Revolutions per Minute (Skid Row album)

Revolutions per Minute is the fifth and most recent studio album by American heavy metal band Skid Row, released on October 24, 2006. It is the band's only release with drummer Dave Gara.

Revolutions per Minute
Studio album by Skid Row
Released	October 24, 2006
Recorded	2005–2006
Studio	WireWorld Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	40:24
Label	SPV/Steamhammer Victor (Japan)
Producer	Michael Wagener
Skid Row chronology
Thickskin (2003) Revolutions per Minute (2006) United World Rebellion (2013)

Michael Wagener temporarily reunited with Skid Row and produced the album. It had been 15 years since he co-produced the band's second album Slave to the Grind in 1991. The album received negative reviews and only charted in Japan at number 266.[1] "Shut Up Baby, I Love You" was released as a promo single [2] and "Strength" is a cover song originally performed by The Alarm.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[3]
AllMusic	[4]
Melodic.net	[5]
Rock Hard	7.0/10[6]
Sputnikmusic	[7]

The album received generally negative reviews. Rock Hard reviewer appreciated the "twelve strong and sometimes punk-tinged hard rockers" in the album and wrote that Skid Row were still capable of producing "ingenious catchy tunes".[6] Marcus Pan of Legends Magazine enjoyed the album and wrote that Skid Row "sound very similar to how they did fifteen years ago", with Solinger a capable singer, who "can hold his own against Bach".[8] Greg Prato of AllMusic had the same impression and wrote that the album offers the "same angry-yet-melodic riff rockers that you long ago came to expect from the group, while Solinger's singing style isn't that far removed from Bach's", concluding that this is "just what you'd expect from Skid Row - for better or for worse."[4] On the contrary, Chad Bowar writing for About.com considered Revolution per Minute "a really diverse album", full of "really catchy songs, good musicianship and showcasing many different facets of Skid Row", with influences ranging from punk, to country, to new wave.[3] Sputnikmusic reviewer found Revolutions per Minute "more appealing" than the "bland poke at modern alternative rock" that were Subhuman Race and Thickskin, but lamented "a massive lack of cohesion" in blending "elements of classic punk, post-punk, country and goth" which "come at the expense of the soaring melodies and break-neck dynamics that made Bach’s Skid Row such an exciting listen."[7] Kaj Roth of Melodic.net considered Revolutions per Minute "even worse" than Thickskin, their weakest album, and the music "a worthless cargo of nonsense hard rock."[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Disease"	Rachel Bolan, Dave Sabo	3:32
2.	"Another Dick in the System"	Bolan	3:16
3.	"Pulling My Heart Out from Under Me"	Bolan	3:29
4.	"When God Can't Wait"	Bolan, Scotti Hill	2:15
5.	"Shut Up Baby, I Love You"	Bolan	3:16
6.	"Strength" (The Alarm cover)	Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Twist, Rupert Black	5:07
7.	"White Trash"	Bolan, Sabo	2:53
8.	"You Lie"	Bolan	2:44
9.	"Nothing"	Bolan	3:29
10.	"Love Is Dead"	Bolan	3:38
11.	"Let It Ride"	Bolan	4:03
12.	"You Lie (Corn Fed Mix)" (bonus track)	Bolan	2:43

Personnel

Skid Row

• Johnny Solinger – lead vocals
• Scotti Hill – guitars, backing vocals
• Dave Sabo – guitars, backing vocals
• Rachel Bolan – bass guitar, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on track 2, cover design
• Dave Gara – drums, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Rachel Hagen - additional vocals on track 2
• "Jelly Roll" Johnson - harmonica on track 12

Production

• Michael Wagener - producer, engineer, mixing
• Eric Conn - mastering at Independent Mastering, Nashville

References

1. "Skid Row Chart History". Oricon. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
2. "Skid Row singles". Eil.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012.
3. Bowar, Chad. "Skid Row - Revolutions Per Minute". About.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
4. Prato, Greg. Revolutions per Minute at AllMusic. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
5. Roth, Kaj (2006). "Skid Row - Revolutions Per Minute". Melodic.net. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
6. Cle, Bruder (2006). "Review Album: Skid Row - Revolutions per Minute". Rock Hard (in German). No. 234. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
7. Donnelly, Dave (December 2, 2006). "Review: Skid Row - Revolutions Per Minute". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
8. Pan, Marcus. "Skid Row – "Revolutions Per Minute"". Legends Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2013.

External links

• Revolutions per Minute at Discogs (list of releases)