{"id":721384,"date":"2026-06-07T17:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T17:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/721384\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T17:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T17:36:14","slug":"paul-laines-stick-in-your-ear-the-story-behind-the-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/721384\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Laine\u2019s Stick In Your Ear: the story behind the album"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although Paul Laine is probably best known for his 10-year tenure fronting US hard rockers Danger Danger in the late 90s and early 00s, the Vancouver native first made his mark with Stick It In Your Ear, his stunning, Bruce Fairbairn-produced solo debut, released by Elektra in 1990. If you\u2019ve never heard this gem then, trust me, it\u2019s worth hunting down a copy \u2013 it\u2019s the best record Bon Jovi<\/a> never made.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fairly common for musicians to say that the first time they saw, say, The Beatles<\/a>, Kiss<\/a> or Van Halen was the spark that caused them to rush out and buy a guitar or a set of drums, so it\u2019s perhaps unusual that Paul\u2019s first musical epiphany came while seeing Seattle metal band Rail open for The Beach Boys at a Vancouver music festival in the early 80s.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI believe it was in 1980 or 1981,\u201d Laine recalls. \u201cIt was a summertime outdoor music festival and my first rock concert ever. To me, Rail sounded epic. The guitar player was incredible and they were the most entertaining act on the bill. Looking back, they were very Van Halen-like in their delivery. I knew at that moment I wanted to play guitar.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was actually a day of firsts for me,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt was my first time at a concert, first time I smoked pot, and [laughs] the first time I saw a real live naked girl! I know it sounds a little clich\u00e9d, but the next day on the way to work, I bought my first guitar and swore to do this for a living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having dropped out of school at the age of 15, Paul toured with Oscar Wild, a Top 40 covers band, before forming a company with two friends, Les Horn and Fran Adamson, with the intention of raising enough capital to record his first album, and then shop it around to record labels for potential release.<\/p>\n

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The irony is that the material he recorded back then, for the not-inconsiderably hefty sum of $50,000, remains unreleased (and, according to Paul, will remain so), whereas it was a four-song demo recorded later, costing a mere $1,600, that luckily caught the ear of Bryan Adams<\/a>\u2019 manager Bruce Allen. This led to a recording deal with Elektra Records and studio time with the late Bruce Fairbairn, alongside a handpicked selection of Vancouver\u2019s finest musicians.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe taught me patience, a work ethic, and the desire to always better the hook and fine tune the arrangement,\u201d he says. \u201cMore than that, though, Bruce was an incredibly loyal person, and a true friend. So often in this industry, when you fall out of public favour, the \u2018mavericks\u2019 turn their backs on you. Bruce kept me working even through the tough times, and I will never forget his kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The finished album was a hard rock masterpiece, tough but tuneful, packed full of big melodies and anthemic choruses, with Laine\u2019s rough-edged howl at the heart of it. The Bon Jovi comparisons were raised at the time – something it took Laine a good few years to not wince at.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have finally learned to accept it, and be okay with it,\u201d Laine replies. \u201cI have never thought about how I sing, really. I just do what I do, write how I write and put it out into the world. Being compared to anyone is only natural.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

He remains understandably proud of the album, though he says he would have left the track Heart Of America off of it. \u201cBruce fought me on that and I lost!\u201d he says. \u201cBut most of all, I\u2019d like to re-do all of the vocals! You have to understand that most recording artists feel this way. But in that same light, the album is a true representation of my abilities at that time, and that age.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Although the album didn\u2019t sell as well as it deserved to, it is still respected as one of the best records of the genre, an especially impressive achievement for what was Laine\u2019s debut album. Has he felt under pressure to surpass it ever since?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think any artist who cares about their art feels pressure to better themselves on the next release,\u201d he replies. \u201cI certainly tried to write the best I could on the Danger Danger albums. To me, they were like follow-ups to Stick It In Your Ear. I am proud of those records, as I also am of the Shugaazer album I released in 2004. I\u2019ve never really felt a need to compromise in this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Island Records reissued the album in 1995, but it would be another 15 years before Laine allowed another re-release (the latter came out on German label AOR Heaven, accompanied by four bonus tracks). Since then, he\u2019s released albums with Darkhorse (2014\u2019s Let It Ride) and modern hard rockers The Defiants (2015\u2019s self-titled debut, 2019\u2019s Zokusho and 2023\u2019s Drive).<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as surpassing Stick It In Your Ear goes, well\u2026 I wrote that record when I was 17 years old,\u201d he says. \u201cHopefully with all these years of writing I humbly hope I can at least come up with something that will please everyone who is a fan of the first one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published in Classic Rock Presents AOR issue 2 and updated in February 2024<\/p>\n

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