Bret Michaels – Custom Built

Yet another contribution from guest writer Richard!

Not every musician should put out solo material. I understand that any musician CAN put out solo material but it doesn’t mean that they SHOULD. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Bret Michaels for his major contributions to glam and big hair rock as the front man of Poison. It never fails that when C.C. DeVille and Co. come together we are subject to some textbook face melting. But, when Michaels does his own thing he loses the attitude and bad ass-ery that only Poison can offer and what we have is a laughable face tickle.

And that is what I have encountered in listening to Custom Built. Michael’s third solo record is a collection of tracks that when put together is a rather boring listen. No flavor and no originality. In fact, the high point of the album is “Every Thorn” which is just a country version of Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn,” the song that solidified Poison as a rock great. Sure, he teamed up with Brad Arnold of Three Doors Down for the song but if he was looking for a fresh collaboration he should have made an original song or covered a different song to make it more interesting with Arnold.

While on the topic of covers, Michaels remakes Sublime’s “What I’ve Got.” When it starts, it’s weird to imagine a midwest feller like Michaels emulating a sound mastered by the great Long Beach stoner band, but as the song progresses it gets a little more ear friendly. It seems like a surprise that he would include this song on the set.

An interesting track on the disc is the premier single “Nothing To Lose” featuring Miley Cyrus. It’s a song that seems to aim at aiding both Cyrus and Michaels. It helps Cyrus by having her sing mature lyrics: Tonight in the darkness/ with nothing to lose/ if the truth is all we can see/ if I fall for you. This gives her new, adult-geared career a push and it helps Michaels because having a celeb like “Hannah Montana” on the bill could possibly help the disc’s sales.

Essentially, a lot of logical choices could have been made differently to take this album from being average to respectable. As the producer, Michaels shoots himself in the foot repeatedly ‘till we get the bloody mass of flesh that is Custom Built. An obvious choice would have been using money he earns from his reality show success (Rock of Love, Celebrity Apprentice) and spent it on hiring a top notch guitarist or a crack country producer like T Bone Burnett to add some flair. That or the mundane mix of the Rock of Love theme song, “Go That Far,” should have never seen the light of day.

I still have to give props to Michaels though. Considering his recent health issues I am amazed the man had the energy to promote and put the album out. But maintaining my professionalism I wouldn’t recommend this album for a listen, unless you had a brain hemorrhage.

Buy the album at our record store on Amazon

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