The first release on Eagle Rock’s Armoury subsidiary is a more interesting choice than it at first appears. Recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in 1993, it hardly captures glam heroes Poison at their most successful, but instead records the shortlived line-up with Richie Kotzen replacing guitarist CC Deville.
1993’s Native Tongue album was a mature, bluesy affair, more like Aerosmith’s contemporary work than the party anthems of yore, and the band somewhat awkwardly tries to please everyone with a set consisting of five tracks from that album, as well as the expected hits. The newer songs are the highlights, due partly to Kotzen’s soulful guitar playing and backing vocals – although undoubtedly technically better than CC Deville, he sounds uncomfortable with the simple glam of classics such as Talk Dirty To Me. His playing does, however, bring a different flavour to the earlier work and diehard fans will want to own this as a record of what was probably Poison’s most musically adventurous period, especially as Bret Michaels is on excellent form throughout. A worthwhile album, then, although only the most devoted Poison addicts will want to hear Rikki Rockett’s drum solo more than once.
