This one’s tough. I love Poison. I really, really like Poison and I really wanted to like Songs for Life. The music is not what stopped me, as the sound is similar to what you’d find on Flesh and Blood, but sometimes you just have to stop singing about sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Mick Jagger said he never wanted to sing “Street Fighting Man” when he was 40 yet he sounds good singing it at 55, but Bret Michael is not Mick Jagger.
The songs on the album come out either sounding ridiculous, i.e. “Bret, you’re old now, stop singing about the same things”; or fake, i.e. “I just don’t buy you singing about deep philosophical subjects.” It’s a no win situation, but when you’re a party band for 10 years it’s hard to shed the image.
The fact that the album jacket, photos and inside booklet look like they were printed on my crappy home computer and printer doesn’t help, either. As much as I love Poison, Bret can’t capture that sound and magic alone some 18 years after his big heyday. (4/10)
All related articles (interviews, live, from the vault)
