Warrant - Rockaholic

[whiplash1972 61]

From http://www.melodicrock.com/ :

 

WARRANT'S "ROCKAHOLIC" CONFIRMED FOR MAY RELEASE:

 

Warrant's brand new album Rockaholic has now been confirmed for the release on May 13 in Europe and May 17 in North America on Frontiers Records. At the helm of Rockaholic is mega-producer Keith Olsen (Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Scorpions) and the album is mixed by Pat Regan (Kiss, Deep Purple, Ted Nugent). The album finds the band returning to its trademark sound.Warrant original members Erik Turner, Jerry Dixon, Joey Allen and Steven Sweet welcomed long-time band friend and fellow touring mate, singer Robert Mason (Lynch Mob, Cry of Love) into the fold. With 8 million records sold worldwide, two Top Ten Billboard albums, five Top 40 Billboard hit singles and five #1 MTV videos, Warrant was one of the most popular and successful rock bands to hail out of the Los Angeles rock scene in the late 80s/early 90s. Formed in the mid-80s by original members Erik Turner and Jerry Dixon, Warrant's biggest hits included Cherry Pie and Heaven.

 

 

Warrant Rockaholic track listing:

 

1. Sex Ain't Love

2. Innocence Gone

3. Snake

4. Dusty's Revenge

5. Home

6. What Love Can Do

7. Life's A Song

8. Show Must Go On

9. Cocaine Freight Train

10. Found Forever

11. Candy Man

12. Sunshine

13. Tears In The City

14. The Last Straw

 

Sample all tracks right here.

 

For more information please visit: www.warrantrocks.com / www.frontiers.it.

[66 mustang 1]

ok, trying very hard to seperate the songs and expectations from the Warrant name here. listening to he clips I guess it sounds ok. then again I guess I've changed a lot too in what I listen to. I think this is like the new Def Leppard clip, ok but I think I'd tire of it pretty quick.

[Captain Howdy 87]

Quite honestly it sounds the same as Born again. It doesnt sound bad by any means, but sounds nothing like Warrant due to the obvious differences between Masons and Lanes vocal styles.

Actually, I will say it does sound better than Born again going on those initial samples, and I will be picking it up at some point, I just have a hard time calling anything a Warrant album without Lane on vocals.

[exact3 0]

Quite honestly it sounds the same as Born again. It doesnt sound bad by any means, but sounds nothing like Warrant due to the obvious differences between Masons and Lanes vocal styles.

Actually, I will say it does sound better than Born again going on those initial samples, and I will be picking it up at some point, I just have a hard time calling anything a Warrant album without Lane on vocals.

 

 

Thats my feeling too. It just doesnt sound right...

[Evil Rick 1]

Having heard Robert Mason sing for Warrant a couple times and nail all of the songs while sounding very, very similar to Jani, I expected him to do the same on the new album. Instead he sounds like he did on the Big Cock albums. So he can sing like Jani, but he doesn't on this album. Should he? Well hell no, he should sing the way he's used to singing. Do I wish he did? Yeah, I kind of do. This doesn't sound like a Warrant album, just like Born Again didn't sound like a Warrant album. Is it a good album? I'd say yes and no. It's a very laid back album, especially in the middle tracks. There are a few uptempo kickass songs but for the most part it's very relaxed and mild. The songs are good but not great. Like the last album, the band is again missing Jani's fantastic songwriting ability Big Time. There is a lot of potential here but it misses the mark IMO.

[Doksdad 0]

Having heard Robert Mason sing for Warrant a couple times and nail all of the songs while sounding very, very similar to Jani, I expected him to do the same on the new album. Instead he sounds like he did on the Big Cock albums. So he can sing like Jani, but he doesn't on this album. Should he? Well hell no, he should sing the way he's used to singing. Do I wish he did? Yeah, I kind of do. This doesn't sound like a Warrant album, just like Born Again didn't sound like a Warrant album. Is it a good album? I'd say yes and no. It's a very laid back album, especially in the middle tracks. There are a few uptempo kickass songs but for the most part it's very relaxed and mild. The songs are good but not great. Like the last album, the band is again missing Jani's fantastic songwriting ability Big Time. There is a lot of potential here but it misses the mark IMO.

Rick nailed it. I miss Jani's SONGS

[Captain Howdy 87]

Like the last album, the band is again missing Jani's fantastic songwriting ability Big Time.

Thats another key factor for me as well. Even on the worst songs that Jani or Warrant have done, the lyrics from Jani were always top notch.

I know he gets a lot of shit for the things he says about the song Cherry pie, but you can understand why he feels its such a weak track seeing as it was supposedly thrown together in about 20 minutes.

By his standards he probably sees it as throwaway lyrics with little or no thought gone into them, but to me it shows that even on the fly, he can still come up with a great song.

[Mullethead 0]

I read that Jani is suppose to release an official version of Jabberwocky (best stuff he is ever written imo) so I am looking forward to that. That being said, I like the new Warrant also and will be buying it. I did not like Born Again at first but love it now. No it's not Jani, but it still kicks ass.

[Fat Freddy 3]

I gave BORN AGAIN a fair shake but ultimately decided that it was pretty dull. It's a shame that Jani can't seem to keep his sh*t together, cuz he and Warrant need each other.

[edwithmj 0]

Loved Born Again, love Mason so will definitely love this. Can't wait.

[Nightrain 6]

after hearing this album, i'd say that this is much much better than Born Again, but I doubt this will be in my top 10 list of 2011 later on.

 

I probably one of the few that think the first two album of Warrant is actually very average, there are several great songs such as 'Down Boys', 'Uncle Tom's Cabin', 'Bed of Roses', and 'I Saw Red' but that's about it. I even hate 'Cherry Pie' for stealing Def Leppard's 'Pour Some Sugar On Me', but when they made that harder and heavier 'Dog Eat Dog', I found Warrant suddenly to be very matured and very interesting. Too bad they went downhill after that, but guess what, 'Rockaholic' seems to be putting them back on track.

 

based on couple spins, i'd say this is a good album with several fillers (i'm afraid there are at least 4-5 there), better than King Kobra s/t and though not comparable to The Poodles, 'Performocracy' is IMHO better and getting better after each spin and might end up in my top 10 list of 2011.

 

some big numbers in Rockaholic are "Sex Ain't Love", "Show Must Go On", "Cocaine Freight Train", and "The Last Straw". the power ballads, "Home", "What Love Can Do", and "Found Forever" are also very nice

 

Good job Mason and the gang, I'll buy this as soon as it's out

[Jeff 0]

I am liking that King Kobra - S/T...some fillers but overall really good IMO.

I can't say where it will land in my 2011 list because it is not my first sub-genre of rock, but still very good.

[Dead Planet 208]

Sounds pretty good to me....don't know how long it'll be on my playlist but I'll be picking it up...

[The Rocker 61]

Here is what I think of this cd. Although I do think this is a good cd,it is not A Warrant sounding cd. This easily could have been a Buckcherry cd, and the reason why is because of Masons voice and some of the styles of some of the songs. Anyone else feel this way or is it just me?

[melodicrockoz 0]

I wonder will there be a Japanese pressing & with Bonuses?

[Geoff 270]

Just heard it this morning and "pretty good" is about the best I can give it. It sounds somewhere between 'Born Again' and Big Cock. But sadly not like Warrant. It's a decent hard rock disc with a couple of pretty nice balladic moments, but I just can't see Warrant ever doing anything great again without Jani Lane.

[Glen 284]

Ive only skipped through this but couldnt really find anything which jumped out and yelled Warrant??

 

Just sounded like a solid rock release, but nowhere near the excellence of Cherry Pie or Dog Eat Dog.

[Shawn Of Fire 0]

Ive only skipped through this but couldnt really find anything which jumped out and yelled Warrant??

 

Just sounded like a solid rock release, but nowhere near the excellence of Cherry Pie or Dog Eat Dog.

 

That's because the lead songwriter is no longer writing the songs. I usually hate when other people use this phrase, but I'm gonna use it...Jani Lane WAS Warrant. The other guys are really good musiciains, but Lane wrote all their songs. Without him, they're not a bad band, but without Lane's writing, the sound is going to change. It's like Neal Morse leaving Spock's Beard...without him they're still good...they're just not going to sound the same.

[66 mustang 1]

Ive only skipped through this but couldnt really find anything which jumped out and yelled Warrant??

 

Just sounded like a solid rock release, but nowhere near the excellence of Cherry Pie or Dog Eat Dog.

 

That's because the lead songwriter is no longer writing the songs. I usually hate when other people use this phrase, but I'm gonna use it...Jani Lane WAS Warrant. The other guys are really good musiciains, but Lane wrote all their songs. Without him, they're not a bad band, but without Lane's writing, the sound is going to change. It's like Neal Morse leaving Spock's Beard...without him they're still good...they're just not going to sound the same.

 

I agreee,I hate when people say so and so "IS THE BAND" but here it seems so true. I loved Born Again but it wasn't much related to Warrant as a band. I think that is why Journey pulls it off so well, Neil and Jonathan have kept that sound that is Journey. I think we can for sure say that Coverdale IS WHITESNAKE and no one would argue that point at all.

[Guest Melodic Buzz]

After a few spins this CD will probably not get any more from me. I wanted to like it and some of it is alright. But really just an album full of fillers. The only saving grace is Roberts voice...but that doesn't save the songs.

[Nightrain 6]

probably you guys forget that actually when Jani Lane WAS in Warrant, they have changed their sound, take a good look where Cherry Pie evolved to a better Dog Eat Dog, both records have a distinctive difference, so calling this one a different Warrant isn't very true I guess, if you only compare it to the early two. After Dog Eat Dog, Ultraphobia and Belly To Belly are also totally different, and they're still with Jani Lane.

 

'Born Again' is pretty lame, that I'd agree, but 'Rockaholic' is better in any way. Nothing to beat 'Dog Eat Dog', but 'Rockaholic' is definitely can't be compared to the early two, it's very different, but I think when they play live, things will get interesting because they can mix a lot of from their early albums, from Dog Eat Dog, to this album

[Geoff 270]

probably you guys forget that actually when Jani Lane WAS in Warrant, they have changed their sound, take a good look where Cherry Pie evolved to a better Dog Eat Dog, both records have a distinctive difference, so calling this one a different Warrant isn't very true I guess, if you only compare it to the early two. After Dog Eat Dog, Ultraphobia and Belly To Belly are also totally different, and they're still with Jani Lane.

 

'Born Again' is pretty lame, that I'd agree, but 'Rockaholic' is better in any way. Nothing to beat 'Dog Eat Dog', but 'Rockaholic' is definitely can't be compared to the early two, it's very different, but I think when they play live, things will get interesting because they can mix a lot of from their early albums, from Dog Eat Dog, to this album

But there is a huge different in the style of song, imo. Even when Jani was writing simple rock songs like 'Cherry Pie' or 'Down Boys,' he had an ear for a hook and enjoyable lyric that the remainding part of Warrant don't have. The new songs are basic rockers, sorely missing that wonderful lyrical twist or dynamic hook that Jani Lane could give even the otherwise most simple song.

[Nightrain 6]

i know there's a difference, but like I said, since 'Dog Eat Dog', Jani Lane had written a very different style of music, that's why I'm 101% sure even if Jani Lane is in Warrant now and he wrote all music for 'Rockaholic', I'm not sure he'll go back to 'Down Boys' or 'I Saw Red' era, probably even more modern than this one, hence don't know if it's gonna be better than this one, I kinda doubt it

[heaven&hell 0]

i know there's a difference, but like I said, since 'Dog Eat Dog', Jani Lane had written a very different style of music, that's why I'm 101% sure even if Jani Lane is in Warrant now and he wrote all music for 'Rockaholic', I'm not sure he'll go back to 'Down Boys' or 'I Saw Red' era, probably even more modern than this one, hence don't know if it's gonna be better than this one, I kinda doubt it

 

The three new songs on the Greatest and Latest release and the two new songs on the Under the Influence disc were classic sounding Warrant to my ears. And those came out years after his detour into Ultraphobic(which I love) and Belly to Belly.

[Geoff 270]

i know there's a difference, but like I said, since 'Dog Eat Dog', Jani Lane had written a very different style of music, that's why I'm 101% sure even if Jani Lane is in Warrant now and he wrote all music for 'Rockaholic', I'm not sure he'll go back to 'Down Boys' or 'I Saw Red' era, probably even more modern than this one, hence don't know if it's gonna be better than this one, I kinda doubt it

 

The three new songs on the Greatest and Latest release and the two new songs on the Under the Influence disc were classic sounding Warrant to my ears. And those came out years after his detour into Ultraphobic(which I love) and Belly to Belly.

Backed. I would bet my house and all future income on the fact that a new Jani-fronted Warrant album would be far superior to the Jani-less Warrant CDs. Like Wes says, the last songs he wrote with Warrant (after the sell-out fad was over) were excellent. As I said in another thread, I still prefer his 'Back down to one' album to the Warrant CDs without him... even though it is not in the style of Warrant at all, it's still great.

 

I wouldn't expect him to re-write the debut or 'Cherry Pie.' As you point out, he evolved with each album and all 4 of Warrant's first albums were excellent, and current each time. One could only assume he'd take Warrant into 2011 in a similar fashion to how Tesla evolved. Anyway, it's all sadly just speculation because of how he's wasted the last few years of his life.