''Flesh & Blood'' is the third studio album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

glam metal band

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

, released on July 2, 1990, through the Enigma label of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard charts and more than 7.2 million copies were sold worldwide. It peaked at number 1 on the Cash Box charts. The album was an attempt by the band to establish a more serious musical stance, more than just the

hair metal Hair is a protein filament that grows from hair follicle, follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick ter ...

party dynamic of 1988's '' Open Up and Say... Ahh!''. It spawned two top 10 singles, "

Unskinny Bop "Unskinny Bop" is a song by American glam metal band Poison, released as the first single from their third studio album, '' Flesh & Blood'' (1990), on June 18, 1990. The song peaked at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number five on ...

" and " Something to Believe In" and three other hit singles, "

Ride the Wind ''Ride the Wind'' (1982) by Lucia St. Clair Robson is the story of Cynthia Ann Parker's life after she was captured during the Comanche raid on her family's fort. In 1836, when she was nine years old, Cynthia was kidnapped by Comanche Indians. ...

", " Life Goes On", and "

(Flesh & Blood) Sacrifice ''Flesh & Blood'' is the third studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on July 2, 1990, through the Enigma label of Capitol Records. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard charts and more than 7.2 million copies were sold wor ...

". It was certified Platinum in 1990 and triple Platinum in 1991 by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. It has been certified 4× Platinum by CAN and Gold by BPI.

Production and marketing

The album was recorded and mixed at

Little Mountain Sound Studios Little Mountain Sound Studios is a music recording facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. During the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, it was the most successful recording studio in Western Canada and the home for many years to producers Bruce Fai ...

, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with Canadian producer

Bruce Fairbairn Bruce Earl Fairbairn (December 30, 1949 – May 17, 1999) was a Canadian record producer. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999, and is considered one of the best of his era. His most successful productions are ''Slippery When Wet'' an ...

and mixer Mike Fraser. The front cover art features the Poison logo and album title as a tattoo on drummer Rikki Rockett's arm. The cover was originally planned to have a slightly different version of the tattoo after being freshly inked, with inflamed red skin with dripping ink or blood. The original cover was released for the initial pressing in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

but was removed from all later pressings including those in Japan. The record's marketing reflected the end of Poison's glam image, including excessive make-up and teased, girlish hair as with ''

Look What the Cat Dragged In ''Look What the Cat Dragged In'' is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Poison (band), Poison, released on May 23, 1986 through Enigma Records. Though not a success at first, it steadily built momentum and peaked at #3 on the US B ...

'', instead being similar to

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

Songs

Parts of the album are darker and more serious, including overcoming hard times, missing loved ones, long-term relationships, and mass sociopolitical disillusionment. Fun topics include sex, exhilaration from music or motorbikes, and tongue-in-cheek poverty. Some songs have a

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

style. The meaning of the album's lead single "Unskinny Bop", one of the band's most popular songs, is obscure. DeVille later confessed that the phrase "unskinny bop" has no particular meaning. He devised it as a temporary measure while writing the song, before vocalist

Bret Michaels Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...

had begun working on the lyrics. The phrase was used on the basis that it was phonetically suited to the music. The song was later played to producer Fairbairn, who stated that although he did not know what an "unskinny bop" was, the phrase was perfect.

Accolades

''Flesh & Blood'' was voted Best Album in '' Circus'' magazine's 1990 Readers' Poll, and the album's second single "Something to Believe In" was voted Best Single. The album yielded three '' Metal Edge'' Readers' Choice Awards in 1990: Album of the Year, and "Something to Believe In" for Song of the Year and Best Video.Metal Edge, May 1991

Track listing

† The 2006 reissue contains a mastering error, as the last few seconds of "Poor Boy Blues" are missing from this version.

Video album

'' Flesh, Blood, & Videotape'' is the second video compilation released by

, featuring the music videos from ''Flesh & Blood''. # "Let It Play" ( Montage clip) # "Unskinny Bop" # "Ride the Wind" # "Poor Boy Blues" (Montage clip) # "Something to Believe In" # "Life Goes On" # "(Flesh & Blood) Sacrifice" (Uncensored version)

Personnel

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

C.C. DeVille C.C. DeVille (born Bruce Anthony Johannesson; May 14, 1962) is an American guitarist best known as a member of rock band Poison. The band has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, including 15 million in the United States. In addition to ...

- lead guitar, backing vocals * Bobby Dall -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, piano, backing vocals * Rikki Rockett -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals * John Webster -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, piano

Production

Produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

*Co-produced by Mike Fraser * Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, NYC

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flesh and Blood (Poison Album) 1990 albums Poison (American band) albums Capitol Records albums Enigma Records albums Albums produced by Bruce Fairbairn Albums recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios Blues rock albums by American artists