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SKID ROW - 36 Years Ago, Youth Gone Wild with Debut Album

Writer's picture: jaybroderickjaybroderick



By: Michael Drukarsh - By the end of the 80’s Glam or if you prefer, Hair Metal was slowly on the decline. 1985’s tear jerking ballad “Home Sweet Home” by Motley Crue created a hailstorm of carbon copies that really got old quickly. Thankfully, 1987’s release of Appetite for Destruction, Guns and Roses debut, shocked some life back into the dying body of heavy rock. It would be two years later, in 1989, that another band, despite being on the tail end of the Glam era, appeared to have been shot out of cannon and right into the heart of hard rock, giving another much needed shock to the system.


Skid Row, a band out of Jersey, along with lead singer, Peterborough Ontario’s own Sebastian Bach hit the ground running with their debut album, the self titled, Skid Row.


Although it was once again the dreaded, or much loved, (depending on which side of the fence you are on) ballad, “I Remember You” that brought the album to the charts, the rest of the album quickly became a classic and accepted by both the heavier and hair metal audience.



Opening track “Big Guns” brings a dirty feel to the would be Hair Metal label that might otherwise have been hung around the band's neck. Musically the band sounds tight with dueling guitars from Dave “the Snake” Sabo and Scotti Hill along with the driving rhythm section of Rachel Bolan on bass and Rob Affuso on drums. However, it is lead singer Sebastian Bach who truly brings forth the dirt and grit of the band. Opening line “She was a ballerina on a subway train. Stiletto heels and a candy cane” oozes so much sleaze that it’s impossible to lump them in with other late 80’s Hair bands like Slaughter.


From there the album continues its run of rocking tunes heavy on the sleaze with the second track. “Sweet Little Sister” who was “a shitload of trouble called the Subway Queen”. “Can’t Stand the Heartache” showcases a little more of the blues/rock sound while “Piece of Me” kicks off with a heavy bass and growling lyrics from Bach who is out on a Saturday night looking for a fight.


Next up, “18 and Life”, the second single off the album that, along with “I Remember You” and “Youth Gone Wild” really helped to put Skid Row on the map. Heavy rotation on MTV and Much Music certainly helped but really, it was the vocal performance by Bach that helped take these songs to another level.  Now recognized as one of the truly great singers of our time, Bach showcased some very impressive ranges in all three of these songs, especially toward the end of “I Remember You’ and “18 and Life”.



Blues metal “Rattlesnake Shake”, and  guitar heavy, “Here I am” continue the onslaught of dirty rock and roll while “Making a Mess of Me” exudes confidence and cockiness in both the title character T-bone Billy and the band, although I don’t think the opening lyrics would pass muster today.


Album closer, “Midnight/Tornado” is the closest to the 80s hair sound you’ll find on the album. Soaring guitar solo, harmonized chorus and cheesy lyrics like “I’m the only thing you need, Upon your love I feed” definitely fits right into the glam scene. However, “Tornado”, the last minute of the song, reminds us that this band can be heavy when it wants to be.


Skid Row introduced us to a band who wanted to break the mold set by their predecessors but still stay somewhat just enough within the lines to not alienate the audience. It is Sebastain Bach’s vocal performance that truly allows these songs to rise above anything that had come before them. Were it not for his incredible range and emotion, Skid Row, the album and band may have ended up in the $1 bin along with most of the other bands who came out just a little too late to ride the Hair Metal wave of the 80s.


Album Release Date: January 24, 1989

Sebastian Bach performs live n Toronto. Photo Credit: Michael Drukarsh
Sebastian Bach performs live n Toronto. Photo Credit: Michael Drukarsh

Skid Row Online




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