In the '80s and '90s, Atlantic had an extremely busy A&R department. The major label signed artists left and right and released more CDs than many of their competitors. Unfortunately, putting out that many CDs meant that some artists were bound to fall through the cracks, and this self-titled debut album by Beggars & Thieves didn't do as well as it could have. The music on this 1990 release is melodic hard rock, pop-metal, and arena rock along the lines of
Def Leppard and
Bon Jovi. Beggars & Thieves doesn't get into fantasy metal à la
Iron Maiden or
Ronnie James Dio -- they steer clear of gothic fantasy themes, opting for major pop appeal. Nothing groundbreaking occurs and the material is highly derivative. But derivative doesn't necessarily mean bad. While Beggars & Thieves will never be accused of being the least bit innovative or forward-thinking, their songs are generally catchy and enjoyable. Aggressive yet melodic tunes like "Waitin' for the Man" (not to be confused with the
Velvet Underground/
Lou Reed classic), "Isn't It Easy," and "Love's a Bitch" don't point hard rock in any new directions -- that would be
Nirvana and
Pearl Jam's job in the early '90s -- but they're still easy to like. And with the right promotion, this album probably would have received a lot more attention; in the pre-
Nevermind world of 1990, this type of slick hard rock/pop-metal was still huge. Back then,
Nirvana only had a small cult following and
Pearl Jam's first album was still a year away. But again, this is a CD that wasn't as big as it could have been. Although not a masterpiece, Beggars & Thieves' decent, if conventional, debut is worth hearing if you're a die-hard fan of '80s-style pop-metal. ~ Alex Henderson