MARTIN POPOFF – The Big Book Of Hair Metal

September 19, 2014, 9 years ago

(Voyageur Press)

Aaron Small

Rating: 8.5

review hard rock motley crue guns n’ roses cinderella poison

MARTIN POPOFF – The Big Book Of Hair Metal

At 224 full-colour glossy pages, this is quite possibly the most expansive book ever on the era of music defined as much by its image as its sound. Lipstick, eyeliner, leather, denim, spandex – and who could forget the hairspray? BraveWords senior writer (and proficient author) Martin Popoff is back with another high quality publication that contains nearly as many pictures as it does words. Running chronologically, as he’s done in past books, Popoff surprisingly starts in 1950 with Little Richard and Elvis Presley – not exactly what I’d consider hair metal! The ‘60s get a couple of pages too, examining Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin – again, those bands belong in another book. Can’t really argue the inclusion of the ‘70s with KISS, Aerosmith, and Van Halen; but when the ‘80s – the true dawn of hair metal – arrive, each year justifiably gets its own chapter. In addition to the listing of significant dates in the margins, is a plethora of dialogue, all stemming from the author’s very own interviews with the artists in question. Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx reveals the song “Shout At The Devil” had “nothing to do with Satan. It was about (former US President) Ronald Reagan.” Dokken guitarist George Lynch calls drummer Mick Brown’s lyrics for the Tooth And Nail album, “pure Vegas lounge, so funny.” Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan on recording Appetite For Destruction, “our main concern was having some booze.”  And this, the most enjoyable encyclopedia you’ll ever pick up, rolls on with the likes of Cinderella, Poison, and a plethora of other bands. Unfortunately the book ends in 1991, the year Popoff refers to as “the apocryphal last hurrah for hair metal,” as that was the year grunge emerged with Nirvana releasing Nevermind. Despite Popoff’s admission that “a lot of the best hair metal came out in 1992,” those titles are not included, partially due to space constraints. Here’s hoping for a second hair metal book covering the ensuing two-plus decades. Although lineups may have changed, L.A. Guns, Tesla, Great White, Ratt, and many more have continued to churn out albums and embark on tours.

 

 



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