‘Tangerine’ is still a musical experience, though it might be a hard ask for loyal Vixen fans to contend with, because quite simply ou’d be hard pressed to find anything to hold onto.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Vixen
ALBUM: Tangerine
LABEL: CMC International
SERIAL: 06076-86246-2
YEAR: 1998
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Janet Gardner – vocals * Roxy Petrucci – drums * Gina Stile – guitars
Additional Musicians:: Mike Pisculli – bass
TRACK LISTING: 01 Page * 02 Tangerine * 03 Never Say Never * 04 Peace * 05 Barely Breathin’ * 06 Bleed * 07 Stay * 08 Shut Up * 09 Machine * 10 Air Balloon * 11 Can’t Control Myself * 12 Instrumental
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
The late 90’s wasn’t a good time if you were an 80’s hair metal band trying to reinvent yourself. Such as the case with female faves Vixen, who by this stage of their career had steeped so low as to record this uneven affair. Admittedly, their first two albums were brilliant slices of melodia still enjoyed by many.
I’m guessing the girls just rode the waves of popularity in 1998 (or what was deemed to be popular during this brain-dead era of rock), and ‘Tangerine’ was the end result. It kinda reminds me of the Virginia Storey fronted Canadian band Drugplan, who, despite a line-up of proven musicians in the melodic rock field had to resort to grunge inspired rubbish. So is the case here, though not quite as bad.
The Songs
The album is populated with a bunch of single syllable song-titles which seemed to be the rage back in the late 90’s. I gave this a listen, trying to find some nuggets among the wreckage, and strangely enough I did. ‘Never Say Never’ has moments of melodia and appeals among the few, the chorus is a winner.
‘Bleed’ has a technical opening, and you can say this track definitely isn’t grunge in the truest sense. I quite liked this regardless. ‘Air Balloon’ is so unlike anything that Vixen has ever done, you’d be wondering if this is the same band. Interesting. Apart from that, you’d be hard pressed to find anything to hold onto. Good luck for trying.
In Summary
‘Tangerine’ is still a musical experience, though it might be a hard ask for loyal Vixen fans to contend with. Vixen are still an ongoing business, and thankfully sound much better than this effort. I think most bands who operated through this era realise what a huge mistake it was to release albums that effectively stain the legacy of their past work. I’m certain that Janet, Roxy and co know this now, and won’t resort to this sort of nonsense.
Vixen on Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
