PRETTY BOY FLOYD – Stray Bullet [Limited Edition +3] (2019)

Cleo Recs has just released “Stray Bullet [Limited Edition +3]”, PRETTY BOY FLOYD‘s early ’90s recordings that were to be the band’s follow-up to their major label debut album Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz. The material showcases a more commercial from the band close to Poison, and were originally supposed to be released as their second album on MCA Records in the early 1990s
The release – limited to 500 copies – also includes the entire 1998 EP ‘A Tale Of Sex, Designer Drugs, And The Death Of Rock N’ Roll’, plus 3 special bonus tracks featuring Tracii Guns on guitar.

The heyday of Glam / Hair Metal was indeed a unique time in the history of heavy rock. Essentially, bands with the formula and aptitude to churn out Top 40 hits found that they could appeal to the masses and bag scores of really hot chicks if they added some distortion and adopted an androgynous stage personality.
Today, as we all know, Hair Metal is still out there, but the “major” players have had to modify their respective styles to reach a wider audience. Clearly, though, Glam / Hair Metal has its place in musical history, and can / should be enjoyed for its merits even to this day.

Enter Pretty Boy Floyd (PBF), a band determined to keep the sub-genre alive. In fact, God luv ‘em for it!
“Stray Bullet” include the material for their second LP on MCA Records that was dropped at the eleventh hour. Most tracks are filled with raucous fun and, via controlled decadence, the celebration of life — especially life as carefree “young bucks.”
The lyrics, light in content, are generally shallow and ephemeral, but this is consciously done to promulgate a positive vibe throughout each song and to ensure that PBF can deliver catchy choruses – something that has always been and continues to be indigenous to Hair Metal / Glammy Hard Rock.

Because of the constant emphasis on sing-a-long lyrics, musically, there is nothing eye opening here, but there are no turn-offs either. In the end, the drumbeats are pronounced, basic, and deliberate. The guitars provide the pace for each song, and are presented with typical treble-influenced distortion – you know, the kind that basically blends all of the chords and notes together.
The bass guitar work adds some structure to each song, and rounds out the sound by providing needed dimension, but is generally not complex. The vocals are the most emphasized instrument, and tend to come through smoothly in a non-offensive manner, however, a bit over-processed to achieve a canned Top 40 DJ voice sound – complete with plenty of old Hair Metal tricks and fallbacks, such as periodic use of the cerebral “whoa-ohs.”

While the production quality of these songs differ, overall it’s good and enough to enjoy its catchiness. More poppy and melodic akin Poison, one wonders what would have happened if MCA approved this Pretty Boy Floyd second album back in the day.
All of the tracks generally have all the right ingredients to be winners, and PBF shows as much ability as any band of their feather to create quality songs.
Also included there’s entire 1998 EP ‘A Tale Of Sex, Designer Drugs, And The Death Of Rock N’ Roll’, plus 3 special bonus tracks – two of them Motley Crue covers, one featuring Tracii Guns on guest guitar.

I think that if this album had been released in 1991 as it was originally planned – even in a time when the genre started to decline – and received the benefit of conventional recording standards and promotional resources available, PBF would likely have sold at least one million copies.
Pretty Boy Floyd successfully captures here that which made Glam Metal popular, and churned out quality tunes.
Rocks

Stray Bullet:
01 – Tonight Belongs To The Young
02 – Hands Off My Radio
03 – Far Away
04 – Til The Real Thing Comes Along
05 – Long Days
06 – Restless
07 – Hold On To Your Dreams
08 – Stray Bullet
09 – Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel
10 – Gangster Of Love
A Tale Of Sex, Designer Drugs, And The Death Of Rock N’ Roll EP:
11 – Shut-Up
12 – Junkie Girl
13 – Everybody Needs A Hero
14 – Do You Love Me
15 – Good Girl Gone Bad
BONUS TRACKS:
16 – Girls Girls Girls
17 – Live Wire (Feat. Tracii Guns)
18 – Father Christmas

Steve Summers – Lead Vocals
Kristy “Krash” Majors – Guitar
Vinnie Chas – Bass
Kari Kane – Drums
Tracii Guns – guest Guitar

BUY IT
www.amazon.co.uk/Stray-Bullet-Pretty-Boy-Floyd/dp/B07SLGWQJQ/