'80s hair band makes a lackluster return

by Chas J. Hartman
THE POST

Enuff Znuff
10
Spitfire Records
ONE STAR

Some think hair/glam rock died when Nirvana came along. Well, not exactly.

Recent years have witnessed the return of some '80s juggernauts, namely Poison and Ratt. Now we have the long-awaited return of Enuff Znuff.

Enuff Znuff's latest album, titled 10, features 12 songs of what the band's press release describes as "pop heaven." It also says this record contains "real guitars, perfectly-pitched harmonies and unshakeable melodies containing songs destined to become classics."

This album is far from pop perfection, but it's surprising to hear such an eclectic collection of melodic material from a former hair band. That is not to say that 10 succeeds in all its attempts at sounding different, but it does display some courage on Enuff Znuff's part. The comebacks by Poison and Ratt saw nothing more than a rerun of their "classics" mixed with some heartless attempts at new hair rock tunes.

Believe it or not, the album's leadoff track "There Goes My Heart" sounds like a cross between The Beatles and The Cars. Lead singer Donnie Vie tries hard to mix the best of Paul McCartney's singing style with the best of John Lennon's. Mix in some late '70s/early '80s FM radio guitar riffs, and one would never know that Enuff Znuff used to be all hair.

Chris Shepard might deserve the most credit for transforming Enuff Znuff into a tolerable band. Shepard has mixed everybody from the Smashing Pumpkins to KMFDM. In fact, he mixed the new Wilco record prior to doing 10.

On "Fly Away," Enuff Znuff sticks with the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band-era Beatles sound, but unfortunately brings in some Motley Crue-tinged guitar riffs. Even then, this song is shockingly listenable. It's as if even a small regression to the '80s hair sound cannot prevent Enuff Znuff from sounding delightfully poppy.

It is on "The Beast," however, where 10 starts to go horribly wrong. The songs start sounding like poorly done Dokken outtakes, and Vie attempts to get that David Coverdale crooning style down. Everything culminates in disaster by track five, titled "Wake Up," which sees Enuff Znuff failing at a love ballad.

Unfortunately, the disintegration of 10 does not stop there. "Suicide" sounds like an uninspired attempt at Lenny Kravitz's "It's Not Over 'Til It's Over." "Bang On" is their truest attempt on this album at reclaiming that trademark '80s schlock sound. Unfortunately, it belongs in the basement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum with all those disastrous Jackyl records.

The album's final track is a one-dimensional cover of Cheap Trick's "Everything Works If You Let It." Billy Corgan added some guitar to this track, then demanded that it be remixed to have his guitar part at a higher volume. Corgan must be really hard up for work, and he picked the wrong band to help.

At least Corgan knew when to call it quits with the Pumpkins. Enuff Znuff still is living under an illusion of grandeur.