Poison’s seminal 1993 album Native Tongue is set to be reissued on vinyl, an exciting development for fans of the long out of print classic.
A certified gold album, Native Tongue peaked on both the Billboard Top 200 and the UK album chart inside the Top 20.
Besides the core personnel of Brett Michaels, Bobby Dall, and Rikki Rockett, Native Tongue is the only Poison album to feature Richie Kotzen on lead guitar. The album was produced by Richie Zito.
Additionally, this 2LP version of the album contains three bonus tracks that were not included in the original album.
Released in February 1993, the album was a marked departure from Poison’s tried and tested heavy rock sound. Blues influences crept in and there was an eschewal of the expected party anthems that had made the band famous, with the single “Stand” even featuring contributions from the Los Angeles First AME Church Choir. Nevertheless, Native Tongue was greeted with primarily positive reviews and again reached No.2 on the US Billboard 200.
The album sold two million copies worldwide. During their subsequent world tour, Kotzen was replaced with new guitarist Blues Saraceno, who completed the dates – including the group’s famous “Hollywood Rock” concert in Brazilian capital Rio De Janeiro, where Poison performed to an audience of around 165,000 people.
Charismatic frontman Bret Michaels initially learnt his craft in a basement-level band called Laser, before teaming up with his childhood buddy, drummer Rikki Rockett, in another relatively shirt-lived outfit, Spectres, which eventually morphed into Paris in 1983, when the duo joined forces with bassist Bobby Dall and guitarist Matt Smith. Initially a hard rock covers band, Paris built up a strong following, but felt trapped within the confines of the local scene and decided on a make-or-break move to Los Angeles, in March 1984.
Struggling to make ends meet, the band changed their name to Poison and made a determined effort to break through, gigging constantly and playing any LA dive that would have them. They got their first major break when they secured a regular gig at famous Hollywood rock club The Troubadour.
Pre-order Native Tongue (Vinyl Reissue).
