Poison - Native Tongue [2LP]

Native Tongue is the Poison album that surprised everybody, swapping hairspray anthems for soul, blues and grit. This 2LP pressing gives the full fifteen-track set room to spread out across four sides.

By 1993 the glam-metal boom was fading fast, and the band had parted ways with guitarist C.C. DeVille. In came Richie Kotzen, a young player with a bluesman's touch and serious songwriting chops, and with producer Richie Zito the group cut the most musically ambitious record of its career. It remains the only Poison studio album with Kotzen on guitar, which gives it a character all its own.

"Stand" sets the tone with gospel-tinged backing vocals and a message of resilience, while "Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice)" broods like a late-night power ballad with something to prove. "The Scream" kicks harder, all swagger and attitude, and the instrumental "Richie's Acoustic Thang" shows off Kotzen's fingerwork in a quieter moment. Bret Michaels sings with more grain and conviction than the party records ever asked of him.

Long overlooked by casual fans, Native Tongue has become a cult favorite among people who like their hard rock with a little church in it. Hearing it on vinyl is a reminder that Poison always had more range than the headlines ever allowed, and that this lineup deserved a longer run.