Stephen Pearcy/ Smash (2017)

SMASH is released today! January 27th 2017! I’m on it!

Ya gotta hand it to Stephen Pearcy as in this day and age he still is putting out quality product. When Steve-o split from RATT in the early 90’s Stephen did not disappear  no sirree folks he put out the Wickedly Excellent Arcade record which when I  reviewed it I stated that the Arcade debut could hold its own against any Ratt album! Yeah man it’s soooooo good.( and thanks to Aaron at KMA who recently sent me a second copy of the Arcade debut after Aaron said the first copy he sent to me was kinda scuffed! Thanks a bunch Dude!)

Now I’m not gonna get into the whole drama of whats going in the RATT camp currently (It’s all over the music sites…) instead its to bring some attention to this 2017 version of L.A Sleazey Style done the Pearcy way!

SMASH is just that.  A smattering  of different rock styles. No Filler just Pearcy Killer as the songs ooze cool…

The Tunes….

1. I Know I’m Crazy
2. Ten Miles Wide
3. Shut Down Baby
4. Dead Roses
5. Lollipop
6. Hit Me With A Bullet
7. Rain
8. Want Too Much
9. What Do Ya Think
10. Jamie
11. I Can’t Take It (Album Version)
12. Passion Infinity
13. Summer’s End

The Cast of SMASH…….

Stephen E. Pearcy – Lead Vocals, Back-up Vocals……Erik Ferentinos – Rhythm & Lead Guitars, Back-up Vocals …….Greg D’Angelo – Drums, Percussion…….. Matt Thorne – Bass Guitar …….Chris Hager – Guitars, Lead Guitars on track #3 

So if you’re keeping score in the Rock Trivia side of things. Drummer D’Angelo drummed in White Lion. Ferentino has been with Pearcy for a ton of years and has known him for decades as Pearcy name drops’s him in Stephen’s autobiography  book Sex/Drugs/Ratt N Roll. Hager was from Rough Cutt who stuck out a decent debut album back in 85 and were managed by Dio’s people but fizzled out quick… Come to think of it Hager and Pearcy were band mates in a very early incarnation of Rough Cutt before Steve-o formed Ratt. There ya go….

I Know I’m Crazy opens the album and were off. Straight ahead 4 on the floor rocker and this is Pearcy 2017! Still a ton of Piss N Vinegar in that old Goats Voice. Right off the hop you know this album from the production end is gonna sound huge! Crunchy like guitars and hooks.

Ten Miles Wide is the second song in and Steve and crew take no prisoners as this is their strength which is a straight ahead mid tempo Hard Rock Gem! The guitars are jacked and the chorus is pure Gold! Which kinda brings me to another point as people rip on Pearcy’s vocals live but who gives a S**T! Listen to the audio below!

Rain features D’Angelo rumbling around on his kit and features the big chant chorus of Rain. A slow like brooding melodic rocker that keeps the album chugging along.

When you really dig your heel’s into Smash of course its sounds a lot like Ratt and it goes to show you who had a huge hand in shaping the sound of Ratt. Case in point Want To Much sounds like a it could have slid right in on Ratt’s 1990’s Detonator album as the guitars laid down by Ferentino and Hager have that throwback sound to Crosby(RIP)/De Martini picking on those Ratt albums! Definitely not a bad thing!

Jamie is one of those throwback 80 tunes! Hey don’t knock it especially when your speeding  down Pearcy Drive as Stephen eats and sleeps this stuff. The lyrics for sure tell the tale of a lady named Jamie and you know  Steve’s deal…”The way you pull into me!” sings Steve-o and he continues with “A nice surprise!”  Folks this is not rocket science but just a good time party tune about a (ahem) Lady!

I Can’t Take It has been floating around on iTunes for well over a year(I’m not big on buying “Singles”) as Pearcy would release a track here and their. Supposedly he reworked it up in the studio with Ratt’s producer back in the day Beau Hill. Another great rock track that oozes a toss back to a classic sound of yesteryear! You can watch and hear it for yourself below. Lot’s of Ladies in this video to keep my Good Pal Rockin Roberts amused!

Glad to see the old Road Dawg Pearcy out there just doing it and you got to hand it to Stephen as he just keeps doing what he does. Which for me is Good Ol Fashioned 80’s like Sleaze Rock with a added twist of keeping it Catchy!

One more thing! Kinda cool that this for me is the first Hard Rock release of new material in 2017! Atta Boy Pearcy!

Is it 1987 or 2017?

Get This!