LOVE/HATE – Blackout In The Red Room +7 [Bad Reputation remaster] *0dayrox EXCLUSIVE*

As requested, here’s the Bad Reputation Records remastered reissue of LOVE/HATE‘s celebrated debut ”Blackout In The Red Room”, including no less than 7 juicy bonus tracks.
On the surface, the music of Love / Hate’s first album may seem no different than most any late-’80s L.A. pop metal, but the band’s performance exudes a fury and belligerence that put them on the other sidewalk than Poison or Warrant, to name a couple. Although their appeal was primarily to a mainstream crowd, they nurtured a style that would outsmart their competition by wide margin.
Fronted by wild man of rock Jizzy Pearl whose twisted vocal is as powerful as it is different, the band courted a similar audience to the cavortings of similar ground breaking street urchins such as Skid Row, The Wildhearts, and Faith No More.

While Love / Hate arrived at the tail end (1990) of the US Hard Rock scene golden years, the impact of this record is undeniable. From the opening crunching riff of title track ‘Blackout In The Red Room’ it’s obvious what these guys were all about: big, ballsy, kick-ass hard rock turned to 11.
Jizzy Pearl’s voice was like nothing we had ever heard before, all rasp and screech, bleeding the world-weary and fucked up rockstar vibe into everything he sang, and guitarist Jon E. Love was simply a machine spitting out riff upon riff upon riff. The rhythm section of Skid Rose on bass and Joey Gold on drums pounded the shit out of their instruments and at times you couldn’t tell who hit harder.

‘Rock Queen’ is next and for 2:21 it is all over the place, asses and elbows flying about. This brings us into the cascading rhythms of ‘Tumbleweed’ that rest on top of one another like the levels of a champagne fountain.

‘Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?’ featuring Skid wrecking shop on the bass in jaw-dropping fashion is undeniably the most well known song from Love / Hate (and one of the best on the album) which received good rotation on MTV Headbanger’s Ball and helped them win over the notoriously fickle AC/DC crowds on tour.
The slow, deliberate, whiskey-soaked pacing of ‘Fuel to Run’ showcases yet another side of this band’s musical abilities. Each member was truly skilled at what he did, and when they came together it was nothing short of magic.

Another favorite is of course ‘One More Round’, featuring damn-near virtuoso performances, most notably from Gold whose off-beats merged with tribal rhythms cradle and hold the song in place. The final part is a whirlwind of activity, over which Jizzy lets fly with some wails and moans that accent everything Gold is playing perfectly.

‘She’s An Angel’ is one of those rare tunes that sounds just as good acoustic as it does plugged-in, where the band adds a nice cello arrangement. For ‘Mary Jane’ (guess what this one’s about…) Jon E. Love comes up with a hypnotic guitar line not unlike the tendrils of smoke that rise from the tops of incense candles.
And for ‘Straitjacket’ the band employs more of a pissed-off sound which probably scared some people back then due to how saccharine a lot of the songs were at the time.

If you take the kind of dirty, meaty, gritty tone that bands like LA Guns and Motley Crue were too scared to try in 1990, for then you get ‘Slutsy Tipsy’, the bastard demon child born of the DNA from the Sunset Strip.
And ‘Slave Girl’ was its wicked stepsister, no question. That deliciously evil vocal harmony over a sexy guitar line is pure dirty gold, and even has a hint of The Cult in it.
‘Hell, Ca., Pop.4’ is the perfect summation of the music and attitude of Love / Hate. These guys simply did not give a fuck and that very likely worked against them despite landing high-profile tours in ’90 and ’91. Too edgy for what had become a sugary sweet and safe musical landscape, they were over before they really began.

As bonus we find studio track / B-side ‘Tinseltown’ plus live recording, all excellent addition as showcases how hot & kick-ass Love / Hate sounded alive.

“Blackout In The Red Room” is a different beast from the LA Hard Rock scene, and when I say that I am also referring to their bestial sound. Kickin’ & dirty but with an extremely clean production by veteran studio wizard Tom Werman (Cheap Trick, Twisted Sister).
This album retains a contemporary edge, giving Love / Hate longevity that still sounds fresh to this day. If you never heard them, better check them out soon.
HIGHLY Recommended

01 – Blackout in the Red Room
02 – Rock Queen
03 – Tumbleweed
04 – Why do you think they call it Dope?
05 – Fuel to Run
06 – One More Round
07 – She’s an Angel
08 – Mary Jane
09 – Straight Jacket
10 – Slutsy Tipsy
11 – Slave Girl
12 – Hell, CA, Pop. 4
BONUS TRACKS:
13 – Tinseltown (B-side)
14 – Blackout in the Red Room (Live)
15 – Mary Jane (Live)
16 – Fuel to Run (Live)
17 – She’s an Angel (Live)
18 – One More Round (Live)
19 – Slave Girl (Live)

bonus tracks;
13 – From Blackout In The Red Room EP
14-17 – From Live E.P.
18-19 – From She’s An Angel – Maxi

Jizzy Pearl – vocals
Jon E. Love – guitars
Skid Rose – bass, rhythm guitar, 12-string guitar
Joey Gold – drums
additional musicians:
Greg Gottlieb – cellos on 4, 8
David Kahne – cellos on 7
Paul Lewolt – bagpipes on 4

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