[2022-02-25] Faster Pussycat "Babylon: The Elektra Years 1987-1992" 4CD box set (HNE UK)

Linda · **Posted:** Wed Nov 17, 2021 10:35 am

Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LCWLJHH/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09LCWLJHH/?tag=imwan-21

Description
• Three key albums from legendary hair metal glamsters Faster Pussycat from the end of the ‘80s and early ‘90s

• Including a host of bonus tracks and the EP ‘Live And Rare’ from 1990

• For fans of Guns N’ Roses, Ratt and LA Guns

Forming in Hollywood, California in 1985, and taking their name from Russ Meyer’s 1965 exploitation trash classic, Faster! Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Taime Downe (lead vocals), Greg Steele (guitar), Brent Muscat (guitar), Eric Stacy (bass) and Mark Michals (drums) were in the right place at the right time with their brand of sleaze rock and glam metal.

Signing to legendary record label Elektra, they released their self-titled debut on 7th July 1987 (two weeks ahead of Guns N’ Roses’ debut, ‘Appetite For Destruction’).

Becoming MTV favourites with videos for the songs ‘Bathroom Wall’ and ‘Don’t Change That Song’, their fame and infamy was further propelled by appearing in the Penelope Spheeris film The Decline of Western Civilization part 2 – The Metal Years, with the band interviewed as well as performing ‘Cathouse’ and ‘Bathroom Wall’ on stage. In America the band toured with Alice Cooper, David Lee Roth and Motörhead to promote the album.

They reached a commercial peak in 1989 with second album, ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’, which was swiftly awarded gold sales status. Featuring the singles ‘House Of Pain’ and ‘Poison Ivy’, ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’ was marked by a heavier, less glam rock approach. They also recorded a cover of Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’ for the compilation album ‘Rubáiyát’, an album celebrating Elektra Records’s 40th Anniversary.

Led by the single ‘Nonstop to Nowhere’, 1992’s self-explanatory ‘Whipped!’ fared well, but despite sold out tours, the rise of grunge was making many of Faster Pussycat’s glam rock contemporaries look a little obsolete. The band called it a day in 1993.

The band reformed in 2001, adopting a more industrial sound, favoured by singer Taime Downe, and continue to tour and record with various line-ups to the present.

Tracklist
[CD1: Faster Pussycat (1987)]
1. Don’t Change That Song
2. Bathroom Wall
3. No Room For Emotion
4. Cathouse
5. Babylon
6. Smash Alley
7. Shooting You Down
8. City Has No Heart
9. Ship Rolls In
10. Bottle In Front Of Me
Bonus Tracks:
11. Bathroom Wall (Remix With Pussycat Intro)
12. Bathroom Wall (Remix)

[CD2: Wake Me When It’s Over (1989)]
1. Where There’s A Whip, There’s A Way
2. Little Dove
3. Poison Ivy
4. House Of Pain
5. Gonna Walk
6. Pulling Weeds
7. Slip Of The Tongue
8. Cryin’ Shame
9. Tattoo
10. Ain’t No Way Around It
11. Arizona Indian Doll
12. Please Dear
Bonus Tracks:
13. Babylon (Live)
14. Slip Of The Tongue (Live)
15. Little Dove (Live)
16. Smash Alley (Live)
17. Pulling Weeds (Live)
18. Poison Ivy (Edit)
19. House Of Pain (Edit)

[CD3: Live And Rare (1990)]
1. Bathroom Wall
2. Poison Ivy
3. Pulling Weeds
4. Slip Of The Tongue
5. Babylon
6. House Of Pain

[CD4: Whipped! (1992)]
1. Nonstop To Nowhere
2. The Body Thief
3. Jack The Bastard
4. Big Dictionary
5. Madam Ruby’s Love Boutique
6. Only Way Out
7. Maid In Wonderland
8. Friends
9. Cat Bash
10. Loose Booty
11. Mr Lovedog
12. Out With A Bang
Bonus Tracks:
13. Nonstop To Nowhere (CHR Version)
14. Too Tight
15. Charge Me Up
16. You’re So Vain
17. The Body Thief (Edit)

Packshot (click for full size):

Mark MN · 13 Aug 2012

The first four bonus tracks on Whipped! are from the EP Belted, Buckled And Booted.

I had the disc Wake Me When It’s Over and remember liking it quite a bit, especially House Of Pain. I don't have it anymore for some reason, so I'll get this set for that disc alone. HNE does a decent job of remastering.

Anyone else have the other releases, and if so, were they good?

Jason Gore · 22 Aug 2004

16 year old me loved their first album, and thought the second one was pretty good; I was such a fan of the Sleaze sound at that time (really, the two Guns' bands and FP), and Bret Muscat had that big fat hollow body sound that really sound like like Gems era Aerosmith, or a band in a dive bar where you can catch something from just being on the dance floor. Bathroom Wall, Babylon, and City Has no Heart were way above average for the era, though. But Don't Change that Song was really, really cheesy, and the video made has not aged well. Like, at all.

AND...if you liked House of Pain, and not Poison Ivy, or Slip of the Tongue from the second album, the first one might not be for you. But if you Liked Cinderella's Gypsy Road (the song)'s guitar sound, you'd probably really enjoy it.

I have no opinion on the third album; I thought they were running out of gas on the second and had moved onto punk by the time of the third.

From there, they got caught in the grunge implosion, and while Taime keeps trying, they're really branded with the era and the sound, and haven't gained traction with modern metal fans.

J

P.S. Oh - and I just remembered the 867-5309 story; Bathroom Wall had an actual phone number in it - 281-7668. So I added to LA area code (213), and gave it a try. Turns out it was the number for The Cathouse Bar. Last I heard, they were still going, so it may still work...

Mark MN · 13 Aug 2012

Jason Gore wrote:

AND...if you liked House of Pain, and not Poison Ivy, or Slip of the Tongue from the second album, the first one might not be for you. But if you Liked Cinderella's Gypsy Road (the song)'s guitar sound, you'd probably really enjoy it.

Some stuff ages well and some not. As for sleaze rock/metal.... I like it. That's why I liked Aerosmith so much when they were good. Also, GnR's first was the ultimate in sleaze rock.

As it is, I'm sure it'll grow on me, the first album.

Jason Gore · 22 Aug 2004

FP is sleazier than GnR, but shallower; but based on what you say, I'm sure you'll enjoy the first album

Linda · **Posted:** Thu Jan 20, 2022 11:44 am

This has been pushed back to February 25th.

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Feb 25, 2022 1:37 pm

A packshot has been added to the first post.

[2022-02-25] Faster Pussycat "Babylon: The Elektra Years 1987-1992" 4CD box set (HNE UK)

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