I am an old school kinda guy…in some things, that is. I am not really fond in touching masterpieces. For instance, in all the museums all the magnificent pieces of art can be found within a certain distance from the spectators or in some cases they are even protected with a glass so as not be damaged. They are displayed just for our eyes and that’s about it.
But what happens when the final word of that masterpiece belongs to its creator? Quite simply, he can do whatever he likes, really, as he is the rightful owner. That applies perfectly to W.A.S.P. (or Blackie Lawless) and “The Crimson Idol”. It’s a good story, Blackie, but unfortunately does not include a dragon. The strategy of someone who hasn’t released a single magnificent record in more than 20 years is to re-work some of his past work and exploit his back catalogue. The case here is “The Crimson Idol” which was initially released back in 1992. Now how come you didn’t include those 6 songs on the original album and eventually found their way on “Reidolized”, it’s strictly your business. On the other hand, the song “Miss You” was included in a different version on “Golgotha” (and now that I check the booklet, it doesn’t write anywhere that it is an outtake from “The Crimson Idol”). As for the rest of the bunch they are just mediocre compositions that are more or less similar to other cuts. So you get the picture…everything that shines, it is not always gold, right?
You have also re-recorded your masterpiece (yes, it is your masterpiece) without any obvious reason thus making redundant the musicians that once played on it. You have only altered a little bit the vocals (we all know why) and this is really unacceptable, Mr. Lawless!
As for the DVD itself, it is based of course on Jonathan’s tale and the overall shooting is mostly familiar as we had been treated with various excerpts on the video clips of that era and on the 2012 W.A.S.P. Tour when they played the entire record. Cool stuff yet nothing new and in addition many scenes are repeated throughout the 50-minute film. It would be more honest if he would release just the DVD with the original CD as a bonus (with the extra tracks). This is an unreasonable release. Mr. Lawless, you should pay more attention to your legacy. It seems that you have lost the plot a long time ago.
