Vicious Circle (L.A. Guns album)

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Vicious Circle
Studio album by
L.A. Guns
ReleasedOctober 4, 1994
Studio
  • Ocean Way (Hollywood)
  • 4th Street Recorders (Santa Monica)
  • Red Zone (Burbank, California)
GenreHard rock
Length56:06
LabelPolydor[1]
Producer
  • Jim Wirt
  • Michael James Jackson
(Crystal Eyes)
L.A. Guns chronology
Best Of: Hollywood a Go-Go
(1994) 		Vicious Circle
(1994) 		American Hardcore
(1996)
Singles from L.A. Guns
  1. "Long Time Dead"
    Released: 1994 (1994)
  2. "Face Down"
    Released: 1994 (1994)
  3. "Killing Machine"
    Released: 1994 (1994)

Vicious Circle is the fourth album by the American hard rock band L.A. Guns.[2][3] The first single was "Long Time Dead".[4] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[5]

Production[edit]

Michael "Bones" Gersema drums on several songs.[1] "I'd Love to Change the World" is a cover of the Ten Years After song.[6]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Calgary HeraldA−[6]
Chicago Tribune[8]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[1]
Rock Hard8.0/10[10]
The Tampa Tribune[11]

The Chicago Tribune stated that the band "hasn't wandered a bit from the glam metal they helped popularize in the late '80s—a raunchy sound that makes the true headbanger cringe," but conceded that the album "also features some danceable tunes."[8] The Calgary Herald determined that "bow-taut guitar solos are slung against arrows of melody fired at the bulls-eye of '70s rock."[6] The Tampa Tribune opined that "guitarist Tracii Guns' trigger-finger riffs still fire faster than a speeding bullet."[11]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Face Down"Kelly Nickels, Mick Cripps, Michael Gersema, Phil Lewis, Tracii Guns4:11
2."No Crime"Nickels, Gersema, Steve Dior2:35
3."Long Time Dead"Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns3:22
4."Killing Machine"Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns3:27
5."Fade Away"Nickels, Cripps, Gersema, Lewis, Guns4:11
6."Tarantula" (instrumental)Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns0:56
7."Crystal Eyes" (American and European bonus track)Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Steve Riley, Guns5:53
8."Nothing Better to Do"Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns2:52
9."Chasing the Dragon"Nickels, Cripps, Gersema, Lewis, Guns4:50
10."Kill That Girl"Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns3:13
11."I'd Love to Change the World" (Ten Years After cover)Alvin Lee3:39
12."Who's in Control (Let 'Em Roll)"Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns4:02
13."I'm the One"Nickels, Cripps, Gersema, Lewis, Guns2:28
14."Why Ain't I Bleeding"Nickels, Cripps, Lewis, Guns4:32
15."Kiss of Death"Gersema, Lewis, Dior5:55
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Death in America"Nickels, Cripps, Gersema, Lewis, Guns3:41
17."Empire Down" 3:29
Total length:57:23

Personnel[edit]

  • Phil Lewis – lead vocals except on "Nothing Better to Do", acoustic guitar
  • Tracii Guns – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
  • Mick Cripps – lead and rhythm guitar, piano, keyboards, bass on track 4, backing vocals
  • Kelly Nickels – bass guitar, lead vocals on "Nothing Better to Do", backing vocals
Additional musicians
  • Guy Griffin – acoustic guitar on track 15
  • Michael “Bones” Gersema – drums on tracks 1, 5, 9, 13–17, backing vocals on tracks 1, 13 and 14
  • Myron Grombacher – drums on tracks 2, 10–12
  • Nickey Alexander – drums on track 4
  • Steve Riley – drums on track 7
  • Doni Gray – drums on track 8
  • Steve Councel – harmonica on track 8, 14 and 15, backing vocals on track 8
  • Cliff Brodsky – piano on track 8
  • Steve Dior – backing vocals on track 2
  • Jim Wirt – backing vocals
Production
  • Jim Wirt – producer, engineer, mixing of tracks 6, 11 to 13
  • Michael James Jackson – producer and engineer on "Crystal Eyes"
  • Dan Daniel, Dennis Degher, Jeff Graham, Mark Shoffner, Marnie Riley, Tim Allison – assistant engineers
  • Mick Guzauski – mixing of tracks 1 to 5, 7 to 10, 14, 15
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Robert Bisbo – album cover art

Charts[edit]

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] 58

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". Omnibus Press – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "L.A. Guns Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Maples, Tina (9 Feb 1995). "Fans of late '80s big-hair rock...". The Milwaukee Journal. p. D4.
  4. ^ Weatherford, Mike (10 Feb 1995). "On Tuesday, it's L.A. Guns...". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 2D.
  5. ^ Harrison, Tom (17 Mar 1995). "L.A. Guns aiming to be respected old guys". The Province. p. B16.
  6. ^ a b c McEwen, Mary-Lynn (5 Mar 1995). "RECENT RELEASES". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "L.A. Guns - Vicious Circle review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  8. ^ a b Golemis, Dean (2 Mar 1995). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 8.
  9. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 August 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  10. ^ "L.A. GUNS - Vicious Circle". ROCK HARD Heavy-Metal-Magazin.
  11. ^ a b Woitas, Nanette (March 10, 1995). "L.A. GUNS, Vicious Circle". FRIDAY EXTRA!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
  12. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
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