๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ย ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โฆ
August 4, 1992 โ Faster Pussycat released their third full-length studio album, Whipped! via Elektra Records. (Apple Music or Spotify)
Overview:
Any band that names itself after a Russ Meyer film (Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) has a reputation to uphold.
And with tracks like Big Dictionary (get it?), the fourth track on their 1992 album Whipped!, Faster Pussycat did just that, along with other blasts of Sunset Strip braggadocios like the album closing Out with a Bang (not to mention the dominatrix on the front or inside cover)!
But a closer listen reveals a band hitting its Hard Rock stride right at the wrong time, when Grunge flannel was supplanting eyeliner and big hair in the hearts of American youth.
The minor hit and album openingย Nonstop to Nowhere (which was the only official single released) had a classic Stones vibe, and Mr. Lovedog was a heartfelt tribute to deceased Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood; those were just two highlights on an album that was funny, surprisingly varied, and tuneful. In short, Whipped! got largely ignored in the wake of the early '90s Nirvana-inspired craze but it deserved a much better fate. If you like a little bit of Raunch with your Roll,Whipped! is the album you were looking for!
The Wells Perspective:
Personally, I believe Faster Pussycat were one of the best bands to climb their way out of the gutters of L.A. All three of their early releases had something great to offer, whether it was the sleaze of their self-titled debut, the Bluesy Wake Me When Itโs Over or their final Elektra records release Whipped, which offered up a little piece of each of the first two albums, bound up tightly in a leather suit, with whips and chains in tow! All joking aside, I loved this album, and still do. I caught Faster Pussycat last year on their North American tour with Tom Keifer and L.A. GUNS.
Even though it is not the original lineup of FP, their performance did not show it. Every song had the old feel and attitude of the original era. I wasnโt expecting to hear anything from the Whipped! album, but I was pleasantly surprised when they opened their set with my favorite track from the albumโฆ Jack the Bastard! Needless to say, I was grinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland throughout the whole of the song, and the bands whole set for that matter. As the overview above stated, the band were finding their stride by the time of this release, and it is unfortunate that it wasnโt given a fair shake or two.. or three! Musically, it is probably their best offering of the first three, but what do I know?! In conclusionโฆ this album kicked, noโฆ "Whipped!โ assโฆ enough said! โ E.N. Wells
Album Information:
The single for Nonstop to Nowhere (titled Nonstop to Nowhere: Belted, Buckled and Booted), for which there is a video (watch video), reached No. 35 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock track chart.
As previously stated, the track Mr. Lovedog was a tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, who had died in 1990 of a heroin overdose.
The tracks Too Tight and Charge Me Up were recorded during these sessions, but did not make it onto the final album. They were released on the Nonstop to Nowhere: Belted, Buckled and Booted single. A promotional version of Nonstop to Nowhere was also distributed.
A promotional only CD was released for the track, The Body Theif.
There are two different versions of the Whipped! album cover; one features a zoomed-out shot of the band running away from a giant dominatrix, whereas the other version is a zoomed-in version of the same picture, so it simply looks like the band members are running across a beach.
The record was not released on vinyl in the United States, but was in Europe and a number of Asian countries, including Korea.
Critical Reception:
Billboard's reviewer prised album diversity and strength of musical material. He singled out "AOR -ready anthem in Nonstop To Nowhere, an innuendo - ridden teaser in Big Dictionary, and two strong ballads: Friends, a touching paean to friendship, and Mr. Lovedog, a tribute to the late Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone" and predicted chart entering.
Notice: Any reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. โ E.N. Wells
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