Native Tongue (Poison album) explained

Native Tongue
Type:studio
Artist:Poison
Cover:Native_Tongue_Cover.jpg
Released:February 8, 1993
Recorded:1992
Studio:
  • A&M (Hollywood)
  • Rumbo (Los Angeles)
Genre:
Length:56:20
Label:Capitol
Producer:Richie Zito
Prev Title:Swallow This Live
Prev Year:1991
Next Year:1996

Native Tongue is the fourth studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released in 1993 through Capitol Records. It peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200,[3] #20 on the UK Albums Chart[4] and was certified gold by the RIAA on April 21, 1993. It has also been certified platinum in Canada. This is the only album to feature lead guitarist Richie Kotzen. Kotzen was hired as the band's guitarist following the firing of C.C. DeVille in late 1991. The album features the singles "Stand", "Until You Suffer Some (Fire And Ice)" and "Body Talk".

Production and marketing

Admitted as a full-fledged member of the band rather than a "hired gun", Kotzen was given considerable creative freedom. Resultingly, Kotzen's writing and performing contributions dominated the album.

Kotzen would later be expelled from the band following the world tour, after it was discovered that he had been romantically involved with the fiancee of drummer Rikki Rockett. Recollections of the album, while no doubt soured by these events, nonetheless appear to faithfully reflect the basic clash between Kotzen's style and that of the band's founding members. Kotzen would later claim that "being in Poison helped me forget I was a musician"[5] while Rockett would lament the loss of the band's original "attitude" [6]

The album was recorded and mixed at A&M Studios in Hollywood, California, and Rumbo Recorders in Canoga Park, California with producer Richie Zito. It was dedicated to Van Halen tour manager Scotty Ross and former Poison guitarist DeVille. The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard chart.

The first two singles "Stand" and "Until You Suffer Some (Fire And Ice)" featured music videos and charted in the US and the UK. "Stand" reached number 15 on the Mainstream rock chart, #35 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart and #50 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7] The song also charted at number 25 on the UK Singles chart and "Until You Suffer Some (Fire And Ice)" peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles chart.[8]

Following the album the band released a video/DVD titled Seven Days Live which featured a concert from the Native Tongue world tour.

Songs

Lyrically, the band continued on the growing sophistication that began in Flesh & Blood. The album's themes include battles against injustice ("Scream", "Stand"), heartbreak ("Until You Suffer Some", "7 Days Over You", "Theatre of the Soul"), and inner demons ("Stay Alive").

"When the Whip Comes Down" is a track not included on the album but used as a B-side for the singles.

Personnel

Band members

Additional musicians

Charts

Chart (1993)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 60
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[11] 17
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 39

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Poison (USA) : Native Tongue .
  2. Web site: June 16, 2021. The Number Ones: Poison's "Every Rose Has Its, Thorn". July 2, 2021. Stereogum. en. The band tried to steer into blues-rock, to limited success, on their 1993 album Native Tongue.
  3. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5162/charts-awards|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic (Poison charts and awards) Billboard albums].
  4. Web site: The Official Charts Company - Poison. Official Charts Company. May 30, 2010.
  5. http://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/RichieKotzen-Sept2004.htm Metal-rules.com, Heart of Steel; Interview with Richie Kotzen by McDonald K.
  6. http://www.kaos2000.net/interviews/poisondave00.html KAOS 2000 Magazine, Interview with Rikki Rockett by Wilson DL
  7. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5162/charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic (Poison charts and awards) Billboard singles].
  8. Web site: Poison The Official Charts Company. .
  9. http://www.metal-rules.com/interviews/RichieKotzen-Sept2004.htm Metal-rules.com, Heart of Steel; Interview with Richie Kotzen by McDonald K.
  10. 221.
  11. Book: Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. 1st. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. Helsinki. 2006. 978-951-1-21053-5 . 166 . fi.
  12. Book: Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Oricon Entertainment. Roppongi, Tokyo. 2006. 4-87131-077-9. ja.