Junebug Ticket to
Hell
by Jeremy Arundel
This month
we have a special debut feature for you. This debut album was recently
reissued with the launch of Stoney Record's online. Stoney Records is owned
an operated by Chip Z'nuff of Enuff Z'nuff fame. And Ticket to Hell was
the first release from the company. Due to the large demand of Enuff Z'nuff
and Junebug fans alike Chip decided to release a limited quantity of this
CD with the launch of StoneyRecords.com. We asked Jeremy Arundel the web
master of Enuff Z'nuff's official site to give us a quick and dirty review
of this CD. So if you are in the mood for some good old fashioned popmetal
Junebug has your ticket to hell! You better grab a copy before they are
all gone! - Keavin Managing Editor
The
CD
Ticket
to Hell was the debut release from the band Junebug. It was released
through Chip Z'Nuff's (of Enuff Z'nuff) own label Stoney
Records way back in 1995. I never had the opportunity to listen to
the album until Stoney opened up their online store featuring the album
a couple of weeks back. And man, I wish I had heard this stuff a lot sooner.
It
is VERY much in the classic Enuff Z'nuff vein, in fact production credits
go to Chip as well as writing credits for 8 of the 10 tracks on this album.
The
singer and lyricist Peter Blastiosso collaborated with Chip heavily on
this album, and it shows. The album also features guitars by Eugene Strentz,
who has appeared on "You & I" off Enuff Z'Nuff Seven.
True,
[Enuff Z'Nuff Vocalist] Donnie Vie's incredible vocals are missed greatly
on this album. Blastiosso has his own style, more of an 80's hair vibe.
In fact, on certain tracks like "Bad Little Girl," he's a dead ringer for
Billy Idol. It takes some adjusting, but once I got past that I could appreciate
the songs a lot more.
Lyrics
range from fun ("...A pretty face with a dirty mouth...," from
Bad Little Girl) to surprising ("...I'm so tired of living
like a nigger, I'm all set I'm gonna pull the trigger...," from Russian
Roulette) to sleazy ("...Ride her like a pony, she's a bucking bronco
in this rodeo...," from Ride Her Like A Pony). It for the most part
captures a good natured, party vibe.
The
album is produced well and features some great guitar work by Strentz.
Fans of Enuff Z'nuff's 1985 album will appreciate some of the sound
effects, like the screetching car on "Metal Heart" and the climaxing girl
on "Bad Little Girl," which sound like they're directly off '85.
The live track from Amsterdam, "Ticket To Hell," sounds almost a
little too great to really be live, but hey I'll give them the benefit
of the doubt. It is a standout track, as is "Russian Roulette," "Metal
Heart," and "Bad Little Girl." None of the songs are noticeably weak, fortunately.
It's a little heavier than the songs on most of Enuff Z'Nuff's indie catalog.
If
you're a fan of Enuff Z'Nuff, and power pop/hard rock in general, I highly
recommend downloading the free MP3 on enuffznuff.com
and the real audio clips for each track. If you like what you hear,
it's on sale at Stoney
for
only $10.00, so it's a good deal and they take credit card orders online
for fast delivery. Check this stuff out...
Jeremy
Want
more?
Visit
the Stoney Records web site for a free MP3
Listen
to sound clips and Purchase the CD online
Photos courtesy of Stoney
Records. All Rights Reserved by Copyright holder.
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