"Until You Suffer Some (Fire And Ice)" by Poison

Formed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and led by the charismatic Bret Michaels, glam rock band Poison took the world by storm in the late 80s. They had a huge surprise hit with "Talk Dirty To Me" right out of the gate, which went to #9 in 1987. It catapulted their debut album, "Look What The Cat Dragged In", to multi-platinum status and set the band up for a string of follow-up successes that included "Nothin' But A Good Time" (#6), "Fallen Angel" (#12), "Unskinny Bop" (#3), and their cover of the Loggins & Messina classic, "Your Mama Don't Dance" (#10).

The band had a softer side, too, and scored big with ballads like "I Won't Forget You" (#13), "Something To Believe In" (#4), and their chart-topping hit "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," which spent 3 weeks at #1 in 1988.

By 1993, things took a turn. Beloved guitarist CC DeVille was fired due to substance abuse issues and replaced with a more blues oriented axe, Richie Kotzen. In addition, grunge had arrived in full force by the time the new line-up released their album, "Native Tongue." The album, which largely abandoned their usual party and cock rock fare in favor of more mature songwriting, was met with mixed reviews. The first single, "Stand," backed by a gospel choir, stalled at #50 and became the band's last chart appearance. Kotzen was subsequently fired for fraternizing too heavily with the drummer's girlfriend, opening the door for DeVille to come back onboard in 1996.

"Native Tongue" might have performed better had it been released during the hair band heyday. It contains some really good tracks and put Poison on a growth trajectory that would have been interesting to continue. The musicianship and harmonies that decorate the killer ballad "Until You Suffer Some (Fire And Ice)" exemplify what this might have been like.