SONG REVIEWED: "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
HEARING THIS SONG GIVES US AN ANSWER TO THAT NAGGING QUESTION, "HAS BLACKIE LAWLESS LOST HIS GODDAMN MIND?!?!" THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING "HELL, YEAH!!" W.A.S.P HAS CHOSEN TO ADD THIS ONE COVER TUNE TO THEIR RECENT "BEST OF" RELEASE, AND RATHER THAN WRITE ONE MORE BLOOD-CURDLING, CHILLING EPIC, BLACKIE HAS CHOSEN TO MAUL THE ELTON JOHN/BERNIE TAUPIN CLASSIC. WAS IT A JOKE? MAYBE... GOD, I HOPE SO, BECAUSE AS THE ELEPHANT SAID TO THE MONKEY HE WAS SODOMIZING, "IT JUST DON'T FIT"... OVER THE YEARS, BLACKIE & COMPANY HAVE GIVEN US SUCH CLASSICS AS "I WANNA BE SOMEBODY", "WILD CHILD", AND EVEN THE RECENT, OUT-OF-PRINT, "KILLFUCKDIE"...OK, I'LL CONCEED THAT THE WORD "FIGHTING" IS IN THE SONG TITLE, BUT THAT'S ABOUT THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES THIS WORTHY OF W.A.S.P. COVERING IT. IT'S NOT THAT THEY BUTCHERED IT, BECAUSE IT STAYS FAIRLY TRUE TO THE ORIGINAL, BUT BLACKIE'S VOICE, CHRIS (MY SKIN IS TRANSLUCENT) HOLMES' GUITAR, AND STET HOWLAND'S DRUMS SOUND MUCH MORE APPROPRIATE ON "HELLDORADO" THAN ON "SATURDAY NIGHT'S..."
AS FOR THE REST OF THE ALBUM, IT'S A FAIR REPRESENTATION OF W.A.S.P'S WORK OVER THE PAST SIXTEEN YEARS (JESUS, HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG?)... IT LEANS ON THE MID-80s TRACKS FAIRLY HEAVILY, BUT THAT'S OK.. I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE A LITTLE MORE REPRESENTATION FROM "THE CRIMSON IDOL" (WHICH WAS ESSENTIALLY ALL BLACKIE..BUT AREN'T ALL W.A.S.P. TUNES?) AS WELL AS SOMETHING FROM "KILLFUCKDIE", BUT I THINK I READ THAT K.F.D. IS TRAPPED IN LITIGATION, SO THAT COULDN'T BE ADDED TO THE DISC. ULTIMATELY, BLACKIE WRITES TUNES THAT MAKE YOU WANT TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR NEIGHBOR'S PETS, AND HE DOES IT VERY WELL (TRACK 13: UNREAL, IS A NEW TUNE WHICH FITS THE BILL NICELY, ACTUALLY) ... HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE W.A.S.P. CONTINUE ON THEIR CHOSEN PATH RATHER THAN DO ANY MORE CHEESY COVERS.
