VH1 Classic Metal Mania Stripped Volume 3 is not exactly that however. What we've got here can be likened to the way in 1988 Guns N' Roses took their aggressive Metal classic You're Crazy and did an acoustic arrangement. Yep, Stripped Vol.3 is the third in a collection of compilation CDs where Glam bands attempt to take the distorted guitars, long, widdly guitar solos and over the top stage antics out of some of their best loved hits and rework them as acoustic based versions of their former selves. As you would imagine in some cases it works nicely while in others it makes you wonder if they found their way onto the disk because of their ability to strip paint with their sheer awfulness.

So what do we have here? After listening to the disk a few times one track that stands out for me is Jani Lane's version of his former band Warrant's hit Heaven. The song which was originally acoustic driven anyway has been re-recorded by Jani on this disk, and, it's bloody amazing! Despite being so late on the scene I always felt Warrant stood out against the Glam Metal scene as one of the better bands. Jani had an extraordinary talent for songwriting. All the proof you need is the fact he wrote the stadium anthem Cherry Pie in just one night. This completely new entirely acoustic based version of Heaven can be at least compared to the original. In most cases when a band decides to re-record an old hit it's a recipe for disaster, however Jani pulls it off brilliantly here and I'm glad he did, like I said, I've always felt Warrant were above the masses when it came to Glam bands.

There's another entirely new recording here, from ex-Autograph vocalist Steve Plunkett. It's the band's smash hit Turn Up The Radio and once again it certainly stands up against the original version. Not bad to say people so often criticize re-recorded tracks. Cinderella's multi-talented Tom Keifer also pulls off a kick-ass version of Nobody's Fool; just him and his six string. I've always thought Eric Martin (Mr. Big vocalist) had a great voice and he doesn't disappoint with his re-recorded track either; Just Take My Heart. I was actually just about to say all the re-recordings are pretty groovy but that's not entirely the case. To me there was only ever one AC/DC and because of that I never got into Accept beyond the electric version of the song Balls To The Wall that they feature here. Sorry boys but this is just painful. Just the title alone should be enough to suggest it should never be played on a piano and acoustic guitar. Thankfully it's the last track on the compilation so doesn't have a chance to leave a bad taste in the listener's mouth into the next song.

Past the re-recordings it's nice to hear bands playing their hits acoustically in front of a live audience. Without the use of studio techniques or heavily distorted guitars to shield the singer it's great to hear how some of these guys sound for real. Don Dokken certainly holds up on In My Dreams taken from the band's 1995 unplugged reunion album One Live Night. However it's not entirely unplugged and George Lynch can't resist the temptation of picking up an electric guitar for that fantastic guitar solo! Poison, who open the disk, aren't cheating though, they pull off a completely acoustic Unskinny Bop complete with a fast paced re-worked guitar solo from C.C. DeVille. Whoever said he can't play, eh? Kip Winger's voice is exceptional on the new recording of Headed For A Heartbreak, it's certainly a far cry from the heavier side of Winger we've seen on recent releases. But I have to say I'm not too keen on his arrangement and choice of instruments, but I guess some people will dig it. Slaughter and Firehouse both excel playing live acoustic versions of Up All Night and When I Look Into Your Eyes, and even ex-Damn Yankees Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades get a thumbs up for their re-worked version of High Enough, despite the absense of the Motor City Madman; Uncle Ted Nugent. Tesla also deliver the goods on a version of Signs from their Live At The Trocadero album. The majority of the stuff featured here has really surprised me, positively.

One thing that did strike me as odd looking down this compilation's tracklisting was Queensryche make an appearance with The Killing Words from their MTV Unplugged session. I have no clue whose idea it was to throw a Progressive Metal band or whatever you wanna call 'em on here with the Hair and Glam stuff but it was a strange one. The song is delivered well and I respect the band as musicians but wouldn't consider myself a fan so maybe I should let the diehards decide what they think of the track here. Never a Kix fan either so maybe I'm being biased but their fresh recording of Don't Close Your Eyes (featuring members of Funny Money, or so I'm told by the booklet) just doesn't work. Not that the original worked in my opinion. I am however a Ratt fan but sadly Stephen and the boys chose a bad song to do unplugged. Way Cool Jr. just doesn't hack it, although I did enjoy reading what Stephen and Warren had to say about writing the original song in the booklet.

So, the final verdict? Good. I like it. Much more than I expected I would. If Queensryche being on here is a hint that VH1 are milking this series for all it's worth and were running out of stuff from the Glam genre to throw on then it certainly doesn't show in the quality of the majority of material, including the 'ryche track. This is a well put together compilation and I'm sure if you enjoyed rockin' out to these tracks in the '80s now you're a bit older you'll enjoy them slowed down but still holding onto that energy which is the reason you loved 'em in the first place. Sure there are a few weaker numbers in Accept's, Kix's and Ratt's submissions but all in all that's only 3 out of 15 tracks. Plus as you'll probably know sometimes completely new releases from older bands can be disappointing when compared to the material they were putting out in 1987, so why risk it? If you loved Whitesnake's Starkers In Tokyo or enjoyed either of the other two volumes of this collection this certainly won't disappoint. Rock on (But gently mind)!

- Jordan