The album's sound is typical of the Sunset Stripglam metal scene of the 1980s, featuring heavy guitars and melodic, catchy choruses.
Production and marketing
The album was released amidst some controversy. It was widely rumored that guitarists Erik Turner and Joey Allen had not played a note on the album and that all guitar work had been performed by ex-Streets guitarist and session musicianMike Slamer. While the rumor has never been verified, Slamer's wife confirmed in 1998 that her husband played guitar on the record. Mike Slamer has stated in interviews that he played guitar and the lead solos on the album. Producer Beau Hill stated in a 2012 interview that Slamer did in fact play on the album. Beau had said to the band that the "songs are really great, but I think we’re a little weak in the solo department and so I like to bring somebody in". Beau also stated that "everybody in the band signed off on it and everything was done above ground". During the recording of the album, vocalistJani Lane walked in on his best friend in bed with his girlfriend, leading to his nervous breakdown, and its release was delayed by several months while Lane recovered. These events would later be recounted in the single "I Saw Red" on the band's following album, Cherry Pie. The record was produced and engineered by Beau Hill, who also contributed keyboards and backing vocals. It was recorded at The Enterprise in Burbank, California.
Songs
The album's themes, which include materialism, sex, heartbreak and loneliness, would be echoed on later Warrant releases. The debut single from the band was "Down Boys", the song has been described as "one of the toughest, heaviest songs in catalog, and certainly at the top of both categories in terms of their hit singles." The second single was the smash hit "Heaven" which took Warrant's record company by surprise. Indeed, once the widespread appeal of the song became apparent, the band were instructed to re-record the track to lend it a "bigger radio sound". Beau Hill remixed the song for the single release. The first 250,000 copies of the record featured the original version while later pressings featured a new version. "Heaven" had previously been recorded by Jani Lane and Steven Sweet's old band Plain Jane. "Big Talk" was released as the third single followed by the popular "Sometimes She Cries" as the fourth single. All the singles featured music videos.
Reception
gave Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich a rating of four out of five stars, saying that the album was "sleek and clean, built on processed guitars and cavernous drums" and that it "sounds exactly like that year , both for better and worse." Dave Reynolds of Kerrang! considers the album "hardly outstanding", with only "a bunch of distinctly average songs matched to a brace of worthwhile moments".
Warrant: Live - Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich is the first Warrant video album released in 1990 on VHS and Laserdisc, featuring the band performing live in concert on the D.R.F.S.R tour in 1989. The video features the album cover character watching Warrant in concert. The video was certified Platinum
