Published on Feb 5, 1997
A reader from Australia recently wrote to me with a suggestion
for “The Daily Vault” – his recommendation for a forgotten band was
American glam outfit Faster Pussycat. While some of his comments
about the band didn’t register with me (the talk show incident?),
he wanted me to find out if there was any substance to the music,
or if it was all hype.
After a lengthy search in the world-renowned Pierce Memorial
Archives, I found my dusty copy of their self-titled debut album
wedged between a white-label copy of a Lawnmower Deth tape and a
tape copy of a Genesis album that I updated to CD. And after a
painful 35 minutes of listening to
Faster Pussycat, the answer is: it was hype, my friend…
and not much more.
Led by vocalist Taime Downe (
where do they think of these names?), Faster Pussycat burst
forth from the same California scene that spawned hair bands like
Poison and shickers Guns ‘N’ Roses. Two things make this band stand
out: Downe can’t sing for shit, and the band plays as well as he
sings.
You know you’re in trouble when the first song on the album
sucks. “Don’t Change That Song” showcases the weak pipes of Downe
and the incredibly lame two-axe attack of Brent Muscat and Greg
Steele (can’t anyone think of a
better stage name?). Bassist Mark Michals and drummer Greg
Stacy not only round out the band, they’re the only two who have
realistic sounding names.
I know, it’s the music, stupid, not the names. But there ain’t
much there to justify calling attention to the music. The themes
are traditional cock-rock (“Bathroom Wall”) and booze (“Bottle In
Front Of Me”) that made up much of that period’s heavy metal. By
the time Faster Pussycat is ready to be taken seriously, like on
“City Has No Heart,” they’ve pissed away their chance.
I obviously don’t want to discourage readers from writing in and
suggesting albums they think I may ream, and if this writer (whose
name wasn’t included on the e-mail) likes Faster Pussycat, that’s
their choice. But to my tired old ears,
Faster Pussycat was everything about metal our parents
warned us about, and isn’t even worth the time to check out. Heaven
help us they lived to release two more albums.