POISON – Seven Days Live

For many, Poison will always be Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, Rikki Rockett and Bobby Dall. There was a time, however, when the band went through some public turmoil and C.C. left the band. He was replaced by virtuoso guitarist Richie Kotzen. A strong songwriter, many felt Kotzen was a positive add to the lineup, even if he didn’t exactly fit the Glam mold.

Armoury Records has released Seven Days Live, a rare live recording of the Kotzen era. The show was recorded in London in 1993 during the Native Tongue tour.

Here’s the track listing:

1. Ride The Wind
2. Something To Believe In
3. Stand
4. Fallen Angel
5. Look What The Cat Dragged In
6. Until You Suffer Some (Fire & Ice)
7. Unskinny Bop
8. Talk Dirty To Me
9. Every Rose Has Its Thorn
10. Nothin’ But A Good Time

Poison are kings of repackaging the same music over and over. The draw here isn’t the same old songs, rather, it’s Kotzen’s unique ability with a guitar. A lot of times he tries to overplay songs written by DeVille. A big example of this is during “Fallen Angel.” The tempo is a bit too fast, Michaels kind of forgets the words and the song sounds a little muddy because of this.

Poison’s signature song will always be “Look What the Cat Dragged In.” The song sums up the entire Glam era in under three minutes. Here, Kotzen’s guitar work is less frenetic and more true to the original. Thus, he sounds like Poison.

For a live album, there is hardly any crowd noise. You can hear a few screams over the pointless drum solo and during the introduction of “Unskinny Bop” but that’s about it. Lead singer Bret Michaels swears far more often on this recording than during recent live performances. Perhaps he was trying to be a “bad ass” for the album. Maybe he just grew up. At any rate, his stage banter is basically worthless and the cursing doesn’t add much. Poison is a party band. Not necessarily a group of men you want to take home to mom and dad – but still shouldn’t be ashamed to spin at your best friend’s birthday bash.

Is Seven Days Live good or bad? That depends who you ask. If you’re a die hard Glam fan, you’ll want this record. If you love Poison, you need the disc to complete your collection. If you’re a casual fan of the genre, you probably already own the songs, so buying again would be pointless. Instead, put that CD money toward postage and start a letter writing campaign, begging Poison to write some new material already. Seriously, we all love “Nothin’ But a Good Time” – but how many times do we have to hear it over and over again?!