Cocked & Loaded

Cocked & Loaded is the second studio album by American glam metal band L.A. Guns. Recorded at Hollywood studios One on One, Music Grinder and Conway Recording, it was produced by Duane Baron, John Purdell and Tom Werman, and released on August 22, 1989, by Vertigo Records. The album is the first to feature drummer Steve Riley. "Rip and Tear", "Never Enough", "The Ballad of Jayne", "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Malaria" were released as the album's singles. Following the success of their self-titled debut album the previous year, L.A. Guns quickly set about recording the follow-up in 1989. Writing for all tracks were credited to all five members of the band, while "Never Enough" was co-written by Gregg Tripp and Phil Roy. Four tracks were re-recorded by the reunited classic lineup of the band in 1999 for the compilation Greatest Hits and Black Beauties, and the whole album was re-recorded for the release Cocked & Re-Loaded. Upon its release, Cocked & Loaded peaked at number 38 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1990. Both "Rip and Tear" and "The Ballad of Jayne" reached the top 50 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, while the latter registered at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Media response to the album was positive, with critics praising the band's development of their sound from their debut album the previous year. In 2018, Collin Brennan of Consequence included the album in his list of "10 Hair Metal Albums That Don’t Suck".