Faster Pussycat - Whipped! Japan Edition) (1992)

After Nirvana changed the landscape of rock music in 1991, countless hard rock bands found themselves with a dwindling fan base and no label support. But what makes Faster Pussycat different from the Bang Tangos and Kik Tracees of the world is that they were hitting a creative peak right as the hard rock backlash began. Although it wasn't exactly amazing, Whipped was a confident, strong effort from a band that was much better than the stereotyped genre they were lumped in with. The juvenile sexist anthems were catchier and more clever than anything they had delivered before (check out "Big Dictionary"), while they found themselves traveling down a few new musical paths. The country rock swagger of "Nonstop to Nowhere" starts the album very strongly, sounding more like classic Rolling Stones than Bon Jovi. Many other songs on the album capture the forceful rage of classic Guns N' Roses, a sound that had only been hinted at by their previous efforts. Elsewhere, "Mr. Lovedog," the heartfelt tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, offered a sad elegy to another charismatic figure in the metal world. Taime Downe can become annoying after a while, but the band does its best to hide his thin voice, and he at least has the right attitude for this music. There are a few weak moments, but for the most part this is a fine hard rock album that died a terrible death in the alternative rock marketplace of 1992.