Poison - Open Up and Say... Ahh! (1988)

How do we to remember Poison?

For me, Poison is the poster child of an era when glamrock or hair metal was at its peak. The music, the appearance, the behavior, the antics, everything. In short, they resemble the good, the bad and the ugly of that period.

Let’s start with the good. When I first listened to Poison, I heard a music that made we wanted to bang my head, at the same time tap my feet and jump around. You know, the type of music that lift up your mood in a relax way. Normally, CC DeVille started a song with light but memorable riff. Then Rikki Rocket entered with his drum, followed by Bobby Dall’s rock-n-roll style bass playing. Brett Michaels’ vocal was not like a typical metal singer of the time who tend to abuse their high pitch. His vocal range was more limited, but almost perfectly fit into Poison’s easy listening, three-chord formula.

Later I got the chance to see some of their video clips. I saw four guys with big hair, tight spandex, jumping around and rolling around the screen. I immediately fell in love with them! The most memorable clip for me was Talk Dirty to Me, from their previous album Look What the Cat Dragged in. Later I knew that Slash was once auditioned for the vacant guitarist position before Michaels and co hired CC DeVille instead. Well, I really can’t imagine Slash wearing those make-ups and hairdo.

I got copy of “Open Up” sometimes in 1988 from my junior high school classmate. I made an own copy of the album using a double cassette-deck recorder. The whole album fit into one side of a C-90 blank cassette. The duration was only around 30 minutes. It was a Malaysian version of the album, as at that time it wasn’t available yet in the local stores. The album cover was the censored version, the one that only showed the eyes, since the full artwork was considered too provocative and indecent. Not long after that, the local version of the album was available.

Now, the bad. They really applied the ‘sex, drugs and rock n’ roll’ philosophy. During their fame, alcohol and substance abuse were regular features of Poison members’ lifestyle. CC DeVille went into rehab in the 1990s, although at that time he’s had left the band (and was still high when they reunited). Brett Michaels struggled with a serious disease in early 2000s, partly due to his lifestyle during the peak years.

The ugly? Posion is a band where the members constantly fighting among themselves. Often, disagreement among them ended up in physical fights, in studio or even on stage. There were stories about Michaels throwing microphone to Dall or DeVille, and the other retaliated using their bass or guitar. And it is a normal thing to see the four members going to the concert hall in separate cars or buses.

Then there were also scandals. Brett Michael’s leaked sex tape with Pamela Anderson. Or a bizzare love triangle between Rikki Rocket, his fiancée, and Ritchie Kotzen (their new guitar player who replaced CC DeVille when CC left the band in the ‘90s – later Kotzen played for Mr. Big for a brief period).

So how do we choose to remember Poison?

I always remember them as a band that brought my youth spirit, a band that was part of my teenage years, a band that made me love music even more. They will never be remembered as musical geniuses. But they did entertain people with the simple music they played.

They played more serious music in the '90s, which showed a glimpse of the wider side of their talent. However, for them as well as to most hair metal band, the '90s was a rather forgettable decade.

But hey, I won't forget you, Poison...