The Best Albums You've Probably Never Heard

Warrant ‘96

Belly to Belly, Vol. 1

CMC Records

After the coup grunge created in the early nineties, many million-selling bands were left disillusioned and without record deals. No longer the flavor of the month, hard rock and glam bands let the hair down, cut the excess fat and got down to business for labels like CMC and Sanctuary. 

One such band was Warrant, known for their over-the-top Cherry Pie single and a string of hit power ballads to the tune of 10 million copies. So, why are they included here? Well, it’s because after 1992’s gold-selling Dog Eat Dog you probably stopped paying attention.

After a brief breakup/hiatus/disagreement that lasted about a year, vocalist Jani Lane returned to the band, while guitarist Joey Allen and drummer Steven Sweet did not. The band would go through a series of guitarists and drummers starting with 1995’s “comeback” album Ultraphobic. It was guitarist Rick Steier and drummer Bobby Borg coming in though that helped Warrant fully embrace a more raw sound that some would see as them embracing grunge but that I have always believed was what they sounded like when they came to eye level with their fans. Steier has been quoted as saying that this album is built around the concept of what happens when you have everything and then it’s gone.

Aside from Lane’s distinctive voice, Belly to Belly, Vol. 1 bears little resemblance to any other Warrant album (hence the “Warrant ‘96” moniker). “In the End (There’s Nothing)” kicks the album off with dark tones and grungy guitars, culminating in a buried, but obvious Beatles-esque melody. “Feels Good” follows it and you are crazy if you aren’t hooked, following the same format with the grungy verses and a surprisingly hard rock, bright-sounding chorus contrasting the verses. Rounding out the trio of awesomeness is the moving “Letter  to a Friend.” This is, in my opinion, Jani Lane’s finest moment lyrically. Driven by its bass line, Lane offers some deep insights like “This is not a fairy tale, this is life and sometimes life fails” and “There’s a place in the sun for everyone, you just gotta find it.”

After it’s initial trio of tunes, the album continues to ebb and flow. The slightly cheesy “A.Y.M.” (Angry Young Man), embraces the grunge sound wholeheartedly, all the while smirking just underneath the surface as if mocking the mindset. Meanwhile, the mostly acoustic “Room With a View” lyrically is the anti-thesis of “Letter to a Friend,” exploring the darker side of loneliness and let down.

For my money, this is hands down, the best Warrant album. None of their other albums touch it’s intimate feel, especially lyrically. The production is raw and Lane sounds like he is exorcising his personal demons throughout it’s entirety. It’s a great moment in music history, and certainly Warrant’s history, that has been almost entirely ignored. Unfortunately, it also serves as the final album Warrant would record with Lane, who passed away in 2011.