Search - Stephen Pearcy :: Under My Skin

'Under My Skin' is an aptly named title

Sal Nudo | Champaign, Illinois | 08/27/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Unless you're absolutely dying to hear The Donnas collaborate with Stephen Pearcy on a remake of the hit song "Round and Round," then please do yourself a favor and avoid this CD like the plague. After hearing this solo effort from Pearcy, it's obvious that the whole was greater than the sum of RATT's parts. Thank God the other RATT members didn't allow Pearcy, the band's lead singer, to singularly do his own thing on the records they put out, because otherwise they never would have struck a major-label deal back in the mid-1980s.



"Under My Skin" is unbelievably wretched; it sounds like the offerings of an all-too-eager high school band that's just learning how to sing, play and write songs. Granted, the lead guitar work on this CD is good -- at times even exceptional -- but it doesn't make up for the overall amateurish, unoriginal sound and feel of the songs. This overly unpolished record badly needed a producer, someone besides Stephen Pearcy. Where's Beau Hill when you need him?



The most annoying part of "Under My Skin" is Pearcy himself. The angry, interminable chip on the guy's shoulder is predictable, boring and grating. These days, his voice sounds thin, too scratchy and at times even whiny. In retrospect, it makes me wonder how much producer Beau Hill may have assisted Pearcy's raspy vocals in the studio way back when. And though Pearcy's lyrics were far from poetic and almost always cliched back in the RATT days, his by-the-numbers, hate-filled words about the latest person he's trying to smear are downright dull and vexing now.



Perhaps worst of all, "Under My Skin" lacks the swinging hooks, meaty rhythm, awesome backing vocals and melodic prowess of a typical RATT album. Sure, Pearcy may have gone out of his way to do something different from RATT, and that's fine, but he could have at least included ONE of the aforementioned attributes on "Under My Skin." Granted, this album does rock out pretty hard; but, sorry to say, it severely lacks substance and attention-grabbing riffs to stay even remotely interesting. What a long way from the salad days of 1984 for Pearcy.









"

This CD kicks butt!!!

D. Balentine | Haughton, La. | 12/25/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This cd reminds me of when Pearcy played with Arcade only a little heavier. At first I didn't know what to think about this cd. I was thinking it would sound more like a RATT cd. But what I got was more of a raw sound from him. I love this cd and if you are a RATT fan or a Arcade fan or even a Vertex fan, you too will love it. I hope he continues to release music like this."

Pearcy Is Back - In A Big Way!!!

Cole Thorton | Los Angeles, CA United States | 08/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a Ratt fan, you're going to love this disc. Previous Pearcy solo efforts have had one or two great songs - this one is solid from beginning to end! In Outta Love has great guitar work by Pearcy - who knew he could play so well. Big Nothing is a great Rage like track. And yes, we didn't need another version of Round & Round, but hearing the Donnas on this track dueting with Pearcy makes it a nice bonus.

"