POISON: Open Up and Say... Ahh! CD. 1st press, original. Check all videos!

Open Up and Say... Ahh! = Studio album by Poison
Released: May 3, 1988
Recorded: Late 1987 - Early 1988 at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, United States
Genre: Glam metal, hard rock
Label: Enigma

Open Up and Say... Ahh! is the second studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released in 1988 through the Enigma label. The album, which ultimately sold eight million copies worldwide, proved to be the band's most successful release. It spawned four hit singles, which are "Nothin' but a Good Time", "Your Mama Don't Dance" (a Loggins and Messina cover), "Fallen Angel", and their only number one single to date, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The album is widely considered a classic in the glam metal genre. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200, being denied the top spot by Bon Jovi's massively popular New Jersey album, Guns N' Roses debut record, Appetite for Destruction and Def Leppard's most successful album, Hysteria.
Open Up And Say Ahh was certified platinum in 1988 and 5x-platinum in 1991 by the RIAA. The album has been certified by CAN 4x platinum and by BPI gold.

Open Up and Say... Ahh! reflects a style commonly characterised as glam metal, a form of heavy metal which had its genesis on the East Coast of the United States (and, in particular, the sound of New York City band Kiss), but which was transplanted to the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California in the 1980s. Despite being one of the most successful glam metal albums, it contains less of a heavy metal influence than a typical glam metal album, rather being more traditional hard rock-based. The west-coast influence is reflected more prominently on the album than on its predecessor, Look What the Cat Dragged In, with aspects of Van Halen styled Californian stadium rock becoming increasingly apparent.

Poison - Fallen Angel by jpdc11

Production and marketing:
The album was recorded and mixed at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Paul Stanley from KISS (whose song "Rock and Roll All Nite" had been covered by Poison the year before) was originally selected to produce the record, but was unable to fulfill the role due to scheduling conflicts. Instead, the band worked with Tom Werman. Werman was an experienced rock producer, having worked with artists such as Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, Twisted Sister, and Mötley Crüe.
Following the album was the release of the band's first video compilation titled, Sight for Sore Ears which featured all the music videos from Open Up And Say...Ahh! and Look What the Cat Dragged In.

Cover:
The original front cover of the album, which featured model "Bambi" dressed as a luminous red demon with a protruding tongue (similar to Gene Simmons of Kiss), caused controversy amongst church and parental groups. In subsequent U.S. releases, the album was released with a censored cover in which most of the model’s face was obscured (see further, censorship).
The album’s themes are partying ("Nothin’ but a Good Time", "Your Mama Don't Dance"), lost innocence ("Back to the Rocking Horse", "Fallen Angel"), lost love ("Every Rose Has Its Thorn"), anti-social behavior ("Bad to Be Good"), and, most importantly, sex ("Love on the Rocks", "Good Love", "Tearin’ Down the Walls", "Look but You Can’t Touch").
Vocalist Bret Michaels wrote the band's most successful single, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", in response to a failed love affair with a Los Angeles stripper. Poison had been playing at a cowboy bar called The Ritz in Dallas, Texas. After the show, Michaels called the woman at her apartment and heard a man's voice in the background. Heartbroken, Michaels wrote the song with an acoustic guitar in a laundromat.
The song "Nothin' but a Good Time" was born from the merger of a guitar riff by C. C. DeVille and a chorus by Michaels. Michaels later explained that he was in search of a "kick ass big arena rock song" which would make him feel good about his life. The song was about "not wanting to be held back by working a job and being depressed", as portrayed in its music video.
The track "Your Mama Don't Dance" was a cover version of the 1972 song written by Loggins and Messina from their 1972 self-titled album

Track listing:
All songs written by Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall and Rikki Rockett except, where noted.
"Love on the Rocks" - 3:33
"Nothin' but a Good Time" - 3:48
"Back to the Rocking Horse" - 3:35
"Good Love" - 2:52
"Tearin' Down the Walls" - 3:51
"Look But You Can't Touch" - 3:26
"Fallen Angel" - 3:57
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (Michaels) - 4:20
"Your Mama Don't Dance" (originally performed by Loggins and Messina) - 3:00
"Bad to Be Good" - 4:05

Singles:
"Nothin' but a Good Time" - #6 Billboard Hot 100
"Fallen Angel" - #12 Billboard Hot 100
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn' - #1 (for 3 weeks) Billboard Hot 100
"Your Mama Don't Dance" - #10 Billboard Hot 100.

Band members:
Bret Michaels - lead vocals
C.C. DeVille - guitar
Bobby Dall - bass
Rikki Rockett - drums