AMG Review of VH1 Classic Presents: Metal Mania - Stripped, Vol. 3

James Christopher Monger
All Music Guide

VH1 Classic Presents: Metal Mania - Stripped, Vol. 3 collects 15 acoustic (and often live) renditions of hair metal classics that range from embarrassing (Slaughter's "Up All Night") to triumphant ("Turn Up the Radio" by Autograph's Steve Plunkett) to totally surreal (Accept's cabaret-infused piano rendition of "Balls to the Wall"). For the most part, ballads from the likes of Firehouse ("When I Look into Your Eyes"), Damn Yankees' Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades ("High Enough"), and Warrant's Jani Lane ("Heaven") stew in the same pot of mediocrity from which they originated, but fans of MTV's #Unplugged and #Headbanger's Ball's Adam Curry years will revel in the nostalgia for at least one full spin.