Vicious Circle is the fourth album by the American hard rock band L.A. Guns .[ 2] [ 3] The first single was "Long Time Dead".[ 4] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[ 5]
Production
Michael "Bones" Gersema drums on several songs.[ 1] "I'd Love to Change the World " is a cover of the Ten Years After song.[ 6]
Critical reception
The Chicago Tribune stated that the band "hasn't wandered a bit from the glam metal they helped popularize in the late '80s—a raunchy sound that makes the true headbanger cringe," but conceded that the album "also features some danceable tunes."[ 8] The Calgary Herald determined that "bow-taut guitar solos are slung against arrows of melody fired at the bulls-eye of '70s rock."[ 6] The Tampa Tribune opined that "guitarist Tracii Guns' trigger-finger riffs still fire faster than a speeding bullet."[ 11]
Track listing
Title Writer(s) 1. "Face Down" Kelly Nickels , Mick Cripps , Michael Gersema, Phil Lewis , Tracii Guns 4:11 2. "No Crime" Nickels, Gersema, Steve Dior 2:35 3. "Long Time Dead" Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns 3:22 4. "Killing Machine" Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns 3:27 5. "Fade Away" Nickels, Cripps, Gersema, Lewis, Guns 4:11 6. "Tarantula" (instrumental) Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns 0:56 7. "Crystal Eyes" (American and European bonus track) Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Steve Riley , Guns 5:53 8. "Nothing Better to Do" Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns 2:52 9. "Chasing the Dragon" Nickels, Cripps, Gersema, Lewis, Guns 4:50 10. "Kill That Girl" Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns 3:13 11. "I'd Love to Change the World " (Ten Years After cover) Alvin Lee 3:39 12. "Who's in Control (Let 'Em Roll)" Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns 4:02 13. "I'm the One" Nickels, Cripps, Gersema, Lewis, Guns 2:28 14. "Why Ain't I Bleeding" Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns 4:32 15. "Kiss of Death" Gersema, Lewis, Dior 5:55
Japanese edition bonus tracks Title Writer(s) 16. "Death in America" Nickels, Cripps, Gersema, Lewis, Guns 3:41 17. "Empire Down" 3:29 Total length: 57:23
Personnel
Phil Lewis – lead vocals except on "Nothing Better to Do", acoustic guitar
Tracii Guns – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Mick Cripps – lead and rhythm guitar, piano, keyboards, bass on track 4, backing vocals
Kelly Nickels – bass guitar, lead vocals on "Nothing Better to Do", backing vocals
Additional musicians
Guy Griffin – acoustic guitar on track 15
Michael “Bones” Gersema – drums on tracks 1, 5, 9, 13–17, backing vocals on tracks 1, 13 and 14
Myron Grombacher – drums on tracks 2, 10–12
Nickey Alexander – drums on track 4
Steve Riley – drums on track 7
Doni Gray – drums on track 8
Steve Councel – harmonica on track 8, 14 and 15, backing vocals on track 8
Cliff Brodsky – piano on track 8
Steve Dior – backing vocals on track 2
Jim Wirt – backing vocals
Production
Jim Wirt – producer, engineer, mixing of tracks 6, 11 to 13
Michael James Jackson – producer and engineer on "Crystal Eyes"
Dan Daniel, Dennis Degher, Jeff Graham, Mark Shoffner, Marnie Riley, Tim Allison – assistant engineers
Mick Guzauski – mixing of tracks 1 to 5, 7 to 10, 14, 15
Stephen Marcussen – mastering
Robert Bisbo – album cover art
Charts
References
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music" . Omnibus Press – via Google Books.
↑ "L.A. Guns Biography, Songs, & Albums" . AllMusic .
↑ Maples, Tina (9 Feb 1995). "Fans of late '80s big-hair rock...". The Milwaukee Journal . p. D4.
↑ Weatherford, Mike (10 Feb 1995). "On Tuesday, it's L.A. Guns...". Las Vegas Review-Journal . p. 2D.
↑ Harrison, Tom (17 Mar 1995). "L.A. Guns aiming to be respected old guys". The Province . p. B16.
↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 McEwen, Mary-Lynn (5 Mar 1995). "RECENT RELEASES". Calgary Herald . p. C2.
↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas . "L.A. Guns - Vicious Circle review" . AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved 2021-05-02 .
↑ 8.0 8.1 Golemis, Dean (2 Mar 1995). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune . p. 8.
↑ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties . Burlington, Ontario , Canada : Collector's Guide Publishing . p. 238. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9 .
↑ "L.A. GUNS - Vicious Circle" . ROCK HARD Heavy-Metal-Magazin .
↑ 11.0 11.1 Woitas, Nanette (March 10, 1995). "L.A. GUNS, Vicious Circle". FRIDAY EXTRA!. The Tampa Tribune . p. 21.
↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in 日本語). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment . 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9 .
↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved May 25, 2024.
Former members
Vocalists Guitarists Bassists Drummers
Studio albums
EPs Live albums Compilation albums Related articles