Neil, Vince

Tattoos And Tequila

Price: 12.95

Review / Notes:

As the blond haired ‘man whore’ fronting 80’s bad boy rockers Motley Crue, Vince Neil was no doubt culpable for most of  the stereotypical clichés know to be associated with the genre (and probably quite a few that aren’t). Prime movers in the metal explosion that overran Los Angeles in the early part of the 80’s, for most of the ensuing decade and beyond Motley Crue were bigger, badder, louder, and more extreme than any of the other band in the business; self styled glam metal warriors who even took excess to excess, none more so than Vince Neil. After quitting / being fired from (delete whichever version you don’t believe) the band in the early 90’s, Vince went solo, subsequently releasing a brace of fairly Crue like albums in quick succession. Now back where providence seems to have deemed he belongs (fronting Crue), Vince is about to unveil his third solo record, his first since ‘Carved In Stone’ back in 1995. Different to his previous solo outings, ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ is ostensibly his tribute to some of the bands that have inspired him over the years. There are a couple of new tracks – ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ and ‘Another Bad Day’ – but the bulk of this album is given over to raucous covers from said bands. A melting pot of pop culture laced with punk attitude and metal belligerence, some are fairly obvious choices from the likes of Sweet, Aerosmith and The Sex Pistol, whilst others (Elton John, The Hollies and ZZ Top for example) are less so – personally I was particularly impressed with what he’s done with Elton John’s ‘The Bitch Is Back’ and ZZ Top’s ‘Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers’ (the bonus track on the first pressing digipack). Backed by Slaughter duo Dan Strum and Jeff Blando plus drummer Zoltan Chaney, this has all the hallmarks of a group of friends getting together for a few beers and a rip through of some of their favourite songs. I’m not normally a huge fan of cover albums per sae, but in its defence ‘Tattoos & Tequila’ eschews the easy route and gives you a good insight into the enigmatic persona that is Vince Neil. (D.Cockett)