Waysted - Vices (Chrysalis, 1983)
Current Gemm price: $2.00-$30.00
Price I paid: $2.99 at In Your Ear, Cambridge
Worth: 7 years of trouble.
By: Sleazegrinder
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Ya know, I almost had a Waysted t-shirt when I was 14. I saw ‘em (Well, at least I saw specks identified on the loudspeakers as Waysted - they were pretty fuckin’ far way) in 1983, opening up for Motley Crue and Ozzy at the Boston Gardens (now the Fleet Center), and even at that tender teen Sleaze age, I was well aware that Waysted were the only ones bringing the ROCK to the rock show. Crue stumbled through their “Shout at the Devil” set like lazy, druggy cartoons, and a halfway-to-gone fat Ozzy did his mad housewife routine, and it was all real razzle-dazzle and all, but it wasn’t rock n’ roll, it was hollowed-out Hollywood shtick. But, you know, arena rock shows are a brutal, thuggish experience where the Mob Rules, and the Mob REALLY dug the Crue, so I somehow ended up with an over-priced “Aleister Fiend” baseball jersey, cuz I’m pretty sure I woulda gotten torn limb from limb by Sixx-worshipping Heshers if I dared buck the system and order up a Waysted tee from their lonely merch stall. I understand if ya think this is a superfluous intro, but believe me, in 1983, your tee shirt choice was a REALLY BIG DEAL. I realize now that if HAD scored the Waysted tee – it was bad ass, had a chick gagged with an iron chain- than I really woulda been the absolute TITS when I graduated from arena shows to snakepit local rock dives the following year, and not just some short-haired dork in a pussy Crue tee.

See, if you listen to “Shout at the Devil” right now, it’s gonna sound godawful, a ham-fisted pile of mechanical, pop-metal junk. Waysted’s seminal debut “Vices”, however, still sounds like a sleazy, over-the-top, kill for thrills, ROCK N’ROLL record. If we woulda been smart enuff to see the difference back then, we coulda spared ourselves from stuff like “Girls Girls Girls”, Alice Cooper’s flash metal come-back, Warrant, “Smooth Up In Ya”, and all kindsa nonsense, really. But, collectively, we all went the other way. Silly fuckin’ us. I hardly think my meager entry is gonna undo any 80’s-fried damage, but I figure if I can re-direct at least one young, fledgling cock rocker away from disposable glam-clunkers like “Bastard” and “Red Hot” (I’m gonna give ya “Knock “em Dead Kid” and “Ten Seconds to Love” cuz I’m in a good mood) and to the more sublime debauchery of Waysted soultakers like “Sleazy” and “Night of the Wolf”, then I will have successfully paid my debt to Pete Way, truly one of the very last of the rock and roll motherfuckers.

The Waysted story is such a mad tangle of bleary-eyed visionaries, wretched hangers-on, drug-wrecked animals and high falutin’ arena rock stars that it gives me a headache just thinking about it. So, in the interest of brevity and levity, here’s a truncated-but-thorough rundown of the events that led up to the rather brilliant sleaze metal classic, “Vices”:

Maybe you remember UFO, or maybe you’re too young to remember UFO, but yer rock n’ roll reptile hind-brain surely tells you that you’re SUPPOSED to know who UFO was. Either way, they were a UK hard rock band- no other way to describe it, really- who were enormously popular back home, slightly-less enormously popular in Europe, the biggest fuckin’ band like, ever, in Japan, and pretty close to a perpetual ‘cult act’ here in the US. They did score a bonafide rock radio hit here in 1974, “Doctor, Doctor” (from Phenomenon, Chrysalis Records) and another in 1977, “Too Hot to Handle” (from Lights Out, Chrysalis), and briefly hit an arena-filling stride in the very early 80’s, but, despite writing the Spinal Tap blueprint way before anybody even KNEW big, dumb rock n’ roll excess was funny, pretty much the lasting legacy of UFO for most Yankee audiences is original bass player (1969-1982) Pete Way’s black n’ white striped spandex leotards, which would later get co-opted by both Steven Tyler and Nikki Sixx. The band, not so much. The outfit- well, who could forget THAT?

There’s one million stories to tell about UFO, but let us not stray from the subject at hand. In ’82, UFO released the tepid “Mechanix”, an out-of-touch arena rocker filled with simpering, lighter-baiting ballads like “Terri” and “Back into My Life”, but it still managed to do good business here, there, and everywhere. Then again, Triumph and Uriah Heep were both flyin’ high in ’82 as well, and bands were still wearing tight white satin pants, so don’t take too much stock in who was selling tickets back then. Certainly, Pete Way knew the score, cuz he split his band of 13 years right after their US tour with Ozzy, determined to get a band together that actually ROCKED.

Umm, I guess it’s up to the listener to decide if Fastway, the band Pete formed with Motorhead’s Fast Eddie Clark and some frizzy-haired, skinny Irishman (Dave King, ex-Mama’s Boys) actually ROCKED or not- I’m sure you remember their semi-hit “Easy Living”, from their self-titled ’83 debut on CBS, so you can discuss it amongst yrselves. It hardly matters anyway, tho, because Chrysalis, who had Way under lock and key in an ironclad contract, wouldn’t even let him be in his own fuckin’ band. So, Fastway continued on without one of their co-founders. S’okay, tho, Pete was busy anyway. The previous year, he had produced Twisted Sister’s seminal “Under the Blade” and the Cockney Rejects' first foray into metal, “Wild Ones”, and shortly after his label rapped him on the knuckles, Pete joined up with Ozzy again, this time as his touring bassist. And, after the tour was over, he started a whole new band, the cleverly- and honestly- named Waysted.

Waysted’s initial line-up- the one that recorded “Vices” – consisted of Way, guitarist Ronnie Kayfield, drummer Frank Noon (ex-Def Leppard), keyboard player Paul Raymond (Way stole him from UFO) and iconic frontman Fin ( AKA Ian Muir, formerly of late 70’s hard rockers Flying Squad, and fulltime Scotsman). Pete still had one record left on his Chrysalis deal, so it wasn’t like he had to shop the new band around at all. The boys got together, had a few drinks, snorted a few lines, shot a few whatevers, and, In 1983, “Vices” was released.

The cover of “Vices” features a chick in shorts and a tanktop, chained to a dungeon wall. Well, one arm is chained, the other one she’s managed to wrench free, and she appears to be gettin’ ready to lay a vicious haymaker on the green-skinned Nosferatu/Uncle Fester guy staring her down. What does this mean? Well, I don’t think ANYBODY knows that, man. There IS a Waysted wolf logo on the wall (significantly, MY logo is a wolf, too. And Waysted have a song called “Sleazy”. And all the records on my label have half-dressed women on the covers, too. AND I like to keep chicks chained up in my basement. Well, ok, so one of those is a lie, but Waysted remains a seminal Sleazegrinder influence, nonetheless), which suggests that the band is somehow the cause for whatever is going on there. At any rate, it’s a little too vague to be sexist (although it was most certainly accused of such at the time), but you know how it goes, right? Sexist. Sexy. It’s a fine line.

I should mention the back cover photo, too. Pete and the boys are all dressed up in frilly shirts and topcoats and eyeliner and white gloves, and they’ve got silver wolf-tipped canes, and with just about any other band in the world, this would look wildly absurd, but with these fuckers, it's perfect. Waysted were the most dangerous kind of savages- noble ones. Gentlemen with blood in their teeth. Dandies in the underworld. You couldn’t have come up with a more apt image for this band, this wolfpack of seasoned, well-paid pros with a wild penchant for sin and diamond-hard sleazy rock. It’s pretty remarkable, really. Without any of the usual blood n’ thunder images that denoted Flash Metal bands at the time, Waysted (or at least designer John Pasche) managed to put together a record cover that fairly screams with debauchery and rock n’ roll mayhem. “Vices” LOOKS like it’s really gonna rock, man. And it does.

Cowbells. An all-consuming thump of a bass drum. A Stones-fried cock rock riff. “Love Loaded” is pure swagger rock, and one of the truly classic album openers of the 80’s. The lyrics, as the title suggests, are pure sex-talk nonsense (“Love loaded/Exploded/Love me tonight!”), but one things is abundantly clear right from the start- Fin, with his bluesy rasp and Ozzy-like werewolf howl, is about a fuckin’ million times better than yr average flash metal singer. Cat sounds like he’s been raging arenas his entire life, or something. And ok, so there’s some Eddie Van-styled fret-flash going on that kinda derails the Supersleaze of the song, but goddamn is this isn’t prime raunch n’ roll. Waysted possessed a casual mastery of their craft, and I tell ya, play this alongside Ratt or Motley Crue or whoever, and it is abundantly clear that Waysted were in a whole different league.

“Women in Chains”, which I’m sure even Waysted will tell you was a weird choice for a single, is driven by a loopy tribal drum-beat, creepy whispering, and a thick bass riff from Way that could quite possibly be the inspiration for Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottom”. It's also got no guitars, haunted house keyboards, insane laughter, an obscene phone call (“Sucking and sucking and sucking!”) and lines like “You been bending over/get lost!” I have no explanation for “Women in Chains”, but I will remind you that Waysted did a LOTTA fuckin’ drugs, man.

“Sleazy” is a raucous, arena-ready anthem that recalls prime 70’s glam, only snarled-up with flash metal chug and pyrotechnic, Steve Stevens-styled guitar fills. Most importantly, it’s a grand declaration to the life-style we all enjoy so much today. “I’m sleazy/And that’s the truth!” Fin yelps, and we can only applaud him, man. I’m sleazy, you’re sleazy, and Waysted is sleazy. Now that we’ve all admitted it (admitting you have a problem is step one, after all), we can freak freely out on society’s margins like the hairy, slavering sex/drugs/booze/volume beasts we are. When they make the Sleazegrinder movie, I want this one to play everytime I walk into a room.

“Night of the Wolf”, with it’s acoustic, crooning intro, is the BIG, SWEEPING EPIC of the album. A minute in, skull cracking drums and a crunching, Judas Priest riff kicks in, and the song gallops along like it’s on some bloody mission. It’s a massive, brawling, powerful song, the kinda thing Iron Maiden would have done if Maiden were, you know, COOL. For the most part, Waysted preferred slinkier, less full-throttle numbers, but “Night of the Wolf” proved they could rock the whole shithouse down to the ground, if they were so inclined.

Side two (I love saying that. I cannot wait until we give up this pussy digital media and get back to rock RECORDS) opens with the classic hard rocker “Toy With the Passion”, fueled by an AC/DC boogiecrunch and a soaring, 70’s rock chorus. If this one woulda made the radio in the summer of ’83, I mighta gotten laid a lot sooner, man.

“Can’t Take That Love Away” is pure glam-pop, a gooey glitter rock confection that rides on an impossibly catchy chorus. It sounds like Thin Lizzy, if Thin Lizzy were prone to writing prom dance songs. “Hot Love” is another hook-heavy glam rocker, and sounds like something Joan Jett woulda wrote if the London Quireboys were her backing band. It’s as bubblegum as it is the blues, it’s got honky tonk piano and a big ‘ol sex drum beating away, and if there ever was a song that was meant to play while you were steamin’ up the backseat of your parent’s Cadillac with some lipstick-slathered teen hussy on a sweaty summer night, “Hot Love” is it, baby.

“All Belongs to You” is the kinda uplifting swagger rock anthem we used to take for granted back in the 80’s. Maybe we shouldn’t have, cuz they just don’t make them anymore, and baby, I miss ‘em. “Midnight sure feels better then daylight” Fin offers in the opening line. “Feel those wheels turnin’ round/1,000 miles away from home”. It’s an ode to the road, ya know, and all the mayhem and redemption that it offers, and it perfectly captures all the promise and excitement of being young, wild, and free. If you could direct me to ANY band capable of this kinda song in 2004, then maybe I’ll stop listening to 20 year old albums, but I don’t think anybody even knows how to write songs like this anymore. Suffice to say, “All Belongs to You” is simply what rock n’ roll is all ABOUT.

The album ends with a masterful flash metal reworking of Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love”, fulla power and pathos and honest-to-god URGENCY. At this point, you should be quite convinced that, at least in 1983, Waysted were the GREATEST ROCK BAND EVER. This may wear off an hour or so later, but there’s no way you can walk away from this record without feeling like you just got completely, totally, and utterly ROCKED. I still listen to it all the time. You should, too. It’s not quite as good as drugs, but almost. And it’s cheaper, and lasts longer. Hell, I’m still catching a buzz 21 years later.

As I mentioned at the top, Waysted toured “Vices” with Ozzy and Crue, to mostly indifferent US audiences. That did not stop them from engaging, fully and shamelessly, in the stuff of their album title, throughout the tour. As such, band members began dropping like flies, either getting fired by a (ahem) wasted Way, or just cracking under the pressure and headin’ for the hills. By ’84, Kayfield, touring guitarist Barry Benadetta, Noon, and Raymond were all gone. Pete recruited another back-up band of savages, and they recorded the meaty “Waysted” EP (Music For Nations, 1984) and hit the road with Dio on their legendary “Holy Diver” tour, which resulted in a spectacularly quick descent into bottom-of-the-barrel debauchery and drug-fueled mayhem by everyone involved (In Waysted, I mean. I’m sure Ronnie James was quite well behaved). By the time it was over, only Way and Fin were left standing. They boys managed to cobble together another band fulla ex UFO and Fastway dudes and released the bluesy “The Good, The Bad, and the Waysted” . In 1985, Fin left the band, and Way soldiered on with the Tygers of Pan Tang dude (John Deverill) as the new Waysted vocalist, but they never got past the demo stage, and Waysted split in ’87.

Way went back to UFO for awhile, and also released a few Mogg/Way albums with UFO frontman Phil Mogg (natch). Most recently, he reunited with Fin and Paul Chapman (the guitarist who replaced the original Waysted casualties in '84) and began work on a new Waysted record. As of 2/04, it’s still in the works. Yeah, but will they still rock? Has Pete Way gone soft in these drugless, flash-free times? Well, in a recent interview on getreadytorock.com, they asked Pete if he listened to any ‘new bands’, and he said, “They all sound the same to me. I listen to Buckcherry, the Cult, and Sisters of Mercy.” Which is pretty much the same thing I’d say, so my guess is yeah, it’s gonna rock. And hell, even if it doesn’t, who’s gonna argue? It’s Waysted, man. See, in an age of hairspray and lipstick and high-pitched screeches and tragic Van Halen rip-offs, Waysted chose, simply, to NOT FUCK AROUND. They played dirty-ass rock that was as powerful as the most blistering, punk-fried Flash Metal band, but instead of following any woeful signs o’ the times, they just did their own thing, baby. And that thing they did was called Rock n’ Roll. It’s pretty amazing, really. So many bands of the flash metal era require at least a little suspension of disbelief to truly appreciate ‘em, a little “You gotta remember, this was 198whatever….”, but not Waysted. “Vices” rocked in 1983, and it STILL ROCKS, right now. Which is really more than you oughta be asking from a band in pirate shirts and eyeliner, ya know?

Goddamn, I wish I would bought that fuckin’ t-shirt when I had the chance. Anyway, truth of it all is, Waysted didn’t commit Flash Metal Suicide at all, WE did, by opting for the dumb, flashy stuff instead of the good, rockin’ stuff back in the days when we actually had a choice. But it’s just like Jim Thirwell once told me, man. People ALWAYS go for the dumb bits. Redemption is just one dusty record away, tho. “Vices” remains a classic of sleazy hard rock. Even after all these Waysted years.

Further:
Pete Way official website ( with bitchin’ audio interview clips!)
Paul Chapman official website

-Sleazegrinder

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