Black City Breakdown - four stars
(released in 2000 by Paul Black, recorded in 1985 and 1986)
This is a collection of demos that the band had recorded when they were being courted by Polygram before Phil Lewis was in the band. Paul Black has a cool voice and makes these songs really great. The album has a great cover, great layout, and very good sound quality. If nothing else, it is a great history lesson. My only complaint is that there is not MORE, much more. Not to say that the CD runs short, but there are definitely more songs that were written and recorded like 'one way ticket' and the early version of 'sex action,' along with many of the other originals and covers that the band would have done live.
Hollywood Rehearsal - one star
(released in 1997 by Phil Lewis, recorded 1987-1992 and 1996/97)
The saving grace of this album is tracks seven through ten, which are recordings of the 'original' lineup doing covers of 'rock candy' and 'custard pie' as well as 'all the way' and ?guilty?. Tracks one through six are presumably 'new' recordings of Phil, Mick, & Kelly doing some cover songs. These 'new' recordings have SUPER-poor sound and are kind of lame song selections. Phil says in the liner notes that the songs were all recorded between 1987-92 but this is not the case. The album has a very poor layout and sound. It is very much NOT worth the money that you will spend to import it from Japan (which is the only place it was released).
Hollywood Raw - three stars
(released in 2004 by Tracii Guns, recorded in 1984 and 1987)
This is a compilation of the demos for the band's first album with Phil Lewis (the ones that supposedly got them signed to Polygram). This CD includes a few of the tunes we all know and love from the first album as well as a few unreleased and alternate versions. It includes the original version of "sex action" which was called "love and hate" as well as one of many early versions of "nothing to lose" called 'been here before'. Two of the unreleased songs had been previously released ("guilty" on 'Hollywood Rehearsal' & "winters fool" on both 'Black City Breakdown' & the Japanese version of the 'LA Guns' debut). "Alice in wasteland" is a re-vamped version of Paul Black's 'liquid diamonds' (which is featured on 'Black City Breakdown'). The sound quality on these demos is VERY good with the exception of the one unreleased instrumental track. The band's very first independently released EP with singer Mike Jagosz (which was called 'Collector's Edition No.1', which should be like the ?holy grail? to LA Guns fans) is added as a bonus CD. The Jagosz songs are cool but don't really sound much like the LA Guns we know, but 'it's not true' and 'don't love me' kind of remind me of 'one more reason' and 'never enough' (respectively). It is good to see that this long un-available EP is now available to the masses (as only a few hundred copies were originally pressed). The sound quality on this bonus CD is very good as well. This is not an overly-impressive collection, but like "Black City Breakdown" it is a great lesson in the history of LA Guns.
Black List - five stars
(released in 2005 by Paul Black, recorded 1985-87)
This collection replaces ?Black City Breakdown? and contains all of the songs from that album and more. This CD is a complete set of Paul Black demos featuring four extra LA Guns demos. The packaging is better than its predecessor as well. The one thing it does not have is the lyrics, which were featured on the ?Black City Breakdown? album.
Hellraisers Ball: Caught in the Act (2004) five stars
I don?t know that this is an official LA Guns release. Since LA Guns has never commercially released a concert video or DVD, this semi-bootleg performance is your only option. It contains a concert recorded in 2003 with Brent and Keri that boasts excellent sound and picture quality. It was only released in the United Kingdom and is in PAL-DVD format. This DVD also contains a cool interview with Steve and Phil, and yet another RIP OFF of my LA Guns biography (so incidentally, FUCK Secret Records!)
Love, Peace, & Geese (1990) three and a half stars
This is a collection of the five promotional videos that the band made for the 'Cocked & Loaded' album. It contains only these five videos, as well as introductions by singer Phil Lewis, but no real 'behind the scenes' footage. It was released worldwide, but is now out of print worldwide. The videos for 'never enough' and 'the ballad of jayne' are very memorable.
One More Reason (1989) four stars
This in an excellently thrown together compilation of the five videos that were made for the 'LA Guns' debut album. It also contains a faux-live video for 'no mercy,' somewhat of a video for Tracii's solo performance of 'cry no more,' and some goofy behind-the-scenes footage of the band living in the 80's. These videos are kind of lame, but are a cool look at LA Guns trying to break it big time.