Look What the Cat Dragged In
Encyclopedia
Look What the Cat Dragged In is the debut studio album by American
glam metal
band Poison
, released in 1986 through the Enigma label of Capitol Records
.
Though not a success at first, the album steadily built momentum and peaked at #3 on The Billboard 200 on 23 May 1987
. The album spawned four singles, three of them charting successfully: "Talk Dirty to Me
", "I Want Action", "I Won't Forget You", and "Cry Tough". The album is a prime example of the glam metal genre both musically and image-wise. The album ultimately has sold 4 million copies worldwide, one of their best-selling albums.
The album was certified Gold in 1987 and 3x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA
in 1990.
The album has been certified by BPI silver and by CAN platinum.
and Aerosmith
. It is a sound dominated by simple distorted power chords and catchy melodies. Reflecting a period before the band's music began to take on the influence of Californian, Van Halen
styled stadium rock, the album is characterized by more traditional heavy metal
sounds.
as a "glorified demo". It was recorded at Music Grinder Studios in Los Angeles, California
with producer Ric Browde
in twelve days, for a cost of US $23,000, part of which was funded from the pockets of the band members and their families.
The front cover of the album featured the members of Poison at their most "glam", with each sporting excessive make-up, thick girlish hair, and the pouting "kiss" pose which was to become a Poison trademark. The cover is often compared to Mötley Crüe
's Shout at the Devil
because of the similar album cover, but it also may or may not have represented a loose parody
of the cover of The Beatles
' Let It Be
, or perhaps more likely, Van Halen
's debut album
.
"), lust ("I Want Action
", "Talk Dirty to Me
", "Want Some, Need Some"), sexual frustration ("Blame It on You"), love lost ("I Won't Forget You
"), and, most importantly, anti-social behavior ("No. 1 Bad Boy", "Look What the Cat Dragged In", "Let Me Go to the Show" and "Play Dirty").
"Talk Dirty to Me" was written by guitarist C. C. DeVille
prior to his joining the band. DeVille played it to Bret Michaels
, Rikki Rockett
and Bobby Dall
during his audition for the role as the band's guitarist. "Talk Dirty to Me" has been covered by several bands, including Children of Bodom
and Reel Big Fish
. It is also included as a playable cover track in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
, with Michaels re-recording the vocals.
reissued the album, with a new cover but identical contents, under the title Rock Breakout Years: 1987. The following year, a 20th Anniversary edition was released by Capitol, with the original title. This version added single versions of two of the album's tracks and a cover
of Jim Croce
's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim
" as bonus tracks.
, C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall
and Rikki Rockett
Bonus tracks on the 20th anniversary remaster:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
band Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, released in 1986 through the Enigma label of Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.
Though not a success at first, the album steadily built momentum and peaked at #3 on The Billboard 200 on 23 May 1987
. The album spawned four singles, three of them charting successfully: "Talk Dirty to Me
Talk Dirty to Me
"Talk Dirty to Me" is the second single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In. It was the band's first big international hit.It is a staple on their live shows and was named by VH1 40th greatest hard rock song of all time...
", "I Want Action", "I Won't Forget You", and "Cry Tough". The album is a prime example of the glam metal genre both musically and image-wise. The album ultimately has sold 4 million copies worldwide, one of their best-selling albums.
The album was certified Gold in 1987 and 3x Multi-Platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
in 1990.
The album has been certified by BPI silver and by CAN platinum.
Musical style
Described by Revolver Magazine as "oversexed, under-thought, and relentlessly fun", the album's style is often described as "glam metal" and was strongly influenced by East-Coast bands such as KISSKISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
. It is a sound dominated by simple distorted power chords and catchy melodies. Reflecting a period before the band's music began to take on the influence of Californian, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
styled stadium rock, the album is characterized by more traditional heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
sounds.
Production and marketing
The record was described by vocalist Bret MichaelsBret Michaels
Bret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...
as a "glorified demo". It was recorded at Music Grinder Studios in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with producer Ric Browde
Ric Browde
Ric Browde was involved in the emergence of the Los Angeles glam music scene in the mid 1980s. He produced Poison's multi-platinum debut album Look What the Cat Dragged In, which unexpectedly took America by storm in 1987...
in twelve days, for a cost of US $23,000, part of which was funded from the pockets of the band members and their families.
The front cover of the album featured the members of Poison at their most "glam", with each sporting excessive make-up, thick girlish hair, and the pouting "kiss" pose which was to become a Poison trademark. The cover is often compared to Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
's Shout at the Devil
Shout at the Devil
Shout at the Devil is the second album by heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on September 26, 1983. "Looks That Kill" and "Too Young to Fall in Love" became huge hits and "Shout at the Devil" became very popular as well.-Reception:...
because of the similar album cover, but it also may or may not have represented a loose parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the cover of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' Let It Be
Let It Be (album)
Let It Be is the 12th and final studio album released by the English rock band The Beatles. It was released on 8 May 1970 by the band's Apple Records label shortly after the group announced their break-up....
, or perhaps more likely, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
's debut album
Van Halen (album)
Van Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released in February 1978.- History :Recorded in 1977, Van Halen sold over 10 million copies in the US alone, becoming one of the most successful debuts by a rock band. Along with 1984, it gives Van Halen two original albums with...
.
Themes and tracks
The album’s themes are ambition ("Cry ToughCry Tough (song)
"Cry Tough" is the debut single by American glam metal band Poison, from their debut album Look What the Cat Dragged In, which peaked at number 3 on the The Billboard 200...
"), lust ("I Want Action
I Want Action
"I Want Action" is the third single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.The song was released as a single in 1987 on the Enigma label of Capitol Records, and peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100...
", "Talk Dirty to Me
Talk Dirty to Me
"Talk Dirty to Me" is the second single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In. It was the band's first big international hit.It is a staple on their live shows and was named by VH1 40th greatest hard rock song of all time...
", "Want Some, Need Some"), sexual frustration ("Blame It on You"), love lost ("I Won't Forget You
I Won't Forget You
"I Won't Forget You" is the fourth single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.Released as a single in 1987 on the Enigma label of Capitol Records, and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100....
"), and, most importantly, anti-social behavior ("No. 1 Bad Boy", "Look What the Cat Dragged In", "Let Me Go to the Show" and "Play Dirty").
"Talk Dirty to Me" was written by guitarist C. C. DeVille
C. C. DeVille
C.C. DeVille is the lead guitarist of the American glam metal band Poison. He has also acted in both reality television and television drama shows. He starred in The Surreal Life season 6 and the The Surreal Life: Fame Games...
prior to his joining the band. DeVille played it to Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels
Bret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...
, Rikki Rockett
Rikki Rockett
Richard Allan Ream , better known by the stage name Rikki Rockett, is an American drummer best known for his work with the glam metal band, Poison.-Biography:...
and Bobby Dall
Bobby Dall
Robert Harry Kuykendall also known as Bobby Dall is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for Poison. Dall is the youngest of three children...
during his audition for the role as the band's guitarist. "Talk Dirty to Me" has been covered by several bands, including Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...
and Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...
. It is also included as a playable cover track in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
, with Michaels re-recording the vocals.
Reissues
In 2005, Madacy EntertainmentMadacy Entertainment
Madacy Entertainment is a company based in Mount Royal, Quebec that publishes DVDs, CDs, and formerly VHS tapes. Most of the products are frequently seen in Walmart, Best Buy and other discount stores in the United States and Canada, often at low retail prices, as compared to releases by major labels...
reissued the album, with a new cover but identical contents, under the title Rock Breakout Years: 1987. The following year, a 20th Anniversary edition was released by Capitol, with the original title. This version added single versions of two of the album's tracks and a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Jim Croce
Jim Croce
James Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim
You Don't Mess Around with Jim (song)
"You Don't Mess Around with Jim" is a 1972 single by Jim Croce from his album of the same name. The song was also Croce's debut single when it was released in July 1972...
" as bonus tracks.
Track listing
All songs written by Bret MichaelsBret Michaels
Bret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...
, C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall
Bobby Dall
Robert Harry Kuykendall also known as Bobby Dall is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for Poison. Dall is the youngest of three children...
and Rikki Rockett
Rikki Rockett
Richard Allan Ream , better known by the stage name Rikki Rockett, is an American drummer best known for his work with the glam metal band, Poison.-Biography:...
- "Cry ToughCry Tough (song)"Cry Tough" is the debut single by American glam metal band Poison, from their debut album Look What the Cat Dragged In, which peaked at number 3 on the The Billboard 200...
" - 3:35 - "I Want ActionI Want Action"I Want Action" is the third single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.The song was released as a single in 1987 on the Enigma label of Capitol Records, and peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" - 3:04 - "I Won't Forget YouI Won't Forget You"I Won't Forget You" is the fourth single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.Released as a single in 1987 on the Enigma label of Capitol Records, and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100....
" - 3:34 - "Play Dirty" - 4:06
- "Look What the Cat Dragged In" - 3:11
- "Talk Dirty to MeTalk Dirty to Me"Talk Dirty to Me" is the second single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In. It was the band's first big international hit.It is a staple on their live shows and was named by VH1 40th greatest hard rock song of all time...
" - 3:43 - "Want Some, Need Some" - 3:38
- "Blame It on You" - 2:31
- "#1 Bad Boy" - 3:14
- "Let Me Go to the Show" - 2:45
Bonus tracks on the 20th anniversary remaster:
- "I Want ActionI Want Action"I Want Action" is the third single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.The song was released as a single in 1987 on the Enigma label of Capitol Records, and peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" (single version) - "I Won't Forget YouI Won't Forget You"I Won't Forget You" is the fourth single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In.Released as a single in 1987 on the Enigma label of Capitol Records, and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100....
" (single version) - "You Don't Mess Around with JimYou Don't Mess Around with Jim (song)"You Don't Mess Around with Jim" is a 1972 single by Jim Croce from his album of the same name. The song was also Croce's debut single when it was released in July 1972...
" (Jim CroceJim CroceJames Joseph "Jim" Croce January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973 was an American singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and 11 singles...
cover)
Singles
- Cry Tough / Look What The Cat Dragged In - 5 August 1986 - Enigma 5656 (#97 UK Singles chartUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
) - Talk Dirty To MeTalk Dirty to Me"Talk Dirty to Me" is the second single from Poison, originally from the album Look What the Cat Dragged In. It was the band's first big international hit.It is a staple on their live shows and was named by VH1 40th greatest hard rock song of all time...
/ Want Some Need Some - 18 February 1987 - Enigma 5686 (#9 Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
) - I Want Action / #1 Bad Boy - 20 May 1987 - Enigma 44004 (#50 Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
) - I Won't Forget You / Blame It On You - 5 August 1987 - Enigma 44038 (#13 Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
)
Band members
- Bret MichaelsBret MichaelsBret Michaels is an American musician, actor, director, screenwriter, producer and reality television personality. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist of the glam metal band Poison. Besides his career as lead singer, he has several solo albums to his credit, as well as one chart single...
- lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - C.C. DeVille - lead guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Bobby DallBobby DallRobert Harry Kuykendall also known as Bobby Dall is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for Poison. Dall is the youngest of three children...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Rikki RockettRikki RockettRichard Allan Ream , better known by the stage name Rikki Rockett, is an American drummer best known for his work with the glam metal band, Poison.-Biography:...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....