Should Have Gone To Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Warrant's follow up album "Cherry Pie" is the bands most well known work and I'd say my favourite of the bands material. The album shows some growth while not alienating current fans and they experimented with some different styles and a slightly darker edge. All this moved the band forward in a good direction and secures them as strong songwriters.

"Cherry Pie" the title track was not originally supposed to be the album title or even a song, but was simply thrown together due to label pressure and released as the first single. The album was supposed to be called "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (a far superior song, no reference to the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe). It would be interesting to see where the band would have gone without the song "Cherry Pie".

Jani Lane often laments on the inclusive of "Cherry Pie" on the album feeling what they had was good enough. He went so far as to state ~I could shoot myself in the f***ing head for writing that song~. Despite his attitude towards the song, it really is a good tune with a strong rock sound and a classic 50's & 60's rock influence and enough sexual innuendo to make Kiss proud. "Sure Feels Good To Me" and "Love In Stereo" continue the sexual themes quite cleverly with solid hooky hard rock melodies and further touches of 50's & 60's rock n roll.

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a stand out song because it's an outstanding tune. Dealing with the story of a pair who witness the involvement of local police in a double homicide. It has got to be the finest song Warrant has ever produced. From the acoustic intro and the banjo accompaniment, the song is an emotional narrative and a heavy hard rock song with that darker edge mentioned earlier. This is my favourite Warrant song.

The ballads are plentiful, but all distinct and avoid making the album to soft. "Bed Of Roses" could have been on "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinkin' Rich" and is comparable in quality to "Down Boys". It's heartfelt and upbeat. "Blind Faith" is more standard in power ballad style with acoustic verses and power chord chorus's, but it sounds genuine and moving. "Mr. Rainmaker" is rockier and a little darker sounding despite the cheesy lyrics. A great song all the same.

The ballad of choice here is "I Saw Red". Based on the true story of Jani Lane's experience during the "DRFSR" recordings. The song is very simple yet very real. It sounds like it was written by a person who's been hurt bad by betrayal and has taking a long time to heal. It's raw and emotional and powerful. The acoustic version by Jani alone is even better and enhances the raw simplicity of the song.

"Song And Dance Man" and "You're The Only Hell Your Mama Ever Raised" are solid rock songs, but steer away from the "DRFSR" Warrant sound and help move the band forward. And the album closer "Train, Train" is like a kick in the teeth with groove and a southern flavour.

Overall "Cherry Pie" is a really well done album with great songs and a maturity in sound from their debut. On "Dog Eat Dog" their third outing, the band delves deeper into themselves without a lot of pay off.

That's coming up next week.