Personnel:
Jani Lane- vocals
Erik Turner- guitar
Joey Allen- guitar
Jerry Dixon- bass, eyebrows
Steven Sweet- drums
Warrant is everything most people hate about hair metal. They somehow managed to pack every single conceivable cliché into three records. The white leather suits, synchronized jamming, and sexual innuendo are all prime targets. Jani Lane’s constant battles with the bottle, the rotating members, and constant unprofessional behavior also add fuel to the fire.
After I discovered Poison, Warrant was one of the first hair bands I got into. I’ve always been a sucker for a power ballad, and I thought “Heaven” was poetry. I imagined playing it for my 7th grade crush, Lloyd Dobler style. I even thought those damn white leather suits were awesome. I loved “Cherry Pie,” too because of its constant references to swinging and laying the batter while she laid the beater. Bobbi Brown’s spectacular cleavage was magical to fourteen year old John.
Once I got over those two songs, I lost all interest in Warrant. They were just another cookie-cutter band from 1988, with two big hits and plenty of filler. I learned never to put “Heaven” on a mixtape. Girls get creeped out when a guy in a white leather suit tells them that there is a color deep inside them is like a blue suburban sky. If you received a mixtape from me circa 1999, I sincerely apologize.
Within a few years, Warrant was gathering dust on the Isle of Misfit Toys, my pet name for the discs I don’t listen to anymore. Jani Lane was cannon fodder for Metal Sludge and snarky VH1 shows. I wanted to feel empathy for him, but I couldn’t. He got drunk too many times, screwed over too many fans, pissed off too many collaborators.
I rediscovered Warrant last year, when I was working on my senior project. I was writing about the Isle, and dusted off records that I hadn’t listened to in years. The liner notes are fantastic. A sample:
“It’s not hard to imagine future generations in turn covering classics by Warrant, as songs like “Heaven” will certainly endure. The big hair, stylized clothes, and party-hearty image may be a thing of the past, but Warrant’s music remains valid. Songs that defined an era stand the test of time and make an indeliable (sic) impression.”
I can’t wait until Radiohead covers “32 Pennies in a Ragu Jar.”
Most of the album was as silly and juvenile as I remembered. However, there was one gem that I missed. On Cherry Pie, “I Saw Red” is a power ballad. On The Best of Warrant, it is recast as an acoustic lament about lost love. It’s understated, painful and lovely. It shows that Jani Lane was a good songwriter when he wasn’t held down by the parameters of genre. If Elvis Costello had written “I Saw Red,” it would be hailed as one of the greatest breakup songs of all time. Unfortunately, it was written by the guy who wrote “Cherry Pie.”
I understand why Jani doesn’t want to be known as the “Cherry Pie Guy.” For many people he is the same guy he was at 24. He wants to be taken seriously. There is an element of denial though, because when you join a band like Warrant, you automatically know what you are getting into. Lane wanted rock stardom and he got it. Once the stardom faded, he got upset that he wasn’t Bob Dylan. He claims that he was forced to write “Cherry Pie,” but I doubt it. He was living in the moment.
Jani Lane could have been a “legitimate” songwriter, but he traded it in for the blood, sweat and beers. It’s easy to chide him for his decision, but I probably would have done the same thing.