Crack a Smile

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Crack a Smile...and More!

Studio album by Poison
Released	March 14, 2000
Recorded	1994 - 2000
Genre	Glam metal
Length	75:38
Label	Capitol Records
Producer(s)	John Purdell and Duane Brown
All Music Guide link
Poison chronology
Native Tongue (1993)	Crack a Smile...and More! (2000)	Power to the People (2001)

Crack a Smile...and More! is the fifth music album by American glam metal band Poison. The record was released in on March 14, 2000.

[edit] Musical Style

Crack a Smile, while replete with virtuoso guitar performances comparable with those on Poison's previous studio record, Native Tongue contains few traces of the seriousness of that record. The appropriately named album is a bright and raunchy collection of party rock anthems, dominated by humour and a sense of fun.

[edit] Production and marketing

The life cycle of Crack a Smile, which began in 1994, was brought to an abrupt halt in May 1994, when vocalist Bret Michaels lost control of his Ferrari. Michaels suffered a broken nose, ribs, jaw, and fingers and lost four teeth.

After his recovery in 1995, the band continued recording. To the band's dismay, however, Capitol Records had by this time decided to put the album "on the back burner", and instead released a Greatest Hits record. It was not until March 14, 2000 that the record was finally released. The album's eventual release was prompted by strong fan demand, with promotional copies and bootlegs selling for $50 or more. In order to compete with the bootleg release, Capitol took the unusual step of throwing in additional tracks to the album. The bootleg version of the album contained the original 12 album tracks, 6 songs from Poison's MTV Unplugged performance, and their cover of the KISS classic "Rock And Roll All Nite." The final version of the album, titled Crack a Smile...and More!, contained the original 12 album tracks, two studio outtakes, one unfinished (and unnamed) demo, "Face the Hangman" (an outtake from Open Up And Say...Ahh!), as well as four of the songs from MTV Unplugged.

The album was the first and only Poison release to feature guitar virtuoso Blues Saraceno. Saraceno was hired as the band's guitarist following the firing of Richie Kotzen. Like Kotzen, Saraceno was given considerable creative freedom. Indeed, Saraceno's writing and performing contributions dominated the album, which reflected a level of musicianship and sophistication which was absent from the band's first 3 records. Due to the return of C.C. DeVille, Saraceno's involvement was retroactively written off as a temporary measure - the album's liner notes stating that DeVille was "unable to collaborate for health reasons".

The album's studio tracks were recorded at Devonshire Studios, Hollywood, California. Saraceno plays on these songs (tracks 1-12), and DeVille plays on the remaining tracks.