The first new studio album from Hollywood legends L.A. GUNS in seven years finds the band paying tribute to the city of their collective birth with a heavy slab of classic Guns-style metal! Originally released in 2012, L.A. GUNS’ Hollywood Forever has received a makeover courtesy of Collectors Dream Records, and renamed Tango On Sunset Strip (Hollywood Forever). The same fourteen songs have been cloaked in new artwork, although guitarist Stacey Blades appears on the album, he is no longer in the band, having been replaced by Michael Grant.
The opening track “Hollywood Forever” shows that Phil Lewis still has the chops and can deliver in spades, and this band shows you that they are still capable of playing great rock and roll after all these years. The song is a down and dirty, sleazy rock groove that’s made for women to get sweaty and men to drink beer and air guitar along to. What a great return to the sound that made them a staple of the metal scene of the 80s with every song the band sounds great and Lewis’ voice is still strong. Stacey Blades fits in perfectly, singer Phil Lewis sounds good for a man in his mid-fifties, bassist Scotty Griffin and drummer Steve Riley provide a tight and muscular rhythm section. Veteran producer Andy Johns’ (LED ZEPPELIN, VAN HALEN) excellent production helps these songs not sound stuck in the 80s, but meaty and catchy. L.A GUNS deliver a record that fires on all cylinders with catchy power ballads, mid tempo songs, and all out rockers. Some of the highlights were “You Better Not Love Me”, “Eel Pie”, “Vine St. Shimmy”, “Dirty Black Night”, “Queenie”, “Venus Bomb, and “I Won’t Play”.
L.A. GUNS have put out an album that brings back memories of the ’80s and the fun, good time music that seems to be lost on the charts and with a lot of fans nowadays, but if you give it a shot, you will be smiling, head banging and having the time of your life while listening to this album. Stop the angst, grab this and let the party begin!
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Altered Frequencies 