Skid Row – ‘B-Side Ourselves E.P.’ – Album Review

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic

Skid Row were two albums in and after 1991’s ‘Slave to the Grind’ going #1, there were riding high. Little did they know that the rug was about to be pulled out from under them thanks to the likes of Nirvana. But that didn’t stop them from releasing material to keep the fans happy. They released an E.P. which was a collection of covers and a collection of B-Sides from previous singles. This an idea that today band’s like Halestorm do between albums…the only difference is the Halestorm covers are not B-Sides. Still glad they do it.

The album came out on September 22, 1992 almost 30 years ago. My version is not an original copy, but a re-issue released on October 17, 2017. This release is part of the Rhino Rocktober’s 2017 and is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide. It comes with original inner-sleeve and vinyl disc in charcoal black poly-lined inner whatever the hell that means. The vinyl is silver…or maybe gray…either way, it is nice…

The first song is a killer Ramones cover of “Psycho Therapy” which was a B-Side on the 1992 re-release of “Youth Gone Wild”. The really cool part about this one is it has Rachel Bolan on lead vocals and not Sebastian Bach. The other cool thing is that Taime Downe from Faster Pussycat is on backing vocals. Rachel captures all the angst of the original and the band has a lot of fun with it. Really cool track.

Next up is a Kiss cover of “C’mon And Love Me”. We all know what a massive Kiss fan Sebastian Bach is so this is no surprise as a cover. This appeared as a B-Side on both “Slave to the Grind” and “In a Darkened Room”. It is a decent enough cover, but no one capture Paul’s swagger…sorry Sebastian.

Then we get a live cover. This one is the Judas Priest classic “Delivering the Goods’. The special surprise on this one is that Rob Halford joins the band on stage and sings along with Sebastian. This was also a B-Side on the 1992 re-release of “Youth Gone Wild” along with “Psycho Therapy” mentioned earlier. I really dig this live version as Sebastian does a decent job holding his own against Halford and that is hard to do. Halford has his trademark screams which are the best. The other fun thing with it is Bach’s complete and utter fanboy moments with having his idol Halford on stage with him. He’s a little excited!!

Then we get to the last B-Side cover which is Rush’s “What You’re Doing” which to be honest, I don’t know that well. This was the B-Side to Skid Row’s “Wasted Time”. Since I am not that familiar with the original, I have to say this sounds like a Skid Row song and doesn’t remind me of Rush which I find to be a good thing as you want to make a song your own. Really great riff on this one (thanks Lifeson). Bach does a good job on vocals. All around a great rocking track.

And finally is a cover that was never a B-Side on the only unreleased track on here at the time. It is a cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic “Little Wing”. This has been covered a bunch so wasn’t excited when I saw this on the track list. Dave Sabo does a great job on guitar as he really does it justice. Bach’s vocals are sultry and sexy as he really gets in to the vibe. I have to say, I’m impressed.

And there you have it. I found this at the last Record Show here in Charlotte back in May and although it was an original copy, I had to have it and glad I did. It is a fun E.P. and always great to hear the songs that influenced a band. My Overall Score is a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars as it is solid release, just wish it was a little more to it.

35 thoughts on “Skid Row – ‘B-Side Ourselves E.P.’ – Album Review”

  4. Here’s the problem. This version and the recent box set version lack the “Little Wing” you posted. That’s a live in the studio video, and you can’t get that anywhere. Which sucks royally.

    Great EP otherwise. One of the best cover EPs, and you really should get to know that Rush song.

    Highlight: C’Mon and Love Me.

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          1. Yeah you can. I did it myself with the live version of Randy by Max the Axe. I put the Skid Row track into an mp3. But I don’t want a youtube quality mp3. I want them to take the live audio from the source and put that on a CD. Easy to do.

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  8. Short and sweet for covers albums is a good idea, otherwise too many get old quickly.

    I too miss the old Skid Row. They were awesome together, though Erik is doing a pretty good job these days.

    I had an original CD, but gave it to a friend after I was given the boxed set as a gift. My favourite track has always been the KISS cover.

    Speaking of Lizzy and co., they did a good job with Slave to the grind.

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