Open Up and Say... Ahh!

Open Up and Say... Ahh! is the second studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released on April 27, 1988, through Enigma Records. It proved to be the band's most successful release, and spawned four hit singles: "Nothin' But a Good Time", "Fallen Angel", "Your Mama Don't Dance" (a Loggins and Messina cover) and their only #1 single to date, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". The album peaked at #2 on the US Billboard 200.

Open Up and Say... Ahh!
a model dressed as a demon with a long red tongue.
Original version of the cover art
Studio album by
Poison
ReleasedApril 27, 1988 (1988-04-27)
RecordedLate 1987 - early 1988
StudioConway Recording, Los Angeles
GenreGlam metal[1][2]
Length36:12
LabelEnigma
ProducerTom Werman
Poison chronology
Look What the Cat Dragged In
(1986)		 Open Up and Say... Ahh!
(1988)		 Flesh & Blood
(1990)
Censored cover
Singles from Open Up and Say... Ahh!
  1. "Nothin' But a Good Time"
    Released: April 6, 1988
  2. "Fallen Angel"
    Released: July 6, 1988
  3. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
    Released: October 12, 1988
  4. "Your Mama Don't Dance"
    Released: February 1, 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Robert ChristgauB+[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

Open Up And Say Ahh was certified platinum in 1988 and 5× platinum in 1991 by the RIAA.[6] It also has been certified 4× platinum in Canada and gold by the BPI.

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, caused controversy among parental groups. The band changed the cover so that only the model's eyes were visible.[7][8][9]

Track information

Vocalist Bret Michaels allegedly 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, he wrote the song with an acoustic guitar in a laundromat.[10]

The first single "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 music video for the second single, "Fallen Angel", features model and then aspiring singer/actress Susie Hatton (Bret's then-girlfriend, who released one solo album, Body and Soul; in 1991).

The fourth single, "Your Mama Don't Dance", was a cover version of the 1972 song written by Loggins and Messina from their 1972 self-titled album, which was recently covered by hard rock band Y&T on their album Down for the Count.

Two additional songs written for the record, "Livin' for the Minute" and "Face the Hangman", were later released as B-sides. "Face the Hangman" was later included on Crack a Smile... and More!.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, Bobby Dall and Rikki Rockett, except lyrics to "Your Mama Don't Dance" by Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina

No.TitleLength
1."Love on the Rocks"3:33
2."Nothin' But a Good Time"3:43
3."Back to the Rocking Horse"3:34
4."Good Love"2:51
5."Tearin' Down the Walls"3:50
6."Look but You Can't Touch"3:25
7."Fallen Angel"3:56
8."Every Rose Has Its Thorn"4:20
9."Your Mama Don't Dance" (Loggins and Messina cover)3:00
10."Bad to Be Good"4:03
Total length:36:11
20th anniversary remaster bonus tracks:
No.TitleLength
11."Livin' for the Minute"2:41
12."World Premiere Interview" (radio interview)10:45

Personnel

Additional credits:

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[22] 3× Platinum 210,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[23] 4× Platinum 400,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[24] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Rolli, Bryan (July 1, 2021). "Top 30 Glam Metal Albums". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  2. Joe DiVita (November 9, 2016). "Top 30 Hair Metal Albums". loudwire.com. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  3. "Open Up and Say... Ahh! - Poison | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  4. "Robert Christgau: CG: Poison". www.robertchristgau.com.
  5. "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 5, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  6. "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. 2010. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  7. "Compact Data: Short Cuts" (PDF). Radio & Records. Los Angeles, California, USA: Radio & Records, Inc. (736): 38. May 6, 1988. ISSN 0277-4860. Retrieved July 18, 2023. Poison (who had to change the cover of their new LP after the Wal-mart chain refused to carry it) perform Loggins & Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance" on their "Open Up And Say Ahh" LP.
  8. Ouellette, Mary (May 3, 2023). "30 Years Ago: Poison Break Through on 'Open Up and Say … Ahh!'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  9. Edwards, Gavin (January 15, 2015). "Banned in the U.S.A.: 20 Wildest Censored Album Covers". Rolling Stone.
  10. "Something to Believe In". Archived from the original on November 13, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
  11. "Australiancharts.com – Poison – Open Up and Say... Ahh!". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8670". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 166. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  14. "Charts.nz – Poison – Open Up and Say... Ahh!". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  15. "Swedishcharts.com – Poison – Open Up and Say... Ahh!". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  16. "Swisscharts.com – Poison – Open Up and Say... Ahh!". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  17. "Poison | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  18. "Poison Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  19. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1988". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  20. "Top Selling Albums of 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  21. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  22. "ARIA Australian Albums Chart 1989". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  23. "Canadian album certifications – Poison – Open Up and Say... Ahh!". Music Canada. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  24. "New Zealand album certifications – Poison – Open Up and Say... Ahh!". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  25. "British album certifications – Poison – Open Up And Say... Ahh!". British Phonographic Industry.
  26. "American album certifications – Poison – Open Up and say ... Ahh". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  • theGAZZ.com, Interview with Bret Michaels. Retrieved October 13, 2006.
  • Classic Rock Revisited, Classic Trax, Interview with Bret Michaels. Retrieved January 6, 2005.
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