Dangerous Toys - Dangerous Toys

old school

I originally purchased the album in Dec. 88 and although it never recieved much air time it was one of long list of great rock 'n' roll that has generally just been forgotton. I hope the younger gen. can find and appreciate in todays world. September 24, 2008

Nothing but in your face

This is another of the bands from the 80's that never got the respect they so rightly deserve. This is straight forward rock n'roll. I saw these guys in concert at the old Roxy in Atlanta,Ga. Has to be one of the best shows I have ever seen. Jason McMaster is the definition of a frontman. I remember sitting at the bar before the show and did not see him walk up to get a beer. He was gracious and very generous with his fans. He took time to sign a few autographs and talk to people.
These guys rock.

"scared"
"bones in the gutter"
"that dog" August 8, 2008

Essential

This is amongst one of the most important albums in music history. This album IS superb. April 4, 2008

Their first is still their best

While the Dangerous boys have released a good number of albums after this, their eponymous debut, none of them have really been quite as solid.

The setting: 1989. Glam metal was nearing its peak. The cracks were beginning to show in the over-saturated glam/sleaze metal market, with bands getting signed a dime a dozen by record execs looking to cash in on the latest musical trend. A look at the picture of the band on the album art, it appears that Dangerous Toys was presented as Columbia's answer to Geffen's Guns n' Roses, with obligatory profanity and attitude oozing in nearly every song, albeit TEXAS attitude as opposed to GnR's L.A. attitude. Thankfully, unlike many of the bands that were signed to record deals back then, whose only claim to fame was how big their hair was or how much make-up they wore, DT opted for substance over image. The band appeared in two videos on MTV for the songs Teas'n Pleas'n and Scared, the former of which was in pretty heavy rotation. Lead singer Jason McMaster looked like a taller, skinnier version of Axl Rose and the label exploited it. It's a shame the record label didn't decide on Ten Boots (Stompin') instead of Scared as the second single, since I believe it would have given them a boost in sales and recognition, since, in my and many other people's opinion, it's just a much stronger song. They could have then followed it up with the "power ballad" Feels Like a Hammer, as that seemed to be the usual path that bands at the time followed. Alas, it never happened. The album that contained the strongest material in the band's output was stopped after only two singles. It's a shame, since there were plenty of songs that could have been hits, especially on the second side of the album (tracks 6-10 on CD).

The album itself sounds quite polished, helped, no doubt, by producer Max Norman who did an excellent job on Dirty Looks' debut Cool from the Wire, a band who was in somewhat of the same style. Unlike that album, Dangerous Toys' debut had a GREAT cover which helped to lure fans in. Oh yeah, and Max also produced Ozzy Osbourne's first four solo albums, as well as four for Megadeth, the first of which was Megadeth's Rust in Peace, my all time favorite by them. At the very least, they had an excellent producer working to make them sound their best, and that's just what happened.

And now for some trivia...

I had been living in Austin, Texas for two years just before this album was released. It was a great time to be there, as tons of bands were playing this city, be it larger venues like the Frank Erwin Center and Palmer Auditorium or clubs like The Back Room and The Ritz. In the two years I lived in Austin, there always seemed to be someone playing somewhere that you just had to go see. One of the local bands that played regularly, especially opening for acts like Motorhead, Fates Warning, Savatage and others, was WATCHTOWER, one of the most incredibly technical bands of all time. They released an album on their own entitled ENERGETIC DISASSEMBLY which sold incredibly well for an unsigned band. Why do I mention this? Because Jason McMaster was Watchtower's singer. He was also in a band called Onyx (which became Dangerous Toys) that at one time had a female singer that used to harp to live crowds the praises of her "pretty boys" in the band. This was pre-McMaster, obviously, and the image was much more glam before he joined. Jason was probably the hardest working singer in Austin in the mid to late 80s. In fact, I believe that one night in particular he had gigs with both bands (Onyx and Watchtower) at two different locations. Needless to say, it was satisfying as a fan to see that he was able to secure a major label record deal and get at least some recognition for his hard work. While I love the two Watchtower albums, the second of which featured Hades singer Alan Tecchio replacing Jason on vocals and sounding like a dead-ringer for McMaster, I'd doubt many other fans of DT-style music will find Watchtower an enjoyable listen due to it's outrageously technical nature. Odd time signatures, starts and stops, grating vocals, three instruments sounding like they are playing three different songs at the same time in some instances is about as far from DT as you can get...although there is a song on Watchtower's second album, Control and Resistance, by the name of Dangerous Toy. Just a warning if you are contemplating purchasing a Watchtower album based on what you hear on this one.

One last note - for another really good Dangerous Toys song, check out the SHOCKER soundtrack. There is a dark and lyrically disturbing song called DEMON BELL (The Ballad of Horace Pinker) which is quite catchy, due in part to it being co-written by hit-songwriter Desmond Child. December 8, 2007

TEXAS METAL BABY!!

I remember when this album first came, I thought this was one of the best TEXAS METAL Bands, Lets not forget Pantera the 2 best Texas Metal Bands!!
"Teas'n Pleas'n" was and is a awesome song, infact the whole album was good.
I would say it's to bad they got into the game right at the end of the 80's early 90's, back when Grunge was starting to take the spotlight in the rock & roll world.
To me 80's METAL will always be the best, I rate this album a 9 from 1to10!!
November 10, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...