Waking the Dead

Founding members of L.A. Guns, Tracii Guns and vocalist Phil Lewis have concocted a solid outing with producer Andy Johns on Waking the Dead, the follow-up to the band's 2001 debut for Spitfire Records, Man in the Moon. More than just a commendable effort by L.A. Guns, the work of Andy Johns is not to be overlooked. In the '70s it was producer/engineer brother Glyn Johns who had the higher profile, and when Andy did produce, as with '80s metal band Cinderella, it came off - much like the work of another engineer/producer, Ron Nevison - as homogenized black-and-white musical photographs for the ear. Waking the Dead is a triumph for Andy Johns as much as it is for L.A. Guns, and the fabulous and hooky "City of Angels" has all the elements a driving pop song needs - throbbing bass, precision drums, singing guitars, and great vocals with catchy phrasings. It's one of those songs you absolutely have to turn up when it comes on. TRACK LISTING: Don't Look At Me That Way / Ok, Let's Roll / Waking The Dead / Revolution / The Ballad / Frequency / Psychopathic Eyes / Hellraiser's Ball / City of Angels / Don't You Cry.