VARIOUS ARTISTS - Hollywood Hairspray, Vol. 1

Posted: 8/18/05

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Glam/Sleaze/Hard Rock

Released: 1/02

Label URL: www.perrisrecords.com

Few labels are as dedicated to a genre of music as Perris Records.  Head honcho Tom Mathers has been successfully unearthing and supporting glam, sleaze, and hard rock for many years now.  Tom truly believes in the validity of 80s hair bands and gives fans an opportunity to find new and rare releases.  For that, I give him the utmost respect.

I have to be bitch slapped for ignoring the Hollywood Hairspray series that Perris began in 2002.  The label is all the way up to Volume 4, and I'm just getting to reviewing Volume 1.  Well, I'm gonna right the wrong by getting to all of them over the next month.

Volume 1 offers fourteen strong tracks from underground glam/sleaze artists. Many of you old Headbanger's Ball fans will remember Pretty Boy Floyd, who open the disc, and Jetboy, but the rest of the artists (Vamp, Roxx, Nasty Idols) are relative unknowns.

Top bands/tracks:

• Stampede Queen - "Woman In A Fast Car" - we reviewed this band's full length several years ago and they just flat out rule - for ALL fans of classic KISS (Gene Simmons specifically).

• Michael Kelly Smith's (Britny Fox) side project Razamanaz sound damn good on "Feel It."

• Cherry St. - "HellRaiser" - this is Tom Mathers' band - they have several releases out that deserve attention from all fans of 80s glam, sleaze, and party rock.

• The Scream Clan - "American Hair" - a fist in the air anthem that shows some love and respect to big hair!

The Bloody Truth: While the songs are rather raw and not hugely produced, it just doesn't matter because the tunes are just good fun, and the idea here is to get into bands that are in the underground.  If you like bands like Shotgun Messiah, Poison, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Tigertailz, then picking up Volume 1 of the Hollywood Hairspray series is a great way to check out some new (or unearthed) tracks similar to what you liked about the scene back in the day.