Description

2012 press on blue vinyl with printed innersleeve

While W.A.S.P. remained a gimmick-heavy live act (around this time, Blackie Lawless had a codpiece that would shoot sparks!), they attempted to grow musically with each successive release — most evidently beginning with 1986’s Inside the Electric Circus. While Lawless was the band’s main leader and songwriter from the beginning, he had even more of a say in the musical direction by switching to rhythm guitar from bass when original guitarist Randy Piper exited the band (ex-King Kobra member Johnny Rod joined on bass). By selecting a pair of early-’70s hard rock classics to cover — Humble Pie’s “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and Uriah Heep’s “Easy Living” — it was clear that W.A.S.P. wanted their fans to pay more attention to the music. But it’s not to say that the group completely abandoned their brash heavy metal roots — the U.K. single “9.5.-N.A.S.T.Y.” and the album-opening title track packed plenty of scream-along excitement.

Track listing:
1. The Big Welcome
2. Inside the Electric Circus
3. I Don’t Need No Doctor
4. 9.5.-N.A.S.T.Y.
5. Restless Gypsy
6. Shoot From the Hip
7. I’m Alive
8. Easy Living
9. Sweet Cheetah
10. Mantronic
11. King of Sodom and Gomorrah
12. The Rock Rolls On