Let’s play association game. Leather, denim, sexism, hairspray smell… What’s this? Yes, it’s LA metal scene in the eighties. And this is a promo CD from the upcoming 4 Disc (78 tracks) compilation of LA most remembered decade of music. It’s the official compilation for the, in USA successful, book “Hollywood Rocks!” released last year. Here I have 17 songs featuring Dokken, W.A.S.P., Quite Riot, Poison, LA Guns and others. As for me, I would put a sticker “Only For Fans” on this CD and on the box set too. You may say box sets are primarily intended for the fans. But some of them can open a whole new world for the newbie. Trying to be objective I would say this one can open something for someone, but for the most post grunge generation kids, hair metal seems to be an anachronism. If you aren’t impressed by pretentious poses of the impudent upstarts, narcissism, sexist features and loud, repetitive choruses, designed best to sing drunk at the crowded stadium, if you think real metal vocals can’t contain ecstatic shouts, ecstasy sighs and orgasmic sobs, you may not read further… And now for fans: First of all, yes, it’s the Hollywood scene with all its glory days, glamour, glitter, and charm. And! This is not just the usual compilation kind of “Best of”. Here we have the precise investigation of the sources of the stream. That is to say, there are only the demos of the songs. You can experience the demo quality of early Dokken recordings, Warrant refining their songwriting and other germs of the style that will arouse to the unimaginable heights of polarity with Guns & Roses. For you could imagine what it will be like, I’ll tell you the provisional list of artists featuring on this compilation disc by disc.

Disc 1 - Early 80’s (1980-1985) featuring Hollywood Rose, Hellion, Plane Jane, Candy, Steeler, Dokken, W.A.S.P, Black’N’Blue, The Zeros, Quite Riot, Armored Saint, Stephen Pearcy`s Rat, Bitch, Warrant and more. Disc 2 - Mid/late 80’s (1985 - 1988) with Poison, L.A. Guns, Stryper, Great White, Demolition Galore, LA Guns (w/Phil Lewis), Odin, Rock City Angels and others. Disc 3 –Late 80’s with Keel, Jailhouse, London, China, Black Cherry, King Kobra, Cats In Boots, Virgin, Kills For Thrills and more. And Disc 4 - Early 90’s featuring Electric Angels, Burning Tree, Jetboy, Lypswitch, Saigon Saloon, Rebel Rebel, Spiders & Snakes, Scull, Pretty Boy Floyd, Blackboard Jungle, Love/Hate and more. For whom will it be interesting? Well, if you doubt it’s you, don’t buy it. The only noteworthy thing here is Dokken “It’s Not Love” or maybe Stryper’s mid tempo ballad “Honestly”. But they, too, are just standard ones among the other nothing remarkable songs. Ah, and listening to the heroic opus “F**k Like A Beast” by W.A.S.P it’s really amusing to remember that back then this song inspired the now infamous and notorious sticker “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content”. But if you have memories of those days, all the fashion and all the culture, if you miss that reckless life, “Hollywood Rocks!” will give you a right and a reason to rock again! And it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event! As a resume I would quote Don Dokken, who once said: “Listening to our songs you will never hear the Apocalypse is coming, and that’s wonderful”. Yes, and sometimes it means a lot!