Poison

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A mixture of old (some cuts date to the late ‘80s) and new (eight brand new recordings), Poison’d finds Poison taking the time-honored covers route. To their credit, they go with some pretty surprising choices, such as Tom Petty’s “I Need to Know”, the Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See”, and Alice Cooper’s “I Never Cry”, in addition to paying homage to expected glam-rock staples like David Bowie and Kiss. It all adds up to a strictly-for-diehards affair, though. Part of the problem is that, despite possessing decent pop-metal chops, the band have apparently only found one or two fuzzy guitar tones they ever liked. This wrecks cuts like the Romantics’ “What I Like About You”, which depends on the original’s ringing guitar riff, and the Who’s “Squeeze Box”, which loses what little bit of winking innocence it had due to a buzzsaw strip club approach. There are a few bright spots, though. The Cars’ “Just What I Needed” sounds—for a split second—like Bauhaus might have gotten ahold of it, and the band’s take on Loggins & Messina’s “Your Mama Don’t Dance” always had the right vibe. Throughout, Poison’d offers flashes of intriguing cover versions that might have been, but there’s little here that will make you forget the originals.

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