No more CC. The guitarist that insipred me to learn to play, was no longer in the band that captured my interest in music. Aint life a bitch. Ritchie Kotzen does a great job, brings something new to the band and is one talented bugger. But, his solos suck and his backing vocals dont gel with the rest of the bands. This album is again, more serious than the last and moves Poison more toward R&B and its not as hard as "Flesh.." There are too many mediocre songs here, though in the end they still pull off a great album.

NATIVE TOUNGE - Rik gets his chance to go solo for a minute. Has a great atmosphere, then launches into "The Scream".

THE SCREAM - Lyrically about the Rodney king incident. Rik lays down a heavy beat to this dark song. Even Richie goes off here.

STAND - A slow tempo anthem. About not comforming and going with what you believe. Features a church choir on backing vocals. A Poison classic.

STAY ALIVE -A song from Poison to CC. The title says it all. One of my favourite Kotzen solos.

UNTIL YOU SUFFER SOME ( FIRE & ICE ) - Just before a relationship ends and nothing seems to go right. A very slow paced ballad. Kotzens vocals dont work on this one.

BODY TALK - Good old fashioned Poison. Girl drives boy crazy. A musical masterpiece.

BRING IT HOME - About how much society is decieved - ie : our polititions and their lies. A rockin song.

7 DAYS OVER YOU - Getting over her, the end of a relationship. Kotzens vocals work a lot better on this and results as one of the best.

RICHIE'S ACOUSTIC THANG - A collection of riffs played on an accoustic. Shows of his skill but dosn't have the impact of Steve Stevens intro to THE EDGE on Vince Neil Exposed.

AIN'T THAT THE TRUTH - A light hearted look at how hard life can be sometimes. Origninally the music for the verses, chorus & solo came from 3 different songs. Love the way Bret does the chorus. My favourite from "Native.."

THEATRE OF THE SOUL - About the break up with CC. The music was borrowed from "Every Rose..." so it rocks, even the solo too.

STRIKE UP THE BAND - An insight in touring and performing live.

RIDE CHILD RIDE - A time to look back and reminise, possibly a song for CC.

BLIND FAITH - About following your dreams and having the strength to make them real. The only thing that stands out is Bobbys small solo
at < 2:05 > go Bobby go !!!

BASTARD SON OF A THOUSAND BLUES - Again the boys sign off with something a little different, a little blueszy. My second favourite "Native.. "song, beauuutiful.