Tag Archives: warrant

Features, In Memoriam

R.I.P. Jani Lane (former Warrant): 8/11/2011

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It’s with great sadness that we must once again add to the Hard Rock and Heavy Metal obituary postings as just this evening, singer Jani Lane (most famously known for being in the Glam band Warrant) was found dead in his hotel room. He was 47 years old.  TMZ.com seemed to be the first to report the news and then it spread like a wildfire across the Hard Rock and Metal websites and found shock and sadness being delivered by numerous Twitter accounts of music’s most influential people.

Jani Lane was born John Kennedy Oswald on February 1, 1964 and came into the largest public prominence with his band Warrant during the tail end of Glam Metal’s rule in 1988. I will admit to not really being interested in the band when they started invading the video network of MTV because I was more intrigued by heavier stuff, but when I had the chance to reflect upon their first couple of albums in the remastered format many years later had to say that there was a certain quality to them that others sorely lacked. Lane was a troubled sort in terms of the public life we got to see on shows like “Celebrity Fit Club” where his seemingly endless battle with alcohol addiction appeared to be an unstoppable force in his life. In interviews he seemed to hate being referred to as “The Cherry Pie guy” as he felt he amounted to more than that in life, and as an observer looking in on that statement, I always felt he should have been happy that this particular song brought so much attention to his work and happiness to his fans. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side and there was likely a lot of distress brought on by this kind of fame.  He would later recant the statement about the tune saying how the interview caught him on an off day and he did like how it keeps being played so many years later.

Lane married Bobbie Brown (from the “Cherry Pie” video) in 1991 and the pair had a daughter (Taylar Jayne Lane). They divorced in 1993. The cause of Lane’s death have not been publicly disclosed at the time of this writing but I am sure that we shall learn them soon enough. The Internet has a way of making things that would never go around come out very quickly. I did know that the singer recently taped an episode of Eddie Trunk’s “That Metal Show” for VH1 Classic and this will air when the season begins its run in the early Fall. Sadly, I never had the opportunity to see Warrant in concert when he reunited with the band or when he performed with Great White during Jack Russel’s recovery from surgery. I would have liked to had done that. On behalf of the PiercingMetal site and its creative team I wish consolation and healing to Jani’s family, friends and numerous devoted fans. He made his mark on a genre for sure and he shall be missed by many. Rest in Peace Jani Lane, many thanks for some truly memorable tunes.

PiercingMetal.com has reviewed some of the Warrant catalog of releases and those can be perused HERE.

Learn more about Jani Lane’s life via his Wikipedia entry HERE.

Reviews, Videos

“They Came From Hollywood” by Warrant

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Artist: Warrant
Title: “They Came From Hollywood”
Label: Cleopatra Records
Release Date: 11/11/2008
Genre: Glam Rock
Rating: 3/5

Even though I hardly considered Warrant to be of any importance to my own music appreciation when they first came into their biggest prominence I had to say that looking back on these days were rather interesting to see so many years later. The band was one of the many acts that fell into the “Hair Metal” demographic and thanks to the machinations of MTV, we got a healthy dose of them and their videos “Down Boys” and eventual juggernaut “Cherry Pie”. During these years I leaned to a heavier and more aggressive level of Hard Rock and Metal and always groaned when the Warrant tunes came on and hence my level of original disdain for what they did. Despite me and other fans that followed suit, the band was popular and got radio and video play a whole lot more than bands I was passionate about. This DVD takes you on a journey to the bands past but it is not a documentary retrospective and instead a bunch of loosely stuck together live concert moments, some backstage footage and of course a bevy of bonus features. If you were never a fan of the band or only briefly recall the band that was fronted by singer Jani Lane, it will surprise you a little to see the films beginning as the band hits the stage for a headlining arena show in the USA. Back in the day, bands like this were headlining arenas all the time and this is not so much the case nowadays due to the dramatic changes in the music industry. The adventure back to the 80’s begins with this USA tour and in my opinion this is the cleanest and best sounding footage. The band actually sounds good live and is not as lame as I would have expected them to be in my Metal youth. The tunes crunch a little harder in the live sense and my thoughts are had I been there as well, I would have very likely had a decent time. This 1988 show is followed by a 1991 appearance in Japan and as expected the crowd is going crazy for the American Glam Boys. We also get one tune from an appearance in Italy. It might have been better to see these full shows presented on a single DVD since they were from two different touring cycles and would have given the fans something a little beefier. Of course I am sure that the legacy Warrant fans are not complaining based on the limited video product for the band that is available for their enjoyment.
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Music, Reviews

“Cherry Pie” (remaster) by Warrant

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Artist: Warrant
Title: “Cherry Pie” – Remastered
Label: Sony Music
Release Date: 4/13/2004 (1990)
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 7/10

The second release by Warrant gave music fans a couple of things. The first is perhaps one of the most over-played songs in “Big Hair Metal” history with title track “Cherry Pie” and the second is the reminder of the lovely Bobbi Brown who danced and created fantasies for all young male rock fans in the video for that same song. Originally released in 1990 the world finds a chance to rediscover some of Warrants music when they were still very new in most peoples eyes. The production of the remaster is just as clean as was done for their re-issue of the bands first outing “Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich” . As a result songs like “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and “I Saw Red” truly stand out more than they did before and since those were the songs that I liked (as a non Warrant fan) I enjoyed getting to hear a better produced version. “Train, Train” and “Sure Feels Good To Me” remain solid rockers and are perhaps among the more fast-moving of the albums content and merit a listen as well if you have never heard them. The CD has left the track “Ode To Tipper Gore” in place and that was actually a surprise. The track is not so much a song, but instead a loose collection of expletives designed to push in the face of the once annoying PMRC. At the time, a collection of over-empowered Washington Senator’s wives caused great dramas to the music industry by demanding labels of warning be placed on any album deemed suggestive in image or lyrical content. Many bands answered this in their own fashion as proven here in this cut. The inclusion of this track is more of a historical note than of anything that is relevant today.
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Music, Reviews

“Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich” (remaster) by Warrant

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Artist: Warrant
Title: “Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich”
Label: Sony Music
Release Date: 4/13/2004
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 7/10

In the 1980’s the “Glam Metal” or “Hair Metal” movement was in full swing. Bands like Poison, Tuff, Pretty Boy Floyd and Warrant brought a glitzier and sleazier aspect to Hard Rock music. It made fans of true Metal like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden run to the hills (no pun intended). The music of Warrant was not something that appealed to me but if you watched MTV on regular occasion you would find that this did not matter at all nor did it affect the bands success. However you felt at the time when one looks back on the re-issue and remaster of this album from 1989 you will find several good hard rocking numbers. Warrant exemplified over-indulgence with their new found fame and in their music they sang about it while in the process winning over the hearts of millions of girls. Lead singer Jani Lane was a good looking front man who fell perfectly along with that of Brett Michaels (Poison) and Stephen Pearcy (Ratt). His personality brought a level of impact to the things that the boys were singing about. They were young , successful and were playing some really great places in a very short amount of time. One would think that “over the top luxury metal” should have been the label rather than Glam Rock. It was a real sign of the times on how Rock was heading in a fun direction but a few short years after this would face an abrupt end at the hands of Nirvana and Alice In Chains. These bands brought the darker and more depressing side to music at the onset of the Grunge movement. Bands like Warrant were kicked aside when this move happened and while some might have felt it a good thing they changed their tune when it seemed that every musician in a flannel shirt was finding their way to a recording deal.
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