A great debut from Gilby Clarke, after his time filling in for Guns N' Roses' rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter Izzy Stradlin. Opener "Cure Me...or Kill Me" is a nice rocker, but the album really gets started on the third track, "Tijuana Jail," which is a high energy, riff driven hard rocker with some great guitar work. Followed by the acoustic country twang of "Skin & Bones," which plays as an homage (and again later) to The Rolling Stones, and some more killer guitar work on the generally subdued "Johanna's Chopper," it's clear that Gilby has some serious songwriting chops and a variety of inspirations. Title track "Pawn Shop Guitars" is another raucous rocker full of energy and strong guitar work, before a second tribute to The Rolling Stones with a cover of "Dead Flowers," featuring Axl Rose on guest vocals, and in all honesty, Gilby does away with the hokey country approach taken by The Stones and improves the song a good deal. Bluesy, southern tinged "Hunting Dogs" is a highlight, near the end of the album, before closer "Shut Up," a medium paced track with, again, some good guitar work.
Seriously, if you don't like this, then you probably just don't like rock n' roll. Move on to a different genre.
