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The Last Command

 
Album Review: The Last Command

  • Artist: W.A.S.P.
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1985
  • Total Time: 41:14
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Contains explicit content
  • Genre: Rock

Review

On W.A.S.P.'s sophomore effort, 1985's The Last Command, the band hired Quiet Riot producer Spencer Proffer to man the boards, resulting in a slightly more accessible sound than their rugged self-titled debut. Although the album wasn't the massive commercial breakthrough the band had hoped for, it resulted in their second gold-certified release in a row as they became one of the more popular metal bands of the mid-'80s (touring heavily with the likes of Kiss, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden). Blackie Lawless' lyrics still relied heavily on sexual fantasies ("Sex Drive"), as well as tales of revenge ("Ballcrusher," "Jack Action"), and children of the street ("Running Wild in the Streets"). The album's two singles/videos proved popular on MTV's heavy metal-oriented shows -- the party-hearty "Blind in Texas" and "Wild Child," the latter a tale of a Harley-riding free spirit. [The 1998 CD reissue nearly doubled the original album's length, featuring a cover of Mountain's early-'70s hit "Mississippi Queen," the original B-side "Savage," and five live tracks recorded at England's Lyceum in October of 1984: "On Your Knees," "Hellion," "L.O.V.E. Machine," "Animal," and "I Wanna Be Somebody."] ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Wild Child (Lyrics) Chris Holmes, Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (5:12)
Ball Crusher Chris Holmes, Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:27)
Fistful of Diamonds Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (4:13)
Jack Action Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (4:16)
Widowmaker Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (5:17)
Blind in Texas (Lyrics) Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (4:21)
Cries in the Night Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:41)
The Last Command Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (4:10)
Running Wild in the Streets Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:30)
Sex Drive Chris Holmes, Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (3:12)
Mississippi Queen [*] David Rea, Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, Leslie West W.A.S.P. (3:21)
Savage [*] Chris Holmes, Blackie Lawless, Randy Piper W.A.S.P. (3:32)
On Your Knees [Live][*] Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (4:38)
Hellion [Live][*] Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (4:45)
Sleeping (In the Fire) [Live][*] Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (5:44)
Animal (Fuck Like a Beast) [Live][*] Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (4:37)
I Wanna Be Somebody [Live][*] Blackie Lawless W.A.S.P. (5:54)

Credits

Carlos Cavazo (Vocals (Background)), Chris Holmes (Guitar), Chris Holmes (Guitar (Rhythm)), Hanspeter Huber (Engineer), Blackie Lawless (Guitar (Bass)), Blackie Lawless (Vocals), Blackie Lawless (Producer), Blackie Lawless (Liner Notes), Spencer Proffer (Producer), Spencer Proffer (Engineer), W.A.S.P. (Main Performer), Alex Woltman (Assistant Engineer), Chuck Wright (Vocals (Background)), Mark Weiss (Photography), Hugh Gilmour (Artwork), Hugh Gilmour (Layout Design), Hugh Gilmour (Reissue Design), Hugh Gilmour (Reissue Layout), Steve Riley (Drums), Steve Riley (Vocals), Suzanne DuBarry (Production Assistant), Suzanne DuBarry (Assistant Producer), Suzanne DuBarry (Assistant), Vigon Seireeni (Design), Steve Hall (Mastering), Randy Piper (Guitar), Randy Piper (Guitar (Rhythm)), Randy Piper (Vocals), Dante Bonutto (Liner Notes), Dom Lawson (Liner Notes)
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Wikipedia: The Last Command (album)
Top
The Last Command
Studio album by W.A.S.P.
Released November 9, 1985
Recorded October 1984 - Mid 1985
Genre Heavy metal
Length 41:19
Label Capitol Records
Producer Spencer Proffer
Professional reviews
W.A.S.P. chronology
W.A.S.P.
(1984)
The Last Command
(1985)
Inside the Electric Circus
(1986)

The Last Command is a heavy metal album released by W.A.S.P. on November 9, 1985. The album was produced by Spencer Proffer, who also produced "Metal Health" by Quiet Riot. It featured a new drummer, Steve Riley. The album made #47 on Billboard's top 200 album chart in early 1986. it also sold over 1 million copies, their first album to do so. It was also the last album to feature Randy Piper on guitar until 2002. Susperia, Nokturnal Mortum and Nightwish have covered the song "Wild Child".

Contents

Track listing

  • All songs written by Blackie Lawless, unless otherwise indicated.

Side One

  1. "Wild Child" (Lawless/Holmes) – 5:12
  2. "Ballcrusher" (Lawless/Holmes) – 3:27
  3. "Fistful of Diamonds" – 4:13
  4. "Jack Action" (Lawless/Riley) – 4:16
  5. "Widowmaker" – 5:17

Side Two

  1. "Blind In Texas" – 4:21
  2. "Cries in the Night" – 3:41
  3. "The Last Command" – 4:10
  4. "Running Wild in the Streets" (Lawless/Proffer) – 3:30
  5. "Sex Drive" (Lawless/Holmes) – 3:12

1998 CD reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Mississippi Queen" (Mountain) – 3:21
  2. "Savage" (Lawless/Holmes/Piper) – 3:32
  3. "On Your Knees (Live, October 1984)" – 4:38
  4. "Hellion (Live, October 1984)" – 4:45
  5. "Sleeping (In the Fire) (Live, October 1984)" – 5:44
  6. "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast) (Live, October 1984)" – 4:37
  7. "I Wanna Be Somebody (Live, October 1984)" – 5:54

Personnel

W.A.S.P

Additional Musicians

Production

  • Produced By Spencer Proffer
  • Production Assistant: Suzanna DuBarry
  • Engineered By Spencer Proffer & Hanspeter Huber
  • Assistant Engineer: Alex Woltman
  • Mastering: Steve Hall

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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