L.A. Guns β Cocked & Loaded
- intothewellsabyss
- Aug 22, 2023
- 3 min read
π πππ πππ ππππππ - πππππππππππ ππππ πππππ ππππππππ π’π§ ππ‘π πππππππ π¨πΒ ππππ ππππ & πππππ πππππβ¦
August 22, 1988 β L.A. Guns released their second studio album, Cocked & Loaded via Vertigo Records. (Listen)
The album was recorded at Hollywood studios One on One, Music Grinder and Conway Recording, it was produced by Duane Baron, John Purdell and Tom Werman.
The album is the first to feature drummer Steve Riley. Rip and Tear, Never Enough, The Ballad of Jayne, I Wanna Be Your Man and Malaria were released as the album's singles.
Following the success of their self-titled debut album the previous year, L.A. Guns quickly set about recording the follow-up in 1989. Writing for all tracks were credited to all five members of the band, while Never Enough was co-written by Gregg Tripp and Phil Roy. Four tracks were re-recorded by the reunited classic lineup of the band in 1999 for the compilation Greatest Hits and Black Beauties, and the whole album was re-recorded for the release Cocked & Re-Loaded.
Background:
L.A. Guns recorded the follow-up to their 1988 self-titled debut album early the following year, working with producers Duane Baron, John Purdell and Tom Werman. Sessions took place at three Hollywood studios, One on One Studios, Music Grinder and Conway Recording. The album was the band's first to feature drummer Steve Riley, who took over from his predecessor Nickey "Beat" Alexander after the recording for L.A. Guns was completed. Five singles were released in promotion of the album, two of which charted in the US β The Ballad of Jayne reached No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 25 on the Mainstream Rock chart, while Rip and Tear reached No. 47 on the latter chart. Music videos for all five tracks were featured on the 1990 video Love, Peace & Geese.
Upon its release, Cocked & Loaded debuted at No. 89 on the US Billboard 200. It spent a total of 56 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 38 in July 1990. In the same month, the album was certified gold by The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for domestic sales in excess of 500,000 certified units.
Outside of the US, the album reached No. 23 on the Japanese Albums Chart, and No. 38 on the UK Albums Chart.
Critical Reception:
Media response to βCocked & Loadedβ was generally positive. Cash Box magazine claimed that the band had "ππππ π ππ’ πππππ πππ ππππππ" since the release of their self-titled debut the previous year, praising the performance of lead guitarist Tracii Guns in particular.
Billboard magazine's review was more mixed, as they described the album as "π ππππππ’ ππππππ" and added that the band "πππ π πππππ ππππ ππππππ ππ πππ πππππ πππππππ ππ πππππ, πππ π πππ πππ πππππππ πππππ... ππππ’ πππ πππ π πππ πππ ππππ ππ πππ ππππ".
The opinion of Los Angeles Times writer Janiss Garza was similar, who claimed that "πππ π».π°.-πππππ πππππππβπ πππππππ πππππππππ πππ ππππππππ’ π ππππ, ππ ππππ ππ π’ππ πππβπ πππππ πππ ππππππ’" and praised Magdalaine and Give a Little in particular as "π πππ πππππππππππ πππππ".
Retrospectively, the album has received widespread critical acclaim. Steve Huey of music website AllMusic dubbed it "π».π°. πΆπππ' ππππ ππππππππππ πππ πππππππππ πππππ", claiming that it "πππππππ ππ πππππππ πππ πππππππ’πππ ππππππππ ππ πΆπππ π½β πππππ' πππππ πππππππ π πππ πΌΓΆππππ’ π²πΓΌπβπ πππππ’-ππππππ πΆπππ πΌππππ". In particular, Huey praised the songwriting as "πππππ [πππ ππππ'π] ππππ", highlighting the tracks Never Enough and The Ballad of Jayne.
Rolling Stone magazine named Cocked & Loaded the 27th best "Hair Metal" album of all-time, praising the variety of material on the release including "ππππππ-ππππ πππππππ" on Rip and Tear, 17 Crash and Give a Little, the "ππππ-π»πππππ ππππ πππππ" on display on "Sleazy Come Easy Go", and the "ππππππππ ππππ" shown on Magdalaine and Malaria.
Watch the Official Music Video for Rip and Tear.
Watch the Official Music Video for Never Enough.
Watch the Official Music Video for I Wanna Be Your Man.
Watch the Official Music Video for Malaria.
Watch the Official Music Video for The Ballad of Jayne.
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. β E.N. Wells
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