Wake Me When It's Over

Between the first and second albums by Faster Pussycat, hair metal became big business and the pressure to commercialize is felt in the band’s sophomore effort, Wake Me When It’s Over. “Poison Ivy,” “Gonna Walk” and “Pulling Weeds” are more sprightly and polished than the band’s early work, but generally they remain faithful to their strengths: rude ‘n’ rollicking bar rock. “Slip of the Tongue,” “Tattoo” and “Ain’t No Way Around It” are double-barrel metal riffs, but Faster Pussycat has a better sense of swing than any of their contemporaries (except Guns N’ Roses). Most of the album is downright danceable, which is more than anyone could say for the majority of ham-fisted hair metal acts. Of course, the song that made Wake Me When It’s Over a million-seller is “House of Pain,” a big, sappy, acoustic slow jam — all positive qualities if you’re talking about '80s power ballads. Taime Downe still squeals and screams with the best of them, and his band plays like they are on shore leave. While “House of Pain” won them a huge audience, “Where There’s a Whip There’s a Way,” with its fuel-injected riff and malicious intentions, is probably the best song the band ever recorded.