cherry pie

Cherry Pie is the second music album by American glam metal band Warrant. The record—which spawned the hits "Cherry Pie", "Uncle Tom's Cabin", and "I Saw Red"—is the band's best-known and highest-selling release.

Production and marketing

Cherry Pie was released on 11 September 1990 through CBS Records. Like its predecessor, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, it was recorded at The Enterprise in Burbank, California.

It is widely rumored that 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 [2]. The rumor has never been verified, although Slamer's wife confirmed in 1998 that her husband played guitar on the record ^[1]. The album's liner notes refer to Turner's function as "G-string" and Allen's as "Bong Riffs", adding that "Erik & Joey would like to thank Mike Slamer & Tommy Girvin for their Wielding G string Inspirations".

Slamer was joined by numerous other guest performers; the record also features contributions from Poison's C.C. Deville, Jani Lane's brother Patrick Oswald, Bruno Ravel and Steve West from Danger Danger, and Fiona.

The album carried a parental advisory sticker in the United States, due to the final track entitled "Ode to Tipper Gore", which consisted of a collection of swear words cut from the band's live performances.

Canadian cable-TV music network, MuchMusic, refused to air the "Cherry Pie" video on the grounds that it was "offensively sexist".[3]

Songs

The albums themes include sex ("Cherry Pie", "Sure Feels Good to Me", "Love in Stereo"), love and devotion ("Mr. Rainmaker", "Blind Faith"), and betrayal ("I Saw Red", "Train, Train").

"Cherry Pie", which is probably Warrant's best-known song, was dedicated to president of Sony Music US Don Lenner. The dedication was no doubt inspired by the record company pressure which led to the track's creation. The record was completed without the song, but Warrant's label requested that a new rock "anthem" be added in order to enhance its marketability. Vocalist Lane responded by writing "Cherry Pie" in 45 minutes. Bassist Jerry Dixon and guitarist Allen, who believed the album was complete and were playing in a charity golf tournament in Denver, were called back to Los Angeles to complete the track.^[2] The single comprises a string of metaphorical references to sex and bears a striking resemblance to Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me", and Joan Jett's "I Love Rock n' Roll. It featured Poison's C.C. DeVille on lead guitar.

Lane would later express his views about the song and the album on the broadcast of VH1's HEAVY: The Story Of Metal - Episode 3: Looks That Kill, stating that "I could shoot myself in the fucking head for writing that song" and "If I'm lyin, I'm dyin."

Prior to the writing of "Cherry Pie", the album's title and first single was to have been "Uncle Tom's Cabin", a track which foreshadowed the kind of imaginitive song writing which would later be more fully revealed on the Dog Eat Dog record. Although named after the classic novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the song tells the story of a witness to the involvement of local police in a double murder and appeared to have nothing to do with slavery, racism, or the Deep South (although the video for the song was set in Louisiana). It was eventually released as a single and reached #83 on the American charts.

The record's third single was "I Saw Red", a ballad inspired by a true story of betrayal. It was written after Lane had walked in on his best friend in bed with his girlfriend, resulting in his nervous breakdown and the delayed release of the band's first record Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich ^[3].

Track listing

1. "Cherry Pie" – 3:20
2. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" – 4:01
3. "I Saw Red" – 3:47
4. "Bed of Roses" – 4:04
5. "Sure Feels Good to Me" – 2:39
6. "Love in Stereo" – 3:06
7. "Blind Faith" – 3:33
8. "Song and Dance Man" – 2:58
9. "You're the Only Hell Your Mama Ever Raised" – 3:34
10. "Mr. Rainmaker" – 3:29
11. "Train, Train" – 2:49
12. "Ode to Tipper Gore" [Live] – 0:54

Personnel

• Jani Lane - vocals, arranger
• Joey Allen - guitar
• C.C. DeVille - guitar
• Erik Turner - guitar, arrangement
• Jerry Dixon - bass
• Alan Hewitt - organ, piano, strings
• Beau Hill - organ, banjo, arrangement, keyboards, production, mixing
• Paul Harris - piano, strings
• Juke Logan - harmonica
• Steven Sweet - drums

Additional personnel

• Jimmy Hoyson - engineering, mixing
• Martin Horenburg - assistant engineer
• Dave Collins - digital editing, sequencing
• Hugh Syme - art direction, design
• Johnny B. Frank - arrangement
• Danny Stag - arrangement
• Ted Jensen - mastering

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)

References

1. ^ * The Unofficial Streets Homepage Retrieved 3 November 2005
2. ^ Metal Sludge interview with Joey Allen [1]
3. ^ http://rockhole.bravepages.com/warrant.html