POISON – Open Up And Say…Ahh! [Japan SHM-CD Remastered]

Among the recent Universal Records Japan reissue campaign of various ’80s Rock artists / albums from their back catalog on high quality SHM-CD, all remastered, with bonus tracks and at an affordable price, there’s POISON and their second smash hit album “Open Up And Say…Ahh!”

Poison’s 1988 follow-up found the band a lot more polished and taking a better grasp of the genre they were slowly starting to command.
The production on the second album was cleaner and stood out more thanks to Tom Werman (Twisted Sister, Mötley Crüe) expertise hands. Paul Stanley from Kiss (whose song Rock and Roll All Nite had been covered by Poison the year before) was originally selected to produce the record, but was unable to fulfill the role due to scheduling conflicts.

The band also took to having bombastic shows by the look of them they were clearly pulling a lot of tricks out of the hat worn by legends and influences Kiss. The sound was also Kiss-like when it came down to tracks like “Nothin’ But A Good Time”.
This second album also had a killer track in “Fallen Angel”, whose companion video was just as memorable as it showed just how hard life in Hollywood could be for someone unprepared for what’s out there in any big city.
The big chorus of that track made this a big radio hit but nothing would top “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, the soft ballad becoming one of the bands biggest hits in their entire career (#1).

MTV had a hand in “Open Up And Say…Ahh!” success as well, promoting the songs listed above as well as “Your Mama Don’t Dance” (a Loggins & Messina cover) which was all over the place thanks to the video network.
Much of the premise of the band was the same here but overall they were a little more seasoned by now which made it sound a whole lot better.

The album peaked at #2 on the US Billboard 200, being denied the top spot by Bon Jovi’s massively popular New Jersey album, Guns N’ Roses’ debut record, Appetite for Destruction and Def Leppard’s most successful album, Hysteria.

This Japanese edition on SHM-CD sounds excellent with its bright remastering and strong bass presence. The bonus tracks on this release include the knock down rocking song “Living For The Minute”, and “World Premiere Interview”, a 10 minute interview segment.
Highly Recommended

Universal Japan ～【SHM-CD】UICY-25534

01 – Love On The Rocks
02 – Nothin’ But A Good Time
03 – Back To The Rocking Horse
04 – Good Love
05 – Tearin’ Down The Walls
06 – Look But You Can’t Touch
07 – Fallen Angel
08 – Every Rose Has Its Thorn
09 – Your Mama Don’t Dance
10 – Bad To Be Good
BONUS TRACKS:
11 – Livin’ For The Minute
12 – World Premiere Interview

Bret Michaels – vocals, guitar, harmonica (track 4)
C.C. DeVille – lead guitar, background vocals, keyboards
Bobby Dall – bass, background vocals
Rikki Rockett – drums, background vocals
additional musician:
John Purdell – keyboards

BUY IT !
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/UICY-25534
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