On Tuesday, Poison frontman and Overstock.com/PetSmart lifestyle brand specialist Bret Michaels released his solo album True Grit. Among the re-releases of re-makes that make up much of the 21-track record, there's at least one new tune: See the video above for the lead single, "Girls On Bars," which premiered via CMT. The song isn't Michaels' first foray into country music, but it is right in line with the bro-dominant country mainstream, jumping right on the bandwagon with
Steven Tyler.
At its heart, "Girls On Bars" is essentially "Nothin' But a Good Time" with a slightly different accent and guitar tones; to paraphrase The Spin, Michaels is at his best when he doesn't let spontaneity get in the way, so that's probably not a bad thing. It's all about a simple world where "Boys like girls dancin' on bars" and "Girls like boys drivin' fast cars." "Cold beer, hot chicks," Michaels sings, "Both feel good when they hit your lips." Like that time he and C.C. DeVille got trashed and knocked each other around in Archie Manning's sports bar, right?
Does this song making its way to radio and CMT say more about stagnation in mainstream country, or some kind of staying power belonging to hair metal that doesn't have to do with Aquanet? At the very least, Michaels better hope it's something positive, since it looks like A Poison Cover Band Featuring All the Other Original Members of Poison is getting ready to go on the road without him.
