Revolutions per Minute is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Skid Row, released on October 24, 2006. It is the band's only release with drummer Dave Gara, their last full album with vocalist Johnny Solinger, and also their last studio album for sixteen years until 2022's The Gang's All Here.
| Revolutions per Minute | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 24, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2005–2006 | |||
| Studio | WireWorld Studio, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 40:24 | |||
| Label | SPV/Steamhammer Victor (Japan) | |||
| Producer | Michael Wagener | |||
| Skid Row chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Revolutions per Minute | ||||
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Release and promotion
editMichael Wagener temporarily reunited with Skid Row and produced the album. It had been 15 years since he co-produced the band's second album Slave to the Grind in 1991. The album received negative reviews and only charted in Japan at number 266.[1] "Shut Up Baby, I Love You" and "Nothing" were released as promo singles [2] and "Strength" is a cover song originally performed by The Alarm.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |    [3] |
| AllMusic | [4] |
| Melodic.net | [5] |
| Rock Hard | 7.0/10[6] |
| Sputnikmusic | [7] |
The album received generally negative reviews. Rock Hard reviewer appreciated the "twelve strong and sometimes punk-tinged hard rockers" in the album and wrote that Skid Row were still capable of producing "ingenious catchy tunes".[6] Marcus Pan of Legends Magazine enjoyed the album and wrote that Skid Row "sound very similar to how they did fifteen years ago", with Solinger a capable singer, who "can hold his own against Bach".[8] Greg Prato of AllMusic had the same impression and wrote that the album offers the "same angry-yet-melodic riff rockers that you long ago came to expect from the group, while Solinger's singing style isn't that far removed from Bach's", concluding that this is "just what you'd expect from Skid Row - for better or for worse."[4] On the contrary, Chad Bowar writing for About.com considered Revolution per Minute "a really diverse album", full of "really catchy songs, good musicianship and showcasing many different facets of Skid Row", with influences ranging from punk, to country, to new wave.[3] Sputnikmusic reviewer found Revolutions per Minute "more appealing" than the "bland poke at modern alternative rock" that were Subhuman Race and Thickskin, but lamented "a massive lack of cohesion" in blending "elements of classic punk, post-punk, country and goth" which "come at the expense of the soaring melodies and break-neck dynamics that made Bach's Skid Row such an exciting listen."[7] Kaj Roth of Melodic.net considered Revolutions per Minute "even worse" than Thickskin, their weakest album, and the music "a worthless cargo of nonsense hard rock."[5]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Disease" | Rachel Bolan, Dave Sabo | 3:32 |
| 2. | "Another Dick in the System" | Bolan | 3:16 |
| 3. | "Pulling My Heart Out from Under Me" | Bolan | 3:29 |
| 4. | "When God Can't Wait" | Bolan, Scotti Hill | 2:15 |
| 5. | "Shut Up Baby, I Love You" | Bolan | 3:16 |
| 6. | "Strength" (The Alarm cover) | Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Twist, Rupert Black | 5:07 |
| 7. | "White Trash" | Bolan, Sabo | 2:53 |
| 8. | "You Lie" | Bolan | 2:44 |
| 9. | "Nothing" | Bolan | 3:29 |
| 10. | "Love Is Dead" | Bolan | 3:38 |
| 11. | "Let It Ride" | Bolan | 4:03 |
| 12. | "You Lie (Corn Fed Mix)" (bonus track) | Bolan | 2:43 |
Personnel
edit- Skid Row
- Johnny Solinger – lead vocals
- Dave Sabo – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Scotti Hill – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Rachel Bolan – bass, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Another Dick in the System"
- Dave Gara – drums, backing vocals
- Additional musicians
- Rachel Hagen – additional vocals on "Another Dick in the System"
- "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica on "You Lie (Corn Fed Mix)"
- Production
- Michael Wagener – production, engineering, mixing
- Eric Conn – mastering at Independent Mastering, Nashville, Tennessee
- Rachel Bolan – cover design
Charts
edit| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[9] | 266 |
References
edit- ^ "Skid Row Chart History". Oricon. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
- ^ "Skid Row singles". Eil.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012.
- ^ a b Bowar, Chad. "Skid Row - Revolutions Per Minute". About.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ a b Prato, Greg. Revolutions per Minute at AllMusic. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Roth, Kaj (2006). "Skid Row - Revolutions Per Minute". Melodic.net. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ a b Cle, Bruder (2006). "Review Album: Skid Row - Revolutions per Minute". Rock Hard (in German). No. 234. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Donnelly, Dave (December 2, 2006). "Review: Skid Row - Revolutions Per Minute". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ Pan, Marcus. "Skid Row – "Revolutions Per Minute"". Legends Magazine. Archived from the original on May 6, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Skid Row Chart History". Oricon. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
External links
edit- Revolutions per Minute at Discogs (list of releases)