The Bottom Line: Poison fans needn't worry about C.C. leaving for a successful solo career. Stick to your bread and butter, brother; you're so much better in Bret's band than your own.
Check it. See that album cover over there... dude in the middle, that's C.C. DeVille. Yeah, you know, that C.C. DeVille. Don't be surprised. He's been trying to get his own gig going for the last ten years, esp. when Poison first gave him the boot. Of course, he just got fat instead. Well now that Poison has reunited with the four original members and successfully trudged through the summer sheds on their Glam Slam pop metal glitz caravan, C.C. made a go of it again. The solo thing. And why not? Gotta ride those coattails whenever ya can. I just wish he hadn't. Although, he did regain his slender figure.
[pretentious rant snipped]
Back to what I was saying about this Samantha 7 record, C.C. DeVille's pet project, I wish it had never happened. C.C.'s solo efforts have always sounded better as rumors than actually realized. Much better. Even when the The Stepmothers moniker was bandied about before name changed again. But this disc, clocking in just under 30 minutes, makes all of his Poison material sound genius. And we all know what Poison is about, right? Fact is, Poison produces music for the lowest common denominator. Nothing wrong with that; look at the success of McDonald's. But imagine how horrific Samantha 7 really is if I say the best track on the album isn't half as good as the worst Poison tune. Yeah, that's bad.
I wanted to review this record sometime over a year ago when it hit the shelves but then I knew I'd have to listen to it again in order to do so. Yes, it's taken this long to buckle down and get this thing done. And I'm not happy about it. It disturbs me greatly hearing such a lousy record from my favorite member of Poison. Btw, this was another CD I picked up when it was released for a discounted price at Rolling Stones Records in Chicago. Should've been my first clue. I remember sliding the disc in my car stereo the first time and a minute later thinking WTF?! Why, C.C., why?!
C.C. and the boys (Krys Baratto on bass and Francis Ruiz on drums) attempt to get the party started with "Framed" and already I feel the gas leaking from the tires. For an up-tempo tune, the banal riff never peaks leaving the song flatlining over C.C.'s gravelly vocals until "Hanging Onto Jane" crashes in like unfinished demo ending before it starts. I thought for sure that C.C. might have learned something six-stringing for Poison such as the overuse of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-solo-chorus makes for very lethargic songwriting. Clearly I was wrong.
"I Wanna Be Famous" is more self-depreciating than we need in a song by the man with the electric hairdo. Yeah, we all feel sorry for you, bud. We got it, you wanna be famous, you wanna be a star. Sure, and cocaine does the body good. By the time "Slave Laura" rolls in, I get the impression I've already heard these grooves somewhere else. Gotta give it to C.C. as he really loves strumming those 1/8th note fifth chords until my skull is numb. "Slave Laura" certainly sounds like something he salvaged off the cutting room floor from Poison circa '88. Only worse.
The guitarman with golden blond locks gets painfully somber in "Cover Girl" as he addresses life's profound stumbling blocks, "we all fall down/we all fall down." We know, C.C., you snorted your per diem, became an ass, and got kicked out of Poison. We watched your story immortalized on Behind The Music. Tell us something we don't know. Either that or at least make an old hat look interesting. Nope. Instead you follow it with more blather in "Golden Days And Rain" - another uninspired ditty about not letting life slip away.
But don't stop there. Give us more bland meandering about how life was so much better in the old days in "Good Day." Really, we got it; you had life by the balls and blew it. Literally. Of course, all this couldn't possibly continue without at least one track to acknowledge your past digressions and acceptance of the consequences in "Bury Me." Frankly, it's not just the lackluster music here; C.C.'s need to trip the light fantastic down memory lane really makes the entire effort depressing and demoralizing. I don't mind musicians exuding their woes through music - some of the best music comes from that - but hearing C.C. insignificantly whine about his troubled walk is hardly sincere. This does not exciting nor compelling music make.
"Bonnie Bradley" has a happening beat that almost could be mistaken for a halfway decent bump and run pop rock tune but it is so rushed and repetitive I've already lost interest. "Seané Girl" is a mishmash of at least three tunes we've already heard on the record thus far and just as unimaginative. Lastly "Hollywood & Vine" is the Poison tune that never was - thankfully. Maybe because the quick pacing isn't their bag. As with every song here, C.C. seems to be racing to get to the end adding as much filler along the way to hit the 2-minute mark and can it. It's excruciating and dull at the same time.
Is there anything good about the Samantha 7 self-titled debut? Not really. And the fact that Francis Ruiz has already left the fold says a lot. I will say that C.C.'s rock chops are still intact and his soloing is marvelously splendid and simplistic, just as we'd expect. His voice leaves much to be desired within structure he's created. It's not that it's bad but it just doesn't fit these song styles. If he changed his style altogether, his vocals might work fine. Unfortunately, in Samantha 7, bad songs only get worse with C.C.'s sandy wailing over the weathered rhythms.
Like any Poison fan, I wanted this output to be better than average and prove that indeed this wild-haired axeman had something more than a sugarcoated Happy Meal to offer. Sad as it is, this record isn't even below average. Even that I would've accepted. Ah well, C.C. is still the man and I know he's better than this. Really, he is. Hell, at least it's only 30 minutes long. As I've said before, there are worse forms of torture.
Jeers!
Track Listing:
1. Framed
2. Hanging Onto Jane
3. I Wanna Be Famous
4. Slave Laura
5. Cover Girl
6. Golden Days And Rain
7. Good Day
8. Bury Me
9. Bonnie Bradley
10. Seané Girl
11. Hollywood & Vine
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