Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Hard Rock
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© 1992 Capitol Records
Review by Rob Rockitt for Hard Rock Hideout.com
One of the discs that I still play from time to time is the glam metal release by
Wildside, called
Under the Influence. If Under the Influence was released five years earlier,
Wildside would have been a household name. Armed with a sound that was a mixture between
RATT and
Cinderella, they
had the sound, and the look to make it big. Sadly, this disc was
released right at the time that the music scene was going through the
change to Grunge, and the disc did not gain the success is deserved. The CD was produced by
Andy Johns (Cinderella, Van Halen, L.A. Guns), and even had a little writing help by
Paul Stanley on the track Clock Strikes. I picked this disc up after hearing a few cuts on he syndicated hard
rock station Z-Rock. This disc has remained in my play list ever since. In 2007,
Under the Influence is becoming
increasingly harder to find, and averages between 20 – 30 dollars on
Ebay. It is a disc worth seeking out, if you missed it the first time
around. The
band put out a second release in 1995, that was a change in sound (more
grunge, than glam) that completely bombed, and the band broke up. In
2004, another disc, The Wasted Years surfaced that contained some demos
and live cuts, as well as Wildside’s version of the G ‘N R song Crash
Diet. The released
Under the Influence is the best release by the band, and is the release most people are still looking for. My favorite cuts off of this disc are,
Hang on Lucy,
Just Another Night,
Hair of the Dog, and
Clock Strikes. You can hear some of the tunes off of the
Under the Influence at a fan made Wildside page on
myspace. Buy this disc if you can find it. You won’t be disappointed!
tags: wildside, under the influence, 1992, flac,