Poison Album: “Flesh & Blood”

"Flesh & Blood" was Poison's third record, and the album saw Poison take a slightly different approach than previous effforts. The album still has a party-rock vibe throughout, it just seems a little more mature sounding than previous offerings.

I believe with "Flesh & Blood" Poison hit their creative stride. While not my favorite Poison record, I can't deny how great most of the songs are, and how well the band sounds on the record. It makes me wonder how many singles from this album Poison could have released. There just isn't any drop off in quality from one song to the next. Truly every song is solid, but these couple are my favorites, "Don't Give Up An Inch", "Ride The Wind", "Poor Boy Blues", "Let It Play" and "Valley Of Lost Souls".

Poison just kept getting stronger and better with every release. I would have loved to see what they could have done with C.C. had he stayed in the band. I strongly urge anyone who likes hair metal music to buy this album immediately, there is no way to be disappointed!

Flesh and Blood really ended an era for Poison. It was their last album with guitarist C.C. DeVille (until many, many years later)and you could really hear their sound changing. They were a bit more serious, and the sound was a bit harder. If you like Poison, you will definitely like this. It's one of their best pieces of work. The cover art is also iconic as many Poison fans have had it tattooed on themselves (as I have) as a tribute to the band. The original belongs to none other than Poison's drummer himself, Rikki Rockett, done for the album.

From the cover art through the songs themselves, this is their best album, in my humble opinion. The songs are well balanced, production is top notch (courtesy of the late Bruce Fairbairn). In this album, fortunately they got rid of a lot of hair-metal disgraceful cliches.

With "Flesh and Blood", Poison really hit their stride. They brought their passion for blues crashing into the mainstream, with Brett Michaels showing signs of real maturity and ethusiasm on almost every track.

Highlights include, first and foremost, the experimental "Unskinny Bop", where CC Deville's guitar work and Riki Rocket's drumming both show a ten-fold increase in quality over previous albums, and "Valley of Lost Souls", where the whole band's energy is palpable. They take risks with these tracks, and find enormous success. And, both sound incredible on this remastered release! Other highlights include "Ball and Chain", "Flesh and Blood", "Poor Boy Blues" and "Something to Believe In". The band takes time to craft intelligence and moments of special interest into both ballads and rock tracks. As a whole, the third album is fun and energetic, but also deeply reflective.

Unfortunately, not long after this record, Poison's popularity and creativity began to deteriorate.

Great CD but the remaster (at least the one I have) has an incomplete Poor Boy Blues. You've been warned.