Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich

Last updated
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
Warrantdirty.jpg
Original album artwork by Mark Ryden
Studio album by
Warrant
ReleasedJanuary 31, 1989 [1]
RecordedApril–November 1988
Genre Glam metal
Length37:08
Label Columbia
Producer Beau Hill
Warrant chronology
Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
(1989)		 Cherry Pie
(1990)
Singles from Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
  1. "Down Boys"
    Released: April 1989 [2]
  2. "Heaven"
    Released: July 1989
  3. "Big Talk"
    Released: October 1989
  4. "Sometimes She Cries"
    Released: December 1989

Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Warrant, released in 1989.

Contents

The album was highly successful, spawning the hit singles "Heaven" (No. 2, 1989), "Down Boys" (No. 27, 1989) and "Sometimes She Cries" (No. 20, 1990). [3] The album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200. [4]

The unique cover art features "Fugazi", known as "Cashly Guido Bucksley" in the "Big Talk" music video, an overpaid, amoral infrastructure manager and archetypal business psychopath. [5] Artwork by Pop Surrealism artist, Mark Ryden.

Musical style

The album's sound is typical of the Sunset Strip glam metal scene of the 1980s, [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] featuring heavy guitars and melodic, catchy choruses.

Production and marketing

The album was released amidst some controversy. It was widely rumored that guitarists Erik Turner and Joey Allen had not played a note on the album and that all guitar work had been performed by ex-Streets guitarist and session musician Mike Slamer. [12] While the rumor has never been verified, Slamer's wife confirmed in 1998 that her husband played guitar on the record. [13] Mike Slamer has stated in interviews that he played guitar and the lead solos on the album. Producer Beau Hill stated in a 2012 interview that Slamer did in fact play on the album. Hill had said to the band that the "songs are really great, but I think we’re a little weak in the solo department and so [I'd] like to bring somebody in". Hill also stated that "everybody in the band signed off on it and everything was done above ground". [14]

During the recording of the album, singer Jani Lane walked in on his best friend in bed with his girlfriend, leading to his nervous breakdown, and its release was delayed by several months while Lane recovered. These events would later be recounted in the single "I Saw Red" on the band's following album, Cherry Pie . [15]

The record was produced and engineered by Hill, who also contributed keyboards and backing vocals. It was recorded at The Enterprise in Burbank, California.

Songs

The album's themes, which include materialism ("32 Pennies", "D.R.F.S.R"), sex ("Down Boys", "So Damn Pretty", "Cold Sweat"), heartbreak ("Heaven") and loneliness ("Sometimes She Cries"), would be echoed on later Warrant releases.

The debut single from the band was "Down Boys", the song has been described as "one of the toughest, heaviest songs in [Warrant's] catalog, and certainly at the top of both categories in terms of their hit singles". [16]

The second single was the smash hit "Heaven" which took Warrant's record company by surprise. Indeed, once the widespread appeal of the song became apparent, the band was instructed to re-record the track to lend it a "bigger radio sound". Beau Hill remixed the song for the single release. The first 250,000 copies of the record featured the original version while later pressings featured a new version. [17] "Heaven" had previously been recorded by Jani Lane and Steven Sweet's old band Plain Jane.

"Big Talk" was released as the third single followed by the popular "Sometimes She Cries" as the fourth single. All the singles featured music videos.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Kerrang! Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [19]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [20]

The Los Angeles Times called Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich "a rock 'n' roll romp that's both colorful and loaded with heart." [20]

AllMusic gave the album a rating of four out of five stars, saying that it was "sleek and clean, built on processed guitars and cavernous drums" and that it "sounds exactly like that year [1989], both for better and worse." [18] Dave Reynolds of Kerrang! considers the album "hardly outstanding", with only "a bunch of distinctly average songs matched to a brace of worthwhile moments". [19]

Solo recording dispute

Much of the record's solos have been unofficially credited to Mike Slamer. Beau Hill felt Joey Allen and Erik Turner were not at the standard required to compete with similar bands at the time for the solos. It was Hill who put Slamer forward, in an interview with Full in Bloom [21] Hill claimed Slamer played all solos in all songs.

However, in September 2020, Erik Turner was interviewed on the Chuck Shute podcast and stated everyone [Turner, Allen and Slamer] played on the tracks and Mike [Slamer] did some of the solos. [22] In June 2022, Allen was interviewed on the subject and stated each solo on each song and who played what. Some songs were entirely Slamer, while others were a mix of the three and some entirely Allen.

Allen states Hill wasn't particularly helpful with Turner and Allen, stating Hill required them to record "bone dry" [no effects] while allowing Slamer effects such as delay. Allen confirms he did take lessons from Slamer even after the completion of the record. [23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jani Lane

No.TitleLength
1."32 Pennies"3:09
2."Down Boys"4:04
3."Big Talk"3:43
4."Sometimes She Cries"4:44
5."So Damn Pretty (Should Be Against the Law)"3:33
6."D.R.F.S.R."3:17
7."In the Sticks"4:06
8."Heaven"3:57
9."Ridin' High"3:06
10."Cold Sweat"3:32
Total length:37:08
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Only a Man" (demo)4:22
12."All Night Long" (demo)2:42

Personnel

Warrant
Additional personnel
Production

Charts

Chart (1989)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [24] 72
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [25] 20
US Billboard 200 [26] 10

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [27] Platinum100,000^
United States (RIAA) [1] 2× Platinum2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Video Album

Live - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
Video by
Warrant
Released16 January 1990
RecordedBucksley Arena, Tampa, Florida, 1989
Genre Glam metal
Length53 min.
Label Columbia
Director Nick Morris
Producer Fiona O'Mahoney
Warrant chronology
Live - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich
(1990)		 Cherry Pie: Quality You Can Taste
(1991)

Warrant: Live - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich is the first Warrant video album released in 1990 on VHS and Laserdisc, featuring the band performing live in concert on the D.R.F.S.R tour in 1989. The video features the album cover character (calling himself "Cashly Guido Bucksley") watching Warrant in concert. The video was certified Platinum. [28]

Track listing

  1. "So Damn Pretty"
  2. "Ridin' High"
  3. "32 Pennies"
  4. "Heaven" (music video)
  5. "Down Boys"
  6. "Cold Sweat"
  7. "D.R.F.S.R."
  8. "Sometimes She Cries"
  9. "Big Talk" (music video)

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [28] Platinum100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrant (American band)</span> American glam metal band

Warrant is an American glam metal band formed in 1984 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that experienced success from 1989 to 1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their double platinum debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich (1989) and one of its singles, "Heaven", which reached No. 1 in Rolling Stone and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band's success continued in the early 1990s with the double platinum album Cherry Pie (1990), which provided the hit song of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jani Lane</span> American rock singer (1964–2011)

Jani Lane was an American singer and the lead vocalist, frontman, lyricist and main songwriter for the glam metal band Warrant. From Hollywood, California, the band experienced success from 1989 to 1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. Lane left Warrant in 2004 and again in 2008 after a brief reunion. Lane also released a solo album, Back Down to One, in 2003, and the album Love the Sin, Hate the Sinner with a new group, Saints of the Underground, in 2008. Lane contributed lead vocals and songwriting to various projects throughout his career.

Joseph Alan Cagle, known professionally as Joey Allen, is best known as the lead guitarist of the American glam metal band Warrant.

<i>Belly to Belly</i> 1996 studio album by Warrant

Belly to Belly is the fifth studio album by American rock band Warrant. The record was released on October 1, 1996, through CMC International. The album features ex-Beggars & Thieves drummer Bobby Borg who replaced James Kottak. It is the last Warrant album of all original material to feature Jani Lane on vocals.

<i>Dog Eat Dog</i> (Warrant album) 1992 studio album by Warrant

Dog Eat Dog is the third studio album by American rock band Warrant. It was released on August 25, 1992, on the Columbia label of Sony Music, and was their final album for the label. The album peaked at number 25 on The Billboard 200. It is also the last album to feature all five original members, as Joey Allen and Steven Sweet both left the band in 1994, but returned in 2004.

Michael Chetwynd Slamer is a British guitarist.

<i>Cherry Pie</i> (album) 1990 studio album by Warrant

Cherry Pie is the second studio album by American glam metal band Warrant, released September 11, 1990. The album is the band's best-known and highest-selling release and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the top 40 hits "Cherry Pie" and "I Saw Red".

<i>Ultraphobic</i> 1995 studio album by Warrant

Ultraphobic is the fourth studio album by American rock band Warrant. Released on March 7, 1995, on CMC International, after the apparent breakup of the band, the record was regarded as the band's "comeback" album. It is the first album to feature former Kingdom Come and Wild Horses members Rick Steier and James Kottak who came in to replace original band members Joey Allen and Steven Sweet.

<i>Under the Influence</i> (Warrant album) 2001 studio album by Warrant

Under the Influence is the sixth studio album by American rock band Warrant released in 2001. The album is a covers album with two original new tracks, "Face" and "Sub Human". The album is the last to feature vocalist Jani Lane, as the band's next release - Born Again features Black 'n Blue vocalist Jaime St. James.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaven (Warrant song)</span> 1989 single by Warrant

Heaven is a power ballad by American glam metal band Warrant. It was released in July 1989, as the second single from Warrant's debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. The song is Warrant's most commercially successful single, spending two weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The track's commercial success has led it to becoming one of the best known songs by the band.

<i>The Best of Warrant</i> 1996 greatest hits album by Warrant

The Best of Warrant is the first greatest hits compilation album by the American rock band Warrant, released in 1996. It features the band's greatest tracks (singles) from their first three studio albums, "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich", "Cherry Pie" and "Dog Eat Dog". It does not contain any material from the band's 1995 album Ultraphobic.

<i>Warrant Live 86–97</i> 1997 live album by Warrant

Warrant Live 86–97 is the first live compilation album by American glam metal band Warrant released in 1997. It was recorded live at Harpos Concert Theatre in Detroit on November 22, 1996, in support of their most recent album Belly to Belly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Saw Red</span> 1990 single by Warrant

"I Saw Red" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Warrant. It was released in December 1990 as the second single from Warrant's second album Cherry Pie. The song was one of Warrant's most successful singles, reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1991, number 14 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 36 on the Australian charts and spawning two music videos.

<i>Rocking Tall</i> 1996 compilation album by Warrant

Rocking Tall is a compilation album by the American rock band Warrant, released through Sony music in 1996. The collection spans the band's history from 1989 through 1992; although it does not include "Heaven", one of the band's most popular songs.

The following is a comprehensive discography of Warrant, an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, California, that experienced its biggest success in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The band has released a total of nine studio albums with international sales of albums and singles combined at approximately 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their double platinum debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its singles, "Heaven," reached #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The band continued its success in the early 1990s with the double platinum album Cherry Pie which provided the hit album titled song.

"Down Boys" is the first single by the American rock band Warrant. It was released in 1989 from Warrant's first album, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. The song reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #13 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Talk (song)</span> 1989 single by Warrant

Big Talk is a song by American glam metal band Warrant. It was released in 1989 as the third single from Warrant's debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. The song charted at #30 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #93 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sometimes She Cries</span> 1989 single by Warrant

Sometimes She Cries is a song by American glam metal band Warrant. A power ballad, it was released in 1989 as the fourth single from Warrant's debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. The song charted at number 11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<i>Louder Harder Faster</i> 2017 studio album by Warrant

Louder Harder Faster is the ninth studio album by American rock band Warrant, released on May 12, 2017. The album features long-time band members Erik Turner, Jerry Dixon, Joey Allen, and Steven Sweet along with Robert Mason on lead vocals for the second time, following on from their last album, 2011's Rockaholic. This is also the first Warrant album to be released following the death of original lead singer Jani Lane.

References

  1. 1 2 "American album certifications – Warrant – Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  2. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 884. ISBN   9780862415419.
  3. ↑ "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich Billboard Singles". Allmusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  4. ↑ "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich Billboard Albums". Allmusic . Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  5. ↑ Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, sleeve notes.
  6. ↑ "Top 50 Glam Metal Albums". Metal Rules . Archived from the original on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Top 20 Hair Metal Albums of All Time: The Complete List". LA Weekly. 2011-12-09. Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  8. ↑ Westhoff, Ben (6 December 2011). "Chuck Klosterman's Favorite Hair Metal Albums". LA Weekly . Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  9. ↑ DiVita, Joe (November 9, 2016). "Top 30 Hair Metal Albums". Loudwire. Archived from the original on 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  10. ↑ Beaujour, Tom; Bienstock, Richard; Eddy, Chuck; Fischer, Reed; Grow, Kory; Johnston, Maura; Weingarten, Christopher R. (2019-08-31). "50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  11. ↑ "6 Glam-Metal Albums You Need to Own | Revolvermag". 2017-07-28. Archived from the original on 2017-07-28. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  12. ↑ "Info from Cityboy Recordings". Archived from the original on 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2005-06-28.
  13. ↑ Interview with Slamer's wife
  14. ↑ "Beau Hill: 'Your Only Constraint is Your Own Imagination' | Interviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com". Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  15. ↑ "Rockhole Bravepages.com". Archived from the original on 2019-10-05. Retrieved 2005-01-11.
  16. ↑ "Warrant - Down Boys review". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  17. ↑ Biography at Rock Detector.com Archived December 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  18. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich - Warrant". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  19. 1 2 Reynolds, Dave (21 January 1989). "Rich Rags". Kerrang! . Vol. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications ltd. p. 20.
  20. 1 2 Garza, Janiss (26 Feb 1989). "Record Rack". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 75.
  21. ↑ "Warrant: Beau Hill on Replacing Erik Turner & Joey Allen on the Albums, "We're going to get smoked"". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  22. ↑ "Erik Turner (Warrant Guitarist)". chuckshute.com/.
  23. ↑ "alking Shred w/ Joey Allen ~ Who REALLY Wrote The Guitar Solo's on WARRANTS Albums! Part 1 : DRFSR!". YouTube. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  24. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  25. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6505". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Warrant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Warrant – Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich". Music Canada . Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  28. 1 2 "American video certifications – Warrant – Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich Live". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved August 18, 2021.
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