Revisiting: Love and Rockets "Hot Trip to Heaven"

Love and Rockets' Hot Trip to Heaven came out in 1994, four years after their breakout hit "So Alive." Instead of trying to build on their growth in popularity, they produced a house/ambient record that confused the bandwagon jumpers. Hot Trip didn't resonate for recent converts, but for longtime followers, it was a chance to hear the band grow. Arguably, this record derailed their career in regards to sales, but it didn't mean they quit producing some great music.

1994 saw the releases of Green Day's Dookie, and Soundgarden's Superunknown. It was also the year of Blur's Parklife and Oasis's debut Definitely Maybe. Dance/electronic music was going strong with Stereo MC's breaking out with "Connected" and M People winning the Mercury Prize (best album in the UK). What Stereo MC's and M People had though were catchy songs. Hot Trip took another path.

Whereas L&R's previous musical output was pretty immediate, Hot Trip required patience. Track one, "Body and Soul," is 14:16 in length and drums don't really kick in until the halfway mark. If anything, it was apparent this was indeed going to be a trip. Revisiting this record shows the band was ready for a change. Possibly, all the club-hopping during their world tours showed them the ecstasy of a blissed-out crowed. Or maybe it was just the ecstasy.

There is a lot to like about this record. The hypnotic, at times tribal drumming of Kevin Haskins is a welcome addition to the L&R sound. The electronic and ambient elements of the music swirls around the vocals of David J and Daniel Ash, yet never smothers them. A few of the songs do tend to meander or revisit the same sections over and over (of Hot Trip's 10 tracks, 7 clock in at over five minutes. Even the shorter songs are never really in a verse-chorus-verse format). Yet when listened as a whole it reveals itself as a cool trip to take with a band you already liked. This wasn't like U2 doing "Pop," thus becoming a bandwagon jumper of a genre. This was Love and Rockets embracing a genre, not losing their identity, and making it their own.

Take the time to revisit Love and Rockets' Hot Trip to Heaven.