Vain's 1989 debut, No Respect, is an absolute classic, and many would have you believe it's their only album that matters. Frankly, I was one of 'em, until last summer when their second album, All Those Strangers (recorded in '91 but not released until 2009) finally started to click with me. At that point, I started to cautiously explore the band's other work—even the pseudo-grungier material of the '90s.
I'm not gonna lie: for the most part I don't care about glam/"hair metal" beyond the early-'90s. I just don't. I'm stubborn, what can I say? But there are exceptions, and one of those exceptions is now Davy Vain. Shit, I even ended up buying his solo album!
When he's on, the dude's a songwriting genius, and "Greener," the opening track from 2011's Enough Rope (Vain's most recent album, and—shockingly—one of their best) is a perfect example of that. Sure, the production's a little crispy, and the bass is weirdly out of tune during the intro... but that AC/DC-esque opening build-up? Come on, you immediately know you're about to get your ass kicked. It's a simple, fist-pumpin' rocker with a huge chorus that no fan of this genre could possibly deny!
