Snakes in the Playground

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Snakes in the Playground
Snakes in the Playground cover
Studio album by Bride
Released 1992
Recorded 1991
Genre Hard rock
Label Star Song
Producer Plinky
Professional reviews
  • Cross Rhythms 6/10 stars link
Bride chronology
Kinetic Faith
(1991)		 Snakes in the Playground
(1992)		 December
(1993)

Snakes in the Playground is the sixth album by the band Bride. Seen by critics as the best release of Bride's hard rock era,[1] Snakes in the Playground is commonly known as the breakthrough album in the band's career. This album would produce the band more touring, more press appeal, and two GMA Dove Awards for best song.[2]

Contents

[edit] Recording

The work on Snakes in the Playground began after the band arrived their home of Kentucky from the tour that followed Kinetic Faith, with the line up of Dale Thompson, Troy Thompson, Rick Foley and Jerry McBroom. Bride spent a great deal of time in pre-production fine tuning its material and eventually came up with two demo tapes of nine songs each. On this album the band tried to capture their live performance energy on the album, and ended up creating a rawer an more straightforward hard rock album compared to Kinetic Faith. The band has said that they did not want to work with the producer Steve Griffith, and ended up working with the New Jersey native, Plinky, who had previously produced for a band called Novella. The album's recording included several guest musicians: Peter and John from the Newsboys, Rik Florean from White Heart for back up vocals, Greg Martin from the Kentucky Headhunters, Rick Elias, and Derek Jan from Novella for some solo guitar spots. The band has said that they decided to name the album Snakes in the Playground after they had an incident with a large snake at the studio:

“ We were in the beginning stages of recording, and took a break to drive to the store. A large reptile was lying beside our car sunbathing on the pavement. In my attempts to chase the snake away, I chased it under the car. To make matters worse, the effort to move the snake from under the car drove it up into the fender wells. We spent the next hour and a half trying to get the snake to come out. We sprayed it with the water hose, poked at it with a broom handle, even shook the car, but it would not come out. Finally, when we thought we would just have to let the snake have the car, it crawled out and back into the wooded area next to the studio.[2] ”

[edit] Overview

The album's output is a combination of energetic hard rock numbers such as "Rattlesnake" and "Would You Die For Me," and more hook-laden, faster songs such as "Psychedelic Super Jesus" and "Don’t Use Me" as well as tracks that have elements of the band's metal roots such as "Fall Out" and "Dust Through a Fan." The ballad "I Miss The Rain" has a similar feel as "Sweet Louise," which is the closing song on Kinetic Faith.

Dale Thompson's vocals continues to showcase his raspy and blues based output. Tracks such as "Fallout" and "Would You Die For Me" display his wider vocal range, while the ballad “I Miss The Rain” reflects a calmer vocal style. Troy Thompson's rhythm guitar work is more based on groove, and combines work with the guest musicians Dez Dickerson (Prince), Derek Jan (Novella), and Greg Martin (Kentucky Headhunters) for an abundance of gritty lead guitar work. Other guest appearances are made as background vocalists by Rick Florian (White Heart) and Newsboys, and Rick Elias plays harmonica.[3]

According to Dale Thompson, the lyrics on Snakes in the Playground were inspired by personal experiences and the letters the band received from its fans during the months before recording. The album's lyrics are based upon social problems from Christian point of view. The lyrics deal with subject such as drug abuse, suicide, abortion, gang violence, and other issues the youth face on daily basis.

"Rattlesnake" begins with an intro of a preacher stating, "Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart today." followed by wailing sirens as pounding drums fade away. "Rattlesnake" speaks against those who give drugs to kids in order to turn them into addicts. "Psychedelic Super Jesus" is about a band in Bride’s hometown of Louisville that In Dale’s words, "They see Jesus as a hippie guru living in the 1960s, but we know that is not who He is."[4]

The band won GMA Dove awards in the category "Hard Music recorded song of the Year" for the song "Rattlesnake" in 1993 and in 1994 for "Psychedelic Super Jesus."[5]

[edit] Track listing

  1. Rattle Snake
  2. Would You Die For Me
  3. Psychedelic Super Jesus
  4. Fallout
  5. Salt River Shuffle
  6. Dust Through A Fan
  7. I Miss The Rain
  8. Don't Use Me
  9. Picture Perfect
  10. Love Money
  11. Some Things Never Change
  12. Goodbye

[edit] References

  1. ^ Majalahti, Michael. The Best Kept Secrets in Rock. Imperiumi. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  2. ^ a b Thompson, Dale. Chapter 9.Bridepub. Retrieved 2001-12-26
  3. ^ Rockwell, Andrew. Bride - Snakes in the Playground. Angelic Warlord. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  4. ^ Berry, Chris (1993-04-01). Bride - Snakes in the Playground. Cross Rhythms. Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  5. ^ "Dove Award Recipients for HARD MUSIC RECORDED SONG OF THE YEAR". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
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