The Greatest Album Is...Crack A Smile

Every band that has been around for a while and released great records runs into this debate; what is their greatest album? The greatest album is… is a column dedicated to tackling that age old question. What is the greatest album recorded by Poison? Join with us now as the question is answered and arguments are made that the greatest Poison album is Crack A Smile.  

When Poison went to record their fifth studio album, Crack A Smile, they were at a crossroads. Long gone was original guitarist C.C. DeVille. His replacement, Richie Kotzen had been fired from the band after it was discovered he was having an affair with drummer Rikki Rockett’s fiancé. Blues Saraceno came in and took over lead guitar duties. Glam was a dying musical genre, and while their previous album Native Tongue had decent sales numbers, they paled in comparison to the first three Poison records. The band had also changed their musical style from glam slam party jams, to socio-political blues rock. It was a huge change that fans had a hard time accepting. So, when Poison went into the studio to record Crack A Smile everything was conspiring against them. They had to make a hit record or their career could be over.

There are very few Poison fans that would choose Crack A Smile as the band’s greatest album. It wasn’t recorded with beloved guitarist C.C. DeVille. It was released five years after it was finished and the band had moved on from those songs. There are no concert staples contained on the record because none of the songs have ever been played live. It’s hard for fans to even know this album, let alone embrace it as the best. Yet, once the album has been consumed a few times, the beauty of the record clearly comes into focus.

Crack A Smile showed that Poison was going back to their party style of glam metal, leaving the seriousness of Native Tongue in the past. Returning to their roots paid big dividends musically. Poison was loose and fun on this record, having a party with their music, and they produced songs that are as classic as any material from their first three records. Except for the cover of the Dr. Hook hit “Cover of the Rolling Stone,” the entire band wrote every song for this release together. And it is that band unity that makes these songs so strong, focused, and fun.

Sexually charged fantasy songs are plentiful with “Best Thing You Ever Had,” “Shut Up, Make Love,” “Baby Gets Around A Bit,” and “Sexual Thing.” All these songs focus on the theme of being used just for sex and that is not portrayed as a negative. It’s taken more tongue in cheek and shows the humorous side of a man being used just for his body. Every boy’s fantasy. Poison hit the mark with songs like these and if Crack A Smile was released in 1987 these all would have been top ten hits.  

Power ballads are also accounted for with “Be The One,” and “Lay Your Body Down.” Poison reminds everyone how power ballads are done with both these songs. They are magnificent beauties that show the ability to write majestic slow jams. And while neither song is as grand as “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” both are amazing in their own right.

“Lay Your Body Down” was even released on the band’s greatest hits record, which ironically came out before Crack A Smile. “Lay Your Body Down” is the stronger of the two with some of the best lyrics the band has ever crafted. The opening lines of “I spend my life waiting for that famous final scene…I believe you know the one…where she falls in love with me” are just fantastic! It’s great artistic writing, painting a scene and setting up the rest of what is to come. “Lay Your Body Down” could give “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” a challenge for best Poison ballad. And while it probably wouldn’t win it would be a close race. “Lay Your Body Down” is stunning.

One of Poison’s best songs is also included on Crack A Smile. “No Ring, No Gets” is a tremendous, light hearted, humorous track that has fun with a serious topic. Blues Saraceno shows off his skills with the solo and the beat of this tune make it a great sing along song. “No Ring, No Gets” would have been a huge concert staple if it was recorded at a different time in the bands career. As it is, Poison should consider adding this gem to their set for upcoming tours. Even the fans who don’t know the song would fall in love with it after one listen.

Crack A Smile is the best work Poison ever recorded and that level of talent would carry over for the studio songs that were included on Power To The People. Even with a new guitarist, Poison was at the top of the mountain with Crack A Smile. If this album had been released at an earlier time in the band’s career it would be as beloved as their first three records are. Unfortunately, Crack A Smile suffered from poor timing and genre preference changes. Thus, it is a record that not a lot of fans know about, and the ones that do are die-hards only. The casual fan has never heard Crack A Smile and that’s the real shame.

The greatest album is…Crack A Smile.

Vital Statistics

Release Date: March 14, 2000

Produced By: John Purdell and Duane Baron

RIAA Sales: Did not receive certification

Peak Position on the US Charts: 131

The album was recorded in 1994 and 1995 but put “on hold” by Capitol records. It would finally be released in 2000 with bonus tracks, due to fan demand.

“Sexual Thing” and “Lay Your Body Down” were previously released on Poison’s greatest hits album.

No song from this record has ever been played live by Poison.

Singles

Shut Up, Make Love

Be the One

Track Listing

Best Thing You Ever Had

Shut Up, Make Love

Baby Gets Around A Bit

Cover of the Rolling Stone

Be The One

Mr. Smiley

Sexual Thing

Lay Your Body Down

No Ring, No Gets

That’s the Way I Like It

Tragically Unhip

Doin’ As I See on My TV

Band Members

Bret Michaels – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards

Rikki Rockett -drums, percussion

Bobby Dall – bass, backing vocals

Blues Saraceno – lead guitar, piano, backing vocals

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - A Lot Going On Edition

Holy Hannah, there was a lot going on in the world of music this past week! There was also a lot going on in my personal life too. Some good, some bad, and some just too much work! It happens. I have a very demanding day job and I try to keep up with this blog and my newly launched KISS podcast, while still making time for reading, movies, games, family, and friends. Sometimes I need to remind myself that I should slow down and enjoy life for whatever it is handing me at that moment.

I’m really not complaining. I like to be busy and I like to get things done. I just tend to overcommit sometimes. And then there are times when everything happens all at once. Like new releases, tickets to concerts that I really want to see, and huge breaking news from some of my favorite bands. And that’s what I experienced this past week, which has led me to my first Friday’s Rockin’ Roundup for 2018.

So, while I was playing catch up in the world of all things Ryo Vie likes (and work), here’s what rocked this week!

Boyd Tinsley Is Taking A Break

Just hours after tickets went on sale for their upcoming summer tour, and a day before the band’s first concert in quite some time, Boyd Tinsley announced that he was “taking a break” from the Dave Mathews Band to focus on his family and health for a while. This news shocked the DMB fan community and caused one of the most popular fan sites to overload and shut down due to high traffic volume. The responses to this announcement are mixed. While some fans are really upset that this announcement did not come prior to the tickets going on sale, others are just sad and hope that everything is okay with their favorite fiddle player. I fall into both camps. On the one hand, I do hope that Boyd is okay and that the health issues are not serious. On the other hand, I wish I would have known this prior to buying tickets because it may have changed my decision about going or at least about how much to spend on tickets. As it is, I am going to two shows this summer. I just know they aren’t going to be the same without Boyd. It’s going to be odd and somber at times.

Poison Announces A Summer Tour

I’ll admit that with all that’s been going on lately, this announcement totally caught me by surprise. But thankfully, in a good way! I had no idea that Poison was gearing up to hit the road this summer. And taking Cheap Trick and Pop Evil out with them is quite a bonus. Long time readers know how much I love Pop Evil and Poison, so this is practically a must see show for me. The problem is I have DMB tickets for the night that Poison is in my home state. Now I am frantically scrambling to see what other nearby shows there are that will fit my schedule. Ugh! The problems of a die-hard music fan!

Gaslight Anthem Reunion Dates Announced

After a long hiatus, The Gaslight Anthem is finally getting back together! They plan to tour in honor of the anniversary of The 59 Sound, their breakout album that most (if not all) Gaslight fans adore. Tickets for all the announced North America shows have sold out, so I am hopeful that the band will add more dates. They currently do not have any shows scheduled for their home state of New Jersey and I can’t see them doing this tour without a show or two in The Garden State. Thus, like most fans, I will wait and see if future shows are added and if they include a stop in Jersey. If they do, expect me to be there!

Pearl JamTickets Going On Sale Soon

Pearl Jam announced some stadium shows for this summer. Tickets go on sale soon, however, if you were one of the lucky ones to become a “verified” fan, then you will have the opportunity to buy tickets next Friday, February 16^th. If there are any tickets left after that (doubtful), the general on sale will be February 21^st at 10:00 AM. Unfortunately, the closest show to me is almost 6 hours away, so I did not try to get “verified.” I still have some issues with the whole verification through Ticketmaster process anyway, but that’s a topic for another time. I may or may not try to get general tickets for Fenway in Boston, but I’m real hopeful that PJ will add some dates to the NYC area. MetLife stadium is a great place to hold a concert in the summer!

Brian Fallon’s Solo Album Is Out Today

Not to be outdone by his band that’s been on hiatus and is now returning with a boom, Brian Fallon will release a new solo album today. Sleepwalkers is the second solo album from Fallon and every song that I have heard from this record is magnificent. I can’t even begin to describe how talented Brian Fallon is or how much I love his music. It is filled with such passion that it just overwhelms me (in a very good way). There was a great article posted on the independent that talks about his new record, The Gaslight Anthem, and much more. It’s definitely worth reading, especially if you are a fan!

The Latest Episode of The Psycho Circus Podcast Is Up

I’ll wrap up this edition of Friday’s Rockin’ Roundup with a shameless self-promoting plug. The latest episode of my Podcast The Psycho Circus Podcast is up. It’s also available on iTunes and Tune-In. This episode covers my favorite KISS album of all time, Destroyer, so I really hope that it gets a lot of listens. And if you like what you hear, think about subscribing. My plan is to post a new episode every week until I collapse from over-commitment!

Concert Review: Poison With Vince Neil - June 14, 2003

During the summer of 2003 I would witness Poison live for the fifth year in a row. As they had in years past, Poision was taking other classic 80s bands out with them to revisit the great hair metal movement of my youth. This time around it was Vince Neil taking the stage before Poison. Skid Row was the opening act sans Sebastian Bach. Skid Row had a new vocalist Johnny Solinger singing for the band and the reviews were relatively positive. I was hopeful for this concert, but also reserved. In years past Poison had hit the road with Cinderella, Warrant, Ratt, and had great undercards in Dokken, Enuff Z’Nuff, Slaughter, and Winger (just to name a few). Skid Row, without Sebastian Bach, and Vince Neil, without the rest of Motley Crue, just didn’t excite me the way the Poison bills of the past had. Still I went with an open mind, full of hope.

Perhaps I had grown contempt because I had seen Poison so many years in a row, but this show was definitely a low point for the band and their hair metal tours. It appeared that it was getting harder and harder to get big (or semi-big) name acts to go out on the road with them. And while Vince Neil is exciting to some, he lacked the marquee status that came in years past. Vince Neil was okay, but that’s just it. He was okay. He wasn’t making me buy tickets. I think I attended this show for the pure fact that I had gone every year. It was another opportunity to travel nostalgia avenue and remember the hair rocking days of my youth.

I honestly don’t recall much about this concert overall. I’m sure I sang along with the songs and pumped my fist in the air during key hard rocking songs, but there is nothing emblazoned in my memory that makes this night stand out. That tells me this concert was average at best.

Vince’s set was filled with plenty of Motley Crue standards, which the crowd went crazy for, but without the rest of Motley Crue, it just wasn’t as special. And Poison gave their standard set filled with hits from the 80s and a couple of new songs that they were pushing. They closed with a cover of Kiss’ “Rock And Roll All Nite” which is always cool to hear, but overall there was nothing spectacular in their set. Even the order of songs was anticipated.

That’s not to say it was a bad show. A standard Poison concert is still a whole lot of fun. It’s just that there wasn’t anything that shook it up from years past. All of the shows from that time period start to blend together after a while. And it must have shown in ticket sales as well. By 2003, it seemed that the end of the Poison party was close at hand. Poison would go out the next year as the opening act for KISS and they wouldn’t tour at all in 2005. It was certainly fun while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end.

These days, I get my 80s fix by attending the M3 festival in Maryland every spring. It’s a two night event that is filled with all of the great bands from back in the day. And while I hope that poison will headline that festival one year, they haven’t to date. I am still hopeful though. As I can no longer witness their travelling hair metal bonanza, it would be nice to see them appear at M3. Maybe next year will be the year that it finally happens.

Vince Neil Setlist

Shout At The Devil

All In The Name Of…

Too Young To Fall In Love

Girls, Girls, Girls

Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)

Home Sweet Home

Wild Side

You’re Invited (But Your Friend Can’t Come)

Looks That Kill

Dr. Feelgood

Teaser

Kickstart My Heart

Poison Setlist

Look What The Cat Dragged In
Squeeze Box
Ride The Wind
I Won't Forget You
Your Mama Don't Dance
I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine
Something To Believe In
Stand
Fallen Angel
Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Unskinny Bop
Talk Dirty To Me
Rock And Roll All Nite
Encore
Nothin' But  A Good TIme