A great thing about them is, Phil Lewis still has his voice. He was always raspy and soulful, and that's not hard to replicate with age.

Completely underrated as far as I'm concerned. The revolving door lineup has sucked even more than GNR. Like GNR though, it's all about the singer and guitarist. As long as it's Phil and Tracii, that's all they need. They wrote the songs. No one is missing Mick Cripps' rhythm, and he didn't write like Izzy.

It's a fun discography to go through. Some stinkers, but there's at least a couple gems on each release.

Go like this:
Cocked and Loaded
Vicious Circle
Hollywood Vampires
LA Guns
Waking the Dead
The Missing Piece
The Devil You Know
Tales from the Strip
Hollywood Forever
Man in the Moon

James
 Rep: 664 

Re: LA Guns

James wrote:

I should've just downloaded the rest of the discography. I never listened past Hollywood Vampires.

The drama was interesting too. I'll never forget when Traci started his own lineup and had Dilana in the band. They were touring in a van. The other lineup wasn't doing too well either.

You'd think they could've buried the hatchet back then. Why drag it out.... especially playing at that level.

bigbri
 Rep: 341 

Re: LA Guns

bigbri wrote:
James wrote:

I should've just downloaded the rest of the discography. I never listened past Hollywood Vampires.

The drama was interesting too. I'll never forget when Traci started his own lineup and had Dilana in the band. They were touring in a van. The other lineup wasn't doing too well either.

You'd think they could've buried the hatchet back then. Why drag it out.... especially playing at that level.

Since I think I’ve grown to know your musical taste a bit, I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how eclectic and experimental Vicious Circle is. Waking the Dead is just straightforward kickass rock. Andy Johns worked on it, so the production is pretty damn good.

PaSnow
 Rep: 205 

Re: LA Guns

PaSnow wrote:
James wrote:

I should've just downloaded the rest of the discography. I never listened past Hollywood Vampires.

The drama was interesting too. I'll never forget when Traci started his own lineup and had Dilana in the band. They were touring in a van. The other lineup wasn't doing too well either.

You'd think they could've buried the hatchet back then. Why drag it out.... especially playing at that level.

Dilana lol. She ahd a good voice. Crazy how she's almost first name diva (Taylor, Beyonce) thats fairly well known, yet never had much of a hit. Although that was also more the stage name like Madonna or Rihanna in a way, not ever going by a last name. She had a good sound tho, I did like her on that show. Made a pretty decent name for herself.

Yeah, I think there was an iteration of LA Guns that neither was in for a time. I saw a festival page with the lineup, and someone made a comment asking if its Traci's or Phils. Pretty sure Traci commented on FB and said Phils no longer in the bad. Said something like its BS but it is NOT LA Guns. Not sure what contractually they had to keep it, I think I commented on here before & Bri might have explained it, but I thought it was no founding members.

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