Native Tongue (Poison album)
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Native Tongue is the fourth studio album by glam metal band Poison. The record was released on February 8, 1993.
Musical style
While generally associated with the glam metal scene, the album's sound also features funk and blues elements. Richie Kotzen's influence upon the sound of Native Tongue is unmistakable. In songs such "The Scream", the band's traditional sustaining power chords were jettisoned in favour of complex, funky palm-muted metal riffs.
Production and marketing
The album was the first and only Poison release to feature guitar virtuoso Kotzen. Kotzen was hired as the band's guitarist following the firing of C.C. DeVille. Admitted as a fully-fledged member of the band rather than a "hired gun", Kotzen was given considerable creative freedom. Indeed, Kotzen's writing and performing contributions dominated the album, which reflected a level of musical complexity and sophistication which was absent from the band's previous releases.
Kotzen would later be expelled from the band after it was discovered that he had been romantically involved with the fiance of drummer Rikki Rockett. Recollections of the album, while no doubt soured by these events, nonetheless appear to faithfully reflect the basic clash between Kotzen's style and that of the band's founding members. Kotzen would later claim that "being in Poison helped me forget I was a musician" [1]; while Rockett would lament the loss the band's original "attitude" [2].
The album was recorded and mixed at A&M Studios in Hollywood, California, and Rumbo Recorders in Canoga Park, California with producer Richie Zito. It was dedicated to Van Halen tour manager Scotty Ross and former Poison guitarist DeVille.
Songs
Lyrically, the band revealed a growing sophistication. The albums themes include battles against injustice ("Scream", "Stand"), heartbreak ("Until You Suffer Some", "7 Days Over You", "Theatre of the Soul"), and inner demons ("Stay Alive").
Track listing
- “Native Tongue”
- “The Scream”
- “Stand”
- “Stay Alive”
- “Until You Suffer Some (Fire And Ice) ”
- “Body Talk”
- “Bring It Home”
- “7 Days Over You”
- “Richie's Acoustic Thang”
- “Ain't That The Truth”
- “Theatre Of The Soul”
- “Strike Up The Band”
- “Ride Child Ride”
- “Blind Faith”
- “Bastard Son Of A Thousand Blues”