Poison – Flesh & Blood (Release Year -1990)
A recent poster at another site called Poison “a footnote, albeit a fairly listenable one.” I started thinking about the criticism about Poison and some of the other bands participating in the Rocklahoma Rock Festival, and got the old creative juices flowing. How many of the bands participating in this show are still quality acts in 2007? How many of the acts have such a strong catalog of music that they can put on live shows each year and sell thousands of tickets? The first band that comes to mind is none other than the glam rock band, Poison.
Poison has been touring almost annually, with very little new music to support their touring efforts. The bottom line is, people love Poison, and I am no exception. Any band that has sold more than 25 million albums is more than a mere footnote. They
are a 80’s hard rock staple and always will be. The strength of their tunes is what pulls people in to big shows like the Rocklahoma Rock Festival.
Flesh & Blood is one of Poison’s very successful studio discs, and still stands up well in 2007. Flesh & Blood hit #2 on the U.S. charts, and has sold over 3 million copies to date. This disc spawned three gold singles: “Unskinny Bop,” “Ride the Wind,” and the ballad “Something To Believe In.”
The first couple of tracks off of Flesh and Blood are throw aways to me, but this disc picks up steam at Sacrifice (Flesh & Blood) and doesn’t let up from there.
Swampjuice (Soul-O) is nothing more than an acoustical little romp leading up to Unskinny Bop. Unskinny Bop was a huge hit for Poison. The guitar riff was extremely simple, but the song itself was infectious.
Let it Play wasn’t a hit for Poison, but it is a fun, upbeat song and keeps the pace going well on Flesh and Blood.
Life Goes On is one of two, killer ballads on Flesh and Blood.
Come Hell or High Water is one of the heavier tracks on this disc, but is still very listenable. CC Deville unleashes a few more solos throughout this track. You rarely ever hear this one today, but it is a cool Poison song.
Ride the Wind is a very good upbeat rocker that was a modest hit for Poison. The video below does a fairly good capturing the energy from the band’s live shows.
Don’t Give Up An Inch is a catchy up tempo rocker that got lost in the sea of hits on Flesh & Blood.
Something to Believe In needs no introduction. This song is one of the biggest hit songs Poison has ever released. It is a classic power ballad, and one that I still greatly enjoy today.
Ball and Chain is an ok rocker on Flesh and Blood, but doesn’t stand up to some of the other great songs here.
Life Loves a Tragedy is a semi ballad that turns into an upbeat energetic rock track on Flesh & Blood. If this song would have appeared on another Poison disc, it would have been another hit.
Poor Boy Blues closes this disc out with a blues infested number. It is a fun song, and the band sounds like they have a good time with it.
Flesh & Blood is one of three must own discs in the Poison catalog. This disc if full of great hits, and classic Poison songs. The strength of the music on this disc shows why Poison is still able to draw big crowds at huge shows like the Rocklahoma Rock Fest, and proves that they are more than a mere footnote. If you don’t own this in 2007, you ought to grab this, it is great!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Strange Days of Uncle Jack
- Valley of Lost Souls
- Sacrifice (Flesh & Blood)
- Swampjuice (Soul-O)
- Unskinny Bop
- Let It Play
- Life Goes On
- Come Hell Or High Water
- Ride The Wind
- Don’t Give Up An Inch
- Something To Believe In
- Ball And Chain
- Life Loves A Tragedy
- Poor Boy Blues
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Poison makes me so happy. Like a knee-jerk reaction, every time I see a Poison video, I smile. My two favorite Poison songs are “Ride the Wind” and “Look What the Cat Dragged In.”
I can’t wait to see these guys at Rocklahoma. I’ve seen them before, they are a great party band!
Allyson
http://www.bringbackglam.com
Thanks, always good posts on your blog!