Why?: I loved Ugly Kid Joe as a kid. Pop rock with a harder guitar edge closer to that Metallica sound I liked. This album was one of the first tapes I ever had. I've listened to it so much I could probably figure out how to play most of the songs by my memory's ear. I recently replaced the CD as I discovered while listening for this blog that my old copy has "worn out", as CDs sometimes do. New copy was $5 on ebay.
Tell me more!:
I'm glad I'm reviewing this at the same time as Appetite For Destruction, because for me they're similar albums, and I'd dare say Ugly Kid Joe's album, while not having a Sweet Child or Welcome To The Jungle, is easily the superior album.
Ignoring the songs, ignoring the lyrics, and just listening to the music, UKJ are heavier than GnR, their riffs and solos chunkier and far more "fun". UKJ are more Black Sabbath influenced, against GnR's heavy blues influence. I prefer Sabbath...
Given a not insignificant part of my brain consists of this album, I'm clearly biased. I can still recognise how cheesy these songs are. How they're really not that far from someone like Kid Rock, who everyone hates. It's pop-rock for bad cover bands... in fact, I accidentally saw an Ugly Kid Joe cover band once, back in around 2000, and I was one of a very small group of people enjoying myself.
UKJ lost themselves with their next album, heading in some very Christian themed directions that scared pretty much all of their fans away. They're back now, but I haven't really enjoyed their recent output. This album though, this album is the shit. The beer swilling shit that eats all the peanuts out of the mixed nuts and asks for more, but he's cute so you can't just kick him out. That'd be mean.
6/10
