Skid Row were the last band to the hair-metal party. Their 1991 album Slave To The Grind reached No.1 in the US but it proved to be the genre’s final hurrah; a few months later, Nirvana released Nevermind and the world went plaid.
As their 1992 EP B-Side Ourselves proved, they never really deserved to be lumped in with the likes of Warrant and Slaughter anyway. Skid Row were a down-the-line rock band at heart, one who were well-versed in the enduring legacy of heavy metal and hard rock.
Their choice of covers here isn’t exactly revelatory: Kiss (C’mon And Love Me), Rush (What You’re Doing), Hendrix (a take on Little Wing that sounds like every guitar shop version you’ve ever heard) and Judas Priest (a live version of Delivering The Goods featuring backing squawks from Rob Halford, much to frontman Sebastian Bach’s evident delight). The only vaguely offpiste selection is a barrelling version of the Ramones’ Psycho Therapy – the best track here and one that displays a side of the band you wish they’d showed off more.
It’s a pity the original EP’s five tracks haven’t been bulked out with additional rare ones, covers or not, but, given the longrunning acrimony between Bach and his old bandmates, that’s hardly surprising.
