Arcade- S/T (1993)

Arcade were a sort of hair metal supergroup; being made of members from bands such as Ratt, Cinderella and the Sea Hags. Standout tracks were the album’s only hit Nothing To Lose, the ballad Cry No More, and the acoustic Mother Blues.
Despite the rock pedigree of those involved, this self titled debut came at a time when the musical climate was rapidly changing, and it was not a commercial success. Definitely one to get if you’re a fan of Ratt; or any classic 80’s/90’s metal.

Britny Fox- Bite Down Hard (1991)

Bite Down Hard was the band’s third album, and first release with new singer Tommy Paris, following original frontman Dean Davidson’s departure. (He threw Michael Kelly Smith against a wall!)
By now Britny Fox had begun to move away from their glam image and sound, and this album is full of strong songs like Closer To Your Love (perhaps the highlight) and Six Guns Loaded- which Zakk Wylde actually plays on! Keeps that quiet, doesn’t he!
Due to the musical climate at the time, Bite Down Hard wasn’t particularly commercially successful, which is a shame, as it’s great!
This album had been out of print for years until very recently, so finding it should be no problem.

Cats in Boots - 'Kicked N Klawed' (1989)
Line-up-
Joel Ellis: lead vocals/harmonica
Takashi "Jam" O'Hashi: guitar
Yasuhiro "Butch" Hatae: bass
Randy Meers: drums

The half American, half Japanese line-up of Cats in Boots were really as glam as you can get. Had they hit the scene a few years earlier I have little doubt that they would have been huge. 'Kicked N Klawed' followed the debut EP release in 1988 Demostration: East Meets West. Some great hairmetal classic on this album such as 'Shotgun Sally' and 'Long, long way from home'. They had more of an impact in Japan than in Europe. You can get this CD second hand at amazon.com.
Kerri

Crown Of Thorns- S/T (1993)

This band, led by former Plasmatic Jean Beauvoir, were at the centre of a huge label bidding war when they first formed. With tracks co-produced by Paul Stanley and wide critical acclaim, the album features strong songs such as Are You Ready?, The Healer and Secret Jesus.
This seemingly can only be gotten on import at the moment, and you will pay around 30 dollars for the privilege!

Danger Danger- Danger Danger (1989) New!!

This debut from New York’s Danger Danger was the band’s most successful album, selling 400,000 copies in the US alone. Although Danger Danger were still amongst the other also-rans of the 80’s metal scene, the album contains many standout tracks with slick choruses such as Naughty Naughty and the fantastic Bang Bang. And naturally there’s also the obligatory slow song in the form of Don’t Walk Away.
Yes, like a lot of the genre, this party rock is pretty cheesy, but who cares.

Dangerous Toys - Self Titled (1989)

Dangerous Toys never really reached the heights of fame that other bands of the era did, but their Southern-influenced rock is still well worth a listen. This debut album contains great songs such as Scared and Take Me Drunk.
No highbrow, philosophical songs for these lads either- Sport’n A Woody being perhaps their worst song title, but if you like typical ‘cock rock’ lyrics, then it’s all good!
In Jason McMaster, Dangerous Toys also had a good vocalist. If you miss his singing, he is currently in band named Broken Teeth.
Suzie

The Dogs D'amour - In the Dynamite Jet Saloon (1988)

Line-up-
Tyla: Guitar and Vocals
Jo Dog: Guitar
Steve James: Bass
Bam Bam: Drums

A forgotten gem of not only an album but an entire band in my opinion. Even though the big boys of glam and sleaze were focused around LA, they don't come much better than Wolverhampton's very own Dogs D'amour. The second of there albums contains the classics 'I don't want you to go' and 'How come it never rains'. All of the Dogs albums are excellent and of course Tyla's vocals are unforgettable. Can be tricky to get and you will probably have to pay quite a bit.
Kerri

Electric Boys - Funk o Metal Carpet Ride (1989)
Line-up-
Conny Blomqvist: Vocals, guitar and sitar
Franco Santunione: Guitar
Andy Christell: Bass
Niclas Sigevall: Drums

I know that the majority of people will have heard of Electric Boys, but this album does not get the recognition that it deserves. This is partly because although the band did relatively well in their native Sweden and the rest of Europe, they failed to make much of an impact in the US. They are no longer together but all three of their albums have recently been re-issued.
Kerri

Faster Pussycat - Whipped (1992)

Line-up-
Taime Downe - vocals
Brent Muscat - guitar, sitar and vocals
Greg Steele - guitar, keyboards, mandolin and vocals
Eric Stacy - bass and vocals
Brett Bradshaw - drums, percussion and vocals

Whipped, probably due to the fact that it was released slap-bang in the middle of the grunge explosion, didn’t do as well as Faster Pussycat’s previous releases Wake Me When It’s Over and their self-titled debut.
It’s a shame, because this is a great album. There are fun, ‘party’ songs such as Jack The Bastard and the hilarious Big Dictionary, and the excellent ballad Friends.
Nonstop To Nowhere is an absolutely amazing song, and really should have provided the band with a huge hit. Also great is Mr Lovedog, a tribute to Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood.
Whipped is available on Amazon and Ebay cheaply. Too cheap for how good this album is.
Suzie

Jetboy - Damned Nation (1990)

This was the San Francisco band’s second, and final album. Jetboy perhaps got lumped in with some of the poorer bands at the end of the hair-metal scene, despite the high standard of some songs on Damned Nation such as Evil and the ballad Too Late.
Vocalist Mickey Finn sported a Mohawk, so the band offered something a little different, hair-wise at least! Damned Nation is a worthy addition to any fan of the ‘80’s LA scene record collection.
Easy to find, and a compilation CD of the band’s albums called Day In The Glamorous Life has also recently been released if you want to hear more.

Johnny Crash- Neighbourhood Threat (1990)

With a sound likened to AC/DC, Johnny Crash’s future looked promising when they toured with the Crue during the Dr Feelgood tour. MTV even played the album’s hit Hey Kid. Songs like No Bones About It and Thrill Of The Kill were catchy and testosterone-driven, but the album failed to sell very well. Matt Sorum and Dizzy Reed were in later line-ups of Johnny Crash, but a second record never materialised.

Junkyard-Self Titled (1989)

A few of this band’s previous members had been in punk bands before joining Junkyard, and so didn’t sound like a typical glam band. A mixture of metal and Southern Rock, this debut contained classic rock tunes like Blooze, Texas and Hollywood, amongst slower songs such as the wistful Simple Man.
In the typical, incestuous, hairmetal way, the band folded and its members went on to form new bands, but released a live album called Shut Up We’re Tryin’ To Practice! in 2000.
Junkyard is easy to buy online.

Described by Slaughter’s Dana Strum as a cross between The Cult and Guns N’ Roses, this band from LA, like so many, could have been bigger had they released this in the ‘80’s. This melodic, commercial metal album had stand out tracks such as Trash City and the heavier Soul Shaker… and even a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs Robinson!
This was actually the band’s only full length release. Like so many they suffered from a changing metal scene, and while an EP was released, a second album never saw the light of day.

Motley Crue - New Tattoo (2000)

Yes, it’s only from six years ago, but I’d argue that this album is still forgotten. Okay, so it’s not exactly Shout At The Devil, but the relative mauling it received at the hands of the critics wasn’t entirely justified. The title track is a gorgeous ballad, and although some of the lyrics can lean towards the cheesy side, it’s still good fun to listen to. Nearly every song has a decent chorus, and tracks like Hollywood Ending and Fake are actually very good.
I would say, switch your brain off for a while and just enjoy.
Suzie

Vince Neil - Exposed (1993)

Vince’s solo work was a relative commercial failure, and on the strength of this album, I feel that’s unfair.
In a way, Exposed almost picks up where Motley Crue’s Dr Feelgood left off. The songs have the same glossy, ‘80’s rock feel, and tracks such as Look In Her Eyes and Fine, Fine Wine are as good as anything off Feelgood, in my opinion.
Standout songs would be Sister Of Pain and the ballad Can’t Change Me. Vince’s voice sounds very good on Exposed; perhaps the best it ever has done.
Sadly the follow up to this album, Carved In Stone, is a dreadful record, but for anyone into classic late ’80’s/early ‘90’s poppy, hard rock, you could do a lot worse than buying Exposed.
Easy to get on Amazon and most other music sites.
Suzie

Saigon Kick - Self Titled(1991) New!!!

This debut album was recorded in a mere eleven days and received some acclaim due to tracks like New World, Colors and Love Of God. They combined harmonies with big riffs and catchy choruses, yet never gained much success with this album, or follow-ups like The Lizard. Always eclectic (one song featured a kazoo solo), they released a Greatest Hits in 2000 and still tour sporadically.