(TKO Records)

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Hollywood by way of the Lone Star State, punk rock 'n roll legend Texas Terri returns with her long-awaited sophomore effort with a new backing band and a slew of guest stars in tow. And for an album executive produced by legendary knobsmith Jack Douglas (the guy who did all the great Aerosmith albums, among others), boy, is this a raw and randy affair! But that's what ya want from the bastard offspring of Iggy Pop and Wendy O' Williams, right?

"One Hit Wonder" opens ups the disc nicely with a one-two punch of punk 'tude and fast paced riffing. "Dirty Action" and "Never Shut Up" are sleazy odes to debauchery that Nikki Sixx would likely wish he had penned for the last Crue record. "Dream Wrecker" and "Oh Yeah" are leftovers from her previous backing band days, the Stiff Ones, but are both strong tunes. In fact, the riff in "Oh Yeah" (penned by Loren Molianare of Little Caesar and The Dogs) has got to be one of the best in recent years. "Mafia" and "Raunch City" are punky blasts of heat, while "Love Hates Me" injects some tenderness into the sordidness.

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Augmented by guitars by Wayne Kramer (MC5), Sonny Vincent (Testors), and members of the Dwarves, Dickies, Motochrist, Alice Cooper band and Pigmy Love Circus, Terri offers up a 14-track affair that rocks non-stop from top to bottom with her patented brand of glamy punk. Faster Pussycat's Taime Downe even steps in for backing vocals on "Strike 3" and "To The Top," adding some of his screechy gutter wail to the mix. But the best of the bunch is Runaways vocalist Cherrie Currie, who does a spirited duet with Terri on Thin Lizzy's "The Rocker," sounding like she hasn't aged a day since she dropped "Cherry Bomb" and changed rock forever.

Ironically, the least impressive thing here is the mix. With the mighty Jack Douglas at the helm, you'd expect and pretty huge sound. What you get though is the Raw Power treatment, all vocals and lead guitars up front, with the rhythm section trying desperately to be heard in the mix. Appropriate? Yes. Impressive? Hardly. Production-wise, it don't sound much better than her last one (which, sounded just fine, by the way). The vocals also sound doubled on just about every song, which is cool for Robin Zander, but for Texas Terri? First off, amazingly, the gal can actually sing, so you don't really need all the effects. Secondly, even if she couldn't sing, who cares? This ain't the kinda music you need polished vocals on anyways.

Good shit, though.

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