Press Play -- Gilby Clarke (The Hangover)

Between his tenure with the "pop-rock" band Candy, to the "pop-metal cult" band Kill For Thrills to his recorded and live work with Guns and Roses, to his two solo albums, Gilby Clarke epitomizes the LA rock scene. In the genre of full frontal assault of Marshall stacks and "sex, drugs and rock-n-roll" lyrics, Clarke's album The Hangover is state of the art. The songs are about who Gilby is, he plays (and sings) passionately about his personal experiences, and he does it quite well, thank you.

Gilby's strong suit is that he never forgets to write a song. From the first cut "Wasn't Yesterday Great" to the Ziggy Stardust-esque "Mickey Marmalade," there are hooks-a-plenty. Ironically Clarke (who later in the album covers the Bowie tune "Hang Onto Yourself") shows his Bowie influence in more subtle fashion with lines like "His tiger Les Paul was poetry to the blues."

Unlike Bowie, who has always favored spacey effects, Clarke expresses his song craft through nail-you-to-the-wall humbucker tone. The sound is nicely broken up with piano in spots, however.

If you are one of the increasing number of people who (in the wake of "grunge") are rediscovering good time rock and roll music, The Hangover should be first on your shopping list.