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JOHN CORABI
Unplugged

Rat Pak (2012)
Rating: 8/10

If I was John Corabi’s mother I’d be saying to him, “Isn’t it about time you found yourself a nice band and settled down?” Corabi is somewhat of a metal journeyman, best known for his brief stint in Mötley Crüe in the mid 90s, although his work before with The Scream and after with Union was far more noteworthy.

Unplugged does exactly what it says on the tin and then some, with Corabi in his purest, rawest and most soulful form, backed by a bare minimum of percussion, acoustic guitar and shakers.

This is 12 tracks (13 if you count the bonus interview on the disc I received courtesy of the guys at Rat Pak Records) featuring a man who can do what so many other rock vocalists can’t – and that’s put his voice to acoustic guitar and still sound so good.

There’s a batch of classic cuts on offer here as well as a few new tracks penned by John Corabi. We take a wistful trip through Corabi’s past with underrated gems from the days of The Scream, like the genial ‘Man In The Moon’, and there’s also two Crüe numbers, ‘Hooligan’s Holiday’ and ‘Loveshine’, which shine far brighter here than on the gluey, grunge-infested 1994 Mötley Crüe opus.

Album opener is the infectious ‘Love (I Don’t Need It Anymore)’, a lush Union track that brims with soul this time around. Corabi’s distinctive rasp is so deep that it actually seems as if he’s more suited to this style of performance, especially when we hear the magical ‘Everything’s Alright’, from Union’s underrated 1999 album The Blue Room. Even acoustically this is psychedelic-tinged with its lyrical nods to The Beatles.

Equally sublime are The Scream tracks ‘Father, Mother, Son’ and album closer ‘I Never Loved Her Anyway’, which is given a bluesy skiffle makeover perfect for a fireside knees-up.

Of the five new songs, I’m drawn to the summery yet pensive ‘Open Your Eyes’ and the breezy ‘Are You Waiting?’, which skips in on sprightly chords and pitter-patter percussion. Mind you, the other trio of songs, including the fantastic ‘If I Had A Dime’, are equally moving; the said track featuring the classic lines “If I had a penny for every time she said goodbye, I could buy me a mansion and still have enough to get high”. Genius.

I have to admit that I’m often non-plussed by the release of acoustic albums, probably because so many artists who release them cannot adapt to the different conditions, but Corabi’s voice is perfect for such a jaunt. Whatever this man puts his voice to seems to work, and while I’m a huge fan of The Scream, and certainly Union, I’m gonna have a lot of trouble prizing this from the CD player. Much praise must also go to John Corabi’s rear guard action of a band who make this chilled experience extremely rewarding.

Neil Arnold

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