Freakshow (1991)

BulletBoys' second album could have been great. After their self-titled 1988 debut went gold, their potential as a commercial and also imaginative hard-rock band was clear — they've got the cocky front man, the powerful rhythm section, and the guitarist who occasionally bows down to Eddie Van Halen, but usually rises above that influence and flies into glorious heights of psycho riffing. Add to that a wonderful sense of humor — Freakshow's title track points up the absurdities of the rock & roll party life-style by satirizing it instead of glorifying it. ''Goodgirl'' laughs at the typical guy's search for the perfect girl — or rather, perfect sex object. Plus, these guys bravely venture where most hard rockers fear to go — they will give most Tom Waits fans cardiac arrest with a pounding cover of his ''Hang On St. Christopher.'' The problem is that all this charm has no foundation to stand on; there are no hooks or memorable melodies here. All of the BulletBoys' interesting ideas get lost in a mishmash of noise. C+