Search - Big House :: Big House

Big Sounds!

Sampson Simpson | Canada | 05/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The problem with a lot of so-called "Hair Metal" is that you just can't listen to it now. A lot of it sounds so dated, and so many of those bands are faceless and interchangable. An exception to this was Big House from Edmonton, Alberta.Every song on this album has swagger. This doesn't sound like a debut album at all. The band, and singer Jan Ek in particular, make this sound like a second or third album. Big House were also influenced by punk rock a lot more than their peers. Drummer Sjor (pronounced Shore) Throndson stated that the band used to have mohawks when they were kids. This comes out in the sheer attitude in songs like "Dollar In My Pocket (Pretty Things)", "Devil's Road", and "L.A.". "L.A." in particular has unabashed pop melodies that clearly come from classic punk roots.There's the singles "All Nite" and "Baby Doll" (obligatory ballad) with suitably silly lyrics. Also silly were the band's name and album cover, I suppose it all works as a package. It's no wonder the band never made it big with a cover this horrible; imagine my shock when I saw that it was done by none other than Hugh Syme, master of many Rush records.And this faceless cover conceals within it one of the best hard rock albums of the era. Sadly that era died before Big House could make a second album, but let's celebrate that we have this one. Just like we are glad for the first two Skid Row albums, or "New Jersey" by Bon Jovi, we should be thankful that we can remember Big House."

3.5 stars - a good album, but not essential

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 03/13/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The 1991 self-titled debut album by Canadian rockers Big House is a solid, if unremarkable effort. The band's melodic hair metal sound is probably best described as L.A. Guns without the sleaze, or perhaps Warrant without the glossy elements. There is a measure of "reformed punk band" rawk swagger here, so the album doesn't quite follow the typical hair metal formula, but at the same time it wasn't unique enough to stand out from the rest of the pack.



Big House is a good hard rock album, and worth adding to your collection if you're into this kind of music, but it's also easy to see why the band didn't survive grunge's 1992 eradication of the hair metal genre.



PS - I think it's worth noting that all of the 5-star reviews for this album come from folks in Canada who followed Big House back in the day. I missed them the first time around, but I am a major hard rock/metal fan, and I just can't see this album being worth a 5-star rating."

Totally awesome 80's sound!

P. Shaddon | 08/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you grown up listening to Skid Row, Warrant, Bon Jovi this is right up your alley! I just discovered this CD recently and can't stop listening to it. Perfect for the die hard 80's music fan."