Open Up and Say... Ahh!

Open Up and Say... Ahh!
Studio album by Poison
Released	May 21, 1988
Recorded	Late 1987 - Early 1988 at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, United States
Genre	Glam metal
Label	Enigma Records Capitol
Producer	Tom Werman
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (B+) link Rolling Stone link
Poison chronology
Look What the Cat Dragged In (1986) Open Up and Say... Ahh! (1988) Flesh & Blood (1990)
Censored cover
Censored version of the cover art

Open Up and Say... Ahh! is the second studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released in 1988 through the Enigma label of Capitol Records. The album, which ultimately sold eight million copies worldwide, proved to be the band's most successful release. It spawned four hit singles, which are "Nothin' but a Good Time", "Your Mama Don't Dance", "Fallen Angel", and their only number one single to date, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The album is widely considered a classic in the glam metal genre.

Musical style

Open Up and Say... Ahh! reflects a style commonly characterised as glam metal, a form of heavy metal which had its genesis on the East Coast of the United States (and, in particular, the sound of New York City band Kiss), but which was transplanted to the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California in the 1980s. However, the album contains less of a heavy metal influence than a typical glam metal album, rather being more traditional rock and roll-based. The west-coast influence is reflected more prominently on the album than on its predecessor, Look What the Cat Dragged In, with aspects of Van Halen styled Californian stadium rock becoming increasingly apparent.

Production and marketing

The album was recorded and mixed at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Paul Stanley from KISS (whose song "Rock and Roll All Nite" had been covered by Poison the year before) was originally selected to produce the record, but was unable to fulfill the role due to scheduling conflicts. Instead, the band worked with Tom Werman. Werman was an experienced rock producer, having worked with artists such as Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, Twisted Sister, and Mötley Crüe.

Cover

The original front cover of the album, which featured model "Bambi" dressed as a luminous red demon with a protruding tongue (similar to Gene Simmons of Kiss), caused controversy amongst church and parental groups. In previous U.S. releases, the album was released with a censored cover in which most of the model’s face was obscured (see further, censorship). The 2006 remastered CD release features the original cover art.

Track information

The album’s themes are partying ("Nothin’ but a Good Time", "Your Mama Don’t Dance"), lost innocence ("Back to the Rocking Horse", "Fallen Angel"), lost love ("Every Rose Has Its Thorn"), anti-social behavior ("Bad to Be Good"), and, most importantly, sex ("Love on the Rocks", "Good Love", "Tearin’ Down the Walls", "Look but You Can’t Touch").

Vocalist Bret Michaels wrote the band's most successful single, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", in response to a failed love affair with a Los Angeles stripper. Poison had been playing at a cowboy bar called The Ritz in Dallas, Texas. After the show, Michaels called the woman at her apartment and heard a man's voice in the background. Heartbroken, Michaels wrote the song with an acoustic guitar in a laundromat.^[1]

The song "Nothin' but a Good Time" was born from the merger of a guitar riff by C. C. DeVille and a chorus by Michaels. Michaels later explained that he was in search of a "kick ass big arena rock song" which would make him feel good about his life. The song was about "not wanting to be held back by working a job and being depressed", as portrayed in its music video.

The track "Your Mama Don’t Dance" was a cover version of the 1972 song written by Loggins and Messina from their 1972 self-titled album.

Two additional songs written for the record - "Livin' for the Minute" and "Gotta Face the Hangman" were later released as B-sides (although "Hangman" was later included on Crack a Smile... and More!).

Track listing

All songs written by Poison

1. "Love on the Rocks" - 3:33
2. "Nothin' but a Good Time" - 3:48
3. "Back to the Rocking Horse" - 3:35
4. "Good Love" - 2:52
5. "Tearin' Down the Walls" - 3:51
6. "Look But You Can't Touch" - 3:26
7. "Fallen Angel" - 3:57
8. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - 4:20
9. "Your Mama Don't Dance" (originally performed by Loggins and Messina) - 3:00
10. "Bad to Be Good" - 4:05

Bonus tracks available on the 20th anniversary remaster:

1. "Livin for the Minute"
2. World Premiere Interview (radio interview)

Singles

• "Nothin' but a Good Time"
• "Fallen Angel"
• "Every Rose Has Its Thorn'
• "Your Mama Don't Dance"

Band Members

• Bret Michaels - lead vocals
• C.C. DeVille - guitar
• Bobby Dall - bass
• Rikki Rockett - drums

In other media

• "Nothin' but a Good Time" is featured in the following films:
  • Grind, when the characters are in Sweet Lou's truck, Sweet Lou puts in a CD containing the song.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Smith, when John Smith (Brad Pitt) listens to it while driving through the desert in a dune buggy. The song is also on the official soundtrack of the movie.
  • Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, when Harold and Kumar attend the "Girls Girls, Girls" whorehouse.
  • Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, when Connor Mead enters a party in a flashback, carrying the album with him.

• "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is featured in the following films and television shows:
  • Beerfest, when the rest of Team USA is remembering their fallen teammate Landfill.
  • Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, as Bill & Ted's answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?", they recite the chorus from The chorus lyrics from "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" to demonstrate their suitability to enter Heaven.
  • Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, when honoring the fallen gigolos.
  • "Yes Dear", when the main characters meet Bret Michaels. They party at his house for one of the character's birthdays and at the end, Michaels sings "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" as he serves breakfast to the family as a reference to a joke made earlier about catering to the crew of A Letter from Death Row.
  • South Park, in the episode "Guitar Queer-O" while Kyle is playing at the local bowling alley and drinking Fresca to ease the pain of his breakup-up with former Guitar Hero teammate Stan.

• Both songs appear in the "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" episode from The Simpsons: first, Otto plays "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" to propose to his girlfriend Becky; later at their wedding ceremony, a Poison cover band named Cyanide appears playing "Nothin' But a Good Time", to which Becky reacts negatively, making Otto leave her.

• "Nothin' but a Good Time" is a playable track in the PlayStation 2 video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, but is listed incorrectly as "Ain't Nothin' but a Good Time".

References

• [1] theGAZZ.com, Interview with Bret Michaels. Retrieved October 13, 2006.
• [2] Classic Rock Revisited, Classic Trax, Interview with Bret Michaels. Retrieved January 6, 2005.