The release of Shrinking Violet marks the return of L.A. Guns to their classic raw and raunchy sound. Led by founders Tracii Guns and his rippin' axework and Steve Riley and his thunder drums, along with new vocalist Jizzy Pearl (formerly of Love/Hate), and recently departed bassist Johnny Crypt. Pearl proves to be the spark that ignites the fire. His ballsy, fiery vocals breathe life into the band and make us want to hear more; perhaps he should have been the original LAG vocalist.

Now, it's no secret that this album was made on a limited budget and with time constraints and unfortunately, it shows as the production could have been much better. Former Guns N' Roses axeman Gilby Clarke does a lackluster job producing the CD, but we can probably attest that mostly to the factors mentioned above. But don't let that stop you from getting your hands on this CD! There are plenty of bright spots on this violet. It's about time Tracii Guns became a more renowned guitar hero - his work on this disc shines, as usual. And Jizzy is king - this guy sings his balls off!!

Here's the track by track review:
1. Girl You Turn Me On - Very Cool opener. A very raw sounding track with killer vocals, very catchy as well.
2. Shrinking Violet - Catchy tune with guitar grooves galore and a killer solo. What else do you need?
3. Dreamtime - (MetalGod's Pick) Now this is just a great tune. I can't stop playing this song - it should be a hit song. A beautiful ballad with awesome vocals. I can just see the lighters and the crowd singing along. This is Jizzy Pearl's finest moment. Jizzy's a Beatle fan (like me) and it shows. To top it all off, former Guns N' Roses henchmen Teddy Andreadis (keyboardist) and Gilby Clarke cameo on the tune.
4. Barbed Wire - A nice mellow ballad with awesome acoustic guitar fills by Tracii Guns. Very cool solo as well with a great ending.
5. I'll Be There - A dark tune with modern undertones, very heavy.
6. California - A catchy all around Rock n' Roll tune with a killer solo.
7. Cherries - A psychedelic punk rocker, it's like The Beatles meet The Ramones. Imagine that. Very freakin' cool.
8. Decide - Very cool Zeppelinesque ballad. Catchy as hell. Pearl's vocals come from the soul and Guns' axe mastery really shines.
9. Big Lil' Thing - Straight ahead in-your-face hard rock with a slight modern touch.
10. It's Hard - More Rock N' Roll, more guitars, more Tracii.
11. Bad Whiskey - The Blues, which is a very cool thing for Tracii and his fans. Check out this tune. Guitars galore!
12. How Many More Times - A rockin' cover of the Led Zeppelin tune. This version clocks in at 8:51 which means that there's some serious jammin' going on. A great way to end this disc.

This CD rocks, the songs are good, very well written and Tracii Guns shreds ass! We can only look forward and salivate over the music that this lineup of L.A. Guns will make in the near future. Until then, rock out with Shrinking Violet!

-MetalGod

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