Dancin' on Coals explained

Dancin' on Coals
Type:studio
Artist:Bang Tango
Cover:Dancin' on Coals.jpg
Released:1991
Label:MCA Records[1]
Producer:John Jansen
Prev Title:Psycho Café
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Dancin' on Coals is the second album by American hard rock band Bang Tango, released in 1991.[2] [3] It peaked at No. 113 on the Billboard 200.[4] A single, "Untied and True", was a minor hit.[5] Bang Tango supported the album by opening for Cheap Trick on a North American tour.[6]

Production

The album was produced by John Jansen.[7] The Uptown Horns contributed to "Soul to Soul".

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly wrote that "funk weaves its way seductively through nearly every song, and the production is sharp and slick." The Los Angeles Times opined that "if the Cult was the Beatles, Goth-obsessed Bang Tango would be Badfinger: too close to the original to really matter but with enough twists of its own to resist easy dismissal." The Record determined that Bang Tango "moves slightly away from the thunderous backbeats and heavy guitar sounds that characterized its first effort to spotlight a smooth, seductive funk groove."

The St. Petersburg Times thought that "'Emotions in Gear' is the record's best work, a seductive song whose melodic chorus is countered by furious verses."[8] The Chicago Tribune concluded that "although singer Joe LeSte's lyrics are painfully bad at times ('Oh, my little philly, I'm gonna ride you'), the album is mostly a lot of raw, energetic fun." The Calgary Herald lamented that "as much as Bang Tango create a sense of musical adventure, they never scale any peaks previously unconquered ... Their great approach doesn't translate into great songs, only gratifying moments."

Spin deemed the album a hair metal essential, writing that it molds "goth-rock moods into urgently horny soul-metal."[9]

Track listing

  1. "Soul to Soul" – 4:14
  2. "Untied and True" – 4:50
  3. "Emotions in Gear" – 5:02
  4. "I'm in Love" – 3:33
  5. "Big Line" – 3:30
  6. "Midnight Struck" – 7:02
  7. "Dancin' on Coals" – 5:24
  8. "My Saltine" – 2:49
  9. "Dressed Up Vamp" – 4:37
  10. "Last Kiss" – 5:58
  11. "Cactus Juice" – 3:57

Notes and References

  1. Book: Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music. William. Phillips. Brian. Cogan. March 20, 2009. ABC-CLIO. 9780313348013 . Google Books.
  2. Web site: Bang Tango Biography, Songs, & Albums. AllMusic.
  3. Book: Popoff, Martin. The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade. August 15, 2014. Voyageur Press. 9780760345467 . Google Books.
  4. Book: Whitburn . Joel . Top Pop Albums 1955–2001 . 2001 . Record Research Inc. . 48.
  5. Sheffield . Rob . Greene . Andy . Rocklahoma: Still Hair Metal After All These Years . Rolling Stone . December 27, 2007 . 1042/1043 . 56, 58–63.
  6. News: SOMETHING OLD, NOTHING NEW . The Sacramento Bee . June 28, 1991 . SC5.
  7. Album Reviews -- Dancin' on Coals by Bang Tango . Billboard . June 15, 1991 . 103 . 24 . 64.
  8. News: Hall . Dave . METAL THAT BURNS . St. Petersburg Times . July 12, 1991 . Weekend . 16.
  9. Eddy . Chuck . Essentials: Hair Metal . Spin . Jul 2008 . 24 . 7 . 105.