Skid Row reunion door closed

metallex78

James Lofton wrote:

metallex78 wrote:
It's just a shame that they couldn't hold it together long enough to put out more quality songs like Quicksand Jesus, In A Darkened Room and Wasted Time. Those songs are stellar, as is most of the Slave to the Grind album
It really is amazing in hindsight how quick the bottom dropped out of Skid Row. Less than two years.
Slave was an odd fork in the road in front of them at the worst possible moment. The debut sold like hot cakes 89-90 and when they released Slave, it was going in a much harder, serious direction and it lost them more than half their audience. being the opener on hot tours masked this fact temporarily. A year later, they release that crap B-Side Ourselves EP that was dead on arrival. Literally nobody cared.
I'm amazed that they even bothered with Subhuman Race. MTV wasn't going to touch it and neither was radio.
edit: Isn't it amazing how much longer two years was back then?

While Slave was heavier direction, it didn't lose their fans, I thought the album debuted at number one upon release? They were still all over MTV too at that time.

The B-Sides EP, which I thoroughly enjoyed, was hit and miss, much like TSI in that regard. Their cover of Little Wing was great though.

Subhuman had its moments, but it was them obviously trying to jump into the alternative scene, and was a mixed bag at best.

Sebastian's Angel Down sounds to me like the album that should've properly followed up Slave.

James

While Slave was heavier direction, it didn't lose their fans,

Yeah it did. From five million(debut) to two million(Slave). That is a massive drop in such a short period of time. A year later saw a 75% drop from Slave with the EP.

They were literally hemorraging fans left and right. LIke I said, the high profile touring was able to mask this for the better part of 91- 92.

I thought the album debuted at number one upon release?

It did....and deservedly so. It was a highly anticipated album.

They were still all over MTV too at that time.

Yeah and to diminishing returns. Monkey Business was a red hot first single/video. Not only are they back....they're heavy now! This change of direction was really pushed in the mags at the time. This single was perfect timing as the GNR/Skid Row tour kicked off. Then the title track. Kick ass song no doubt but interest is fading fast. It drops out of rotation quickly. Then come the ballads. These songs are mini-epics but lack the universal appeal of I Remember You...which is what put them on the map two years earlier. They were also on SNL...making them appear even bigger than they really were. They're in trouble and they're not aware of it yet.

Soccer moms and a hefty portion of teen girls exit stage left....but they see them one more time simply because the GNR tour is coming to town. These fans never come back.

After the GNR tour, they embark on their own headlining club tour. Who winds up being their openers? Soundgarden and Pantera! A situation where two red hot bands are quickly becoming more popular than the headliner and in some areas, already are more popular than Skid Row.

The EP was a huge mistake. Pop culture was neck deep in grunge at that point and it made less than zero sense to release it. While similar on the surface, It wasn't a GNR situation where you've just come off this massive tour and unload a cover album to tide people over. Skid Row was already in decline. They needed something catchy to remind the public of their existence....or once again go heavy and show this is the new direction and fans better get used to it.

The issues with Bach must have been unbearable. A wannabe diva having conniption fits while their relevancy is fading fast...

James

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNPu58Sprkk

I don't remember that video at all. Did MTV ever play it or had they already abandoned the album by that point?

I do remember Quicksand Jesus and Wasted Time videos but not this.

edit: Holy shit...talk about videos that literally NEVER got played:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quqxGp6OZcY

Killer song though.

metallex78

Yeah, Into Another is another great song of theirs. I'd never seen the film clip either. It reminds me of Metallica's Unforgiven clip a little.

In A Darkened Room is an amazing song too.

James

I just looked it up. In A Darkened Room released as a single in November 91. MTV had definitely moved on by that point. Slave was ancient history and viewers were being hit over the head with the new Metallica craze, videos from UYI, the Nirvana craze is in full bloom, list goes on and on.

Out of the three ballads, it probably should've been released first. Not sure it would've changed anything. The subject matter in all three is pretty dark. The album contained no songs about writing love letters in the sand.

edit: And another.....

I know this was never played. It doesn't even show up on wiki as a single yet it clearly got a video. Their label must have been praying that 'Darkened..' or Psycho Love would somehow catch on and give the album a second wind. These vids are not low budget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D9sfVZBQ5s

PaSnow

Yeah, alot of these bands just had bad timing with grunge. Seems alot released an album 89/90, but those 91 releases suffered. Even as far back as The Black Crowes & Tesla the tide was turning, although bands like Skid Row were seen as manageable to get thru it. Skid Row seemed to have a very strong push too, the label, MTV, tours. I guess why not, a rocking sound, pretty good musicians, and a singer who had heckuva pipes & girls adored. I think the record company was expecting a massive 1991-1992 from them.

Then, grunge happened. I don't remember it but my guess from the B sides record was to just sneak 1 final album outta them, as obviously the next one (1995?) was doomed to fail. The industry was vastly different by then.

Ragnar

Slave to the Grind is the only decent Skid Row album.

It`s a proper Heavy Rock not a hair metal shit like their debut or a B-Side compilation like Subhuman Race.

PaSnow

The debut wasn't horrible tho, for its time it was, ok. I agree hair metal/ballads, I only really knew the hits. They were a bit cheese, not legit like GnR/Black Crowes imho.

James that's amazing they headlined for Pantera & Soundgarden. Jeez, I bet people were going to the shows just to see those 2.

esoterica

The debut has way too many cheesy 80s things to do much for me. I bet the pinch harmonics make Zakk Wylde blow a load in his pants. I see the appeal though, it's something you can sing along to, as a guy it's just metal enough to pass the bar and as a girl it has the fixable bad boy thing going for it.

Slave To Grind is the Skid Row record for me. I'll put Side A of that record up against a lot of albums.

I like Angel Down quite a bit too. Felt the spiritual successor to Slave, right down to the cover art painting by his dad.

The fall from Angel Down to Kicking and Screaming can only be accounted to the loss of Roy Z as producer because that album is a hot mess. I remember his latest being a marginal improvement but I've only listened to that one once too.

metallex78

Ragnar wrote:

Slave to the Grind is the only decent Skid Row album.
It`s a proper Heavy Rock not a hair metal shit like their debut or a B-Side compilation like Subhuman Race.

Subhuman Race isn't anywhere in the league of Slave to the Grind, but calling it hair metal? That album sounds nothing like hair metal. Sounds like the band jumping into the alternative bandwagon to me

Re: Skid Row reunion door closed

Re: Skid Row reunion door closed

Re: Skid Row reunion door closed

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Re: Skid Row reunion door closed

Re: Skid Row reunion door closed

Re: Skid Row reunion door closed

Re: Skid Row reunion door closed

Re: Skid Row reunion door closed

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