While Poison's Power To The People CD may not be every metal head's top CD of the year 2000, we all need to be thankful that this effort even saw the light of day. The glam kings of the '80's that critics point to in a heartbeat when lamenting the era of so-called "hair bands" are alive and well in the new millennium and giving quite a boost to the other bands of the genre. Not to mention giving rock-starved fans a chance to go to a show and celebrate the way a music fan is supposed to at a live performance.

PTTP contains five new songs with the reunited lineup of Bret Michaels, C.C. Deville, Bobby Dall and Rikki Rocket along with 13 live tracks from 1999's highly successful comeback tour. Of the five new ones, three stand out. "Power To The People" has a modern sound to it with Bret talking (but not rapping) the verse. It's not traditional Poison by any means and it definitely sounds like they tried to get a little more contemporary. But not to worry. The song has a lot of energy and a powerful chorus that is a good leadoff number for a CD or a live show.

"Strange" is a folksy, bluesy number that sounds a lot like the stuff on Bret's solo CD. It's a rolling story of a guy picking up a female hitchhiker and falls into the category of songs that make Poison popular with the ladies. The last new song features C.C. on vocals in a choppy, punkish sounding number, "I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine." The other two new ones are pretty pedestrian sounding songs that don't quite have Poison's energy attached to them.

The live songs are a rundown of Poison's greatest hits. It's not possible to capture the bright lights and confetti bombs on audio but this CD does a pretty good job of getting the energy level right. Bret only sings in his lower register live anymore so some songs don't come off as well as they could but the interaction with the audience and between band members is better than most live albums. If you were a Poison fan when they were in their heyday, this stuff will go down beautifully. After all the labeling that has been put on bands of the '80's many would be surprised to look back and see what good songwriting these lipstick-n-leather kings actually came out with.

In the end, who would have thunk it? Once thought to be one of the bands that killed rock and roll, Poison is not only back, but leading the charge for their genre by putting on a spectacular tour and taking with them bands like Ratt, Great White, Dokken, Cinderella, Slaughter and LA Guns. The music of Poison was always fun, exciting, colorful, over-the-top and a little rude. Power To The People captures the classic stuff and offers some new material to keep the ball rolling.

Reviewed by Steve Cummings
(Check out Steve's website, Hard Rock Sports)

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