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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Skeever on September 19, 2017, 05:47:30 PM
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I know the genre gets a lot of flack, but I tend to think it's a lot of fun in appropriate measures (like anything else).
Anyway, I think I'd have to go with Ratt. A lot of the other big players of the time came off as just kind of silly, but Ratt seem more like a poppy Judas Priest.
Thoughts?
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Check out my tee shirt man ;D :metal
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I am still confused with which bands are under this label. Is Extreme a hair band? If so, then they are my favorite.
If not, I would go with Bon Jovi. They are a hair band, right?
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Definitely not Ratt. They were a flash in the pan. They had one headline arena tour in 1985.
Bon Jovi is the answer, even though while I don't really consider them a hair band, they were responsible for Hair Metal's success.
Other than that, you're looking at Motley Crue and Poison.
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I can't speak for everyone here, but I think I got a feeling that some people will say Winger around here as the best "hair" band.
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Some people are crazy.
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Dokken
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I'm thinking White Lion or Ratt .
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Extreme, although they really transcended the hair thing.
Motley Crue were pioneers of the style and probably the best for "pure" hair metal.
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Extreme, although they really transcended the hair thing.
Motley Crue were pioneers of the style and probably the best for "pure" hair metal.
Extreme with Nuno ( spelling ) , dude could shred . Early MC had some fun tunes actually .
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Or , if Racer-X can get in on this. Man their cover of " Heart of a Lion " is insane .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwVQ7sLmVLI
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In terms of talent, Winger would probably be it. However, I think Motley Crue and Poison are the archetypal hair bands.
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Steel Dragon.
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(https://www.vanyaland.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/stryper-background.jpg)
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^
Damn, and I was going to say 'Heart' before that picture showed up
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Based solely on this pic, I'd say Nitro.
(https://highpriestesskang.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/nitro_hair.jpg)
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Winger, cause Tim says so.
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Steel dragon.
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If people consider Van Halen to be a hair band (mainly because every hair band of the 80's tried to rip off Van Halen's music), I'd say Van Halen by far. Though, I wouldn't call VH a hair band, I could see how someone who is uninformed could try to lump them into that category.
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If Bon Jovi count, then Bon Jovi.
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Wasn't the label "hair metal" and not just "hair"? Although most of the bands were rock, maybe hard rock but not really metal.
Van Halen is no hair metal band, they were around long before hair metal became a thing. Extreme is no hair metal band either. Sure they look like it on their first records (and so does even DT), but their music was way different.
For me White Lion, early Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Cinderella are the best.
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If people consider Van Halen to be a hair band (mainly because every hair band of the 80's tried to rip off Van Halen's music), I'd say Van Halen by far. Though, I wouldn't call VH a hair band, I could see how someone who is uninformed could try to lump them into that category.
I wouldn't consider them a hair band at all.
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The BEST Hair Metal band?
Ratt, because, Warren DiMartini.
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Def Leppard. At their peak (Pyromania and Hysteria) they were about as good as it gets (for 80's hair/glam bands). Unless we class Guns and Roses as hair? Then they win.
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Motley Crue for me. To my ears, their music seemed to have more balls than the rest of the hair bands. Dr. Feelgood alone puts them at the top.
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Motley Crue for me. To my ears, their music seemed to have more balls than the rest of the hair bands. Dr. Feelgood alone puts them at the top.
I like Dr Feelgood. But I don't feel it's as consistently good as Flesh & Blood by Poison.
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Motley Crue for me. To my ears, their music seemed to have more balls than the rest of the hair bands. Dr. Feelgood alone puts them at the top.
I like Dr Feelgood. But I don't feel it's as consistently good as Flesh & Blood by Poison.
Personally, I'll take Native Tongue over F&B.
"Best" is such a subjective measurement.
Best = most popular ??
Best = most talented ??
Best = most sales ??
Best = most releases ??
I'd certainly lean towards Crue and Poison as the defining "hair" bands.
Though as for the (imo) best individual album, I'd have to go with Skid Row s/t.
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You know, I was going to mention Native Tongue but figured it might be a little too obscure. I love Native Tongue, especially Kotzen's backing vocals. And guitar playing. Actually, he said in an interview, on the subject of Poison, that they basically let him write a whole chunk of the album (while boning Mrs Rockett, naturally). In hindsight, it does perhaps sound more like an early Kotzen solo outing rather than a Poison album.
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Extreme_%28_Extreme_album_-_cover_art%29.jpg)
They certainly looked the part for that album, even though they never sounded like hair metal. But maybe that makes them the best of them all.
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You know, I was going to mention Native Tongue but figured it might be a little too obscure. I love Native Tongue, especially Kotzen's backing vocals. And guitar playing. Actually, he said in an interview, on the subject of Poison, that they basically let him write a whole chunk of the album (while boning Mrs Rockett, naturally). In hindsight, it does perhaps sound more like an early Kotzen solo outing rather than a Poison album.
If only he hadn't shtooped Rikki's ex.
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"Here's one for ya.............."
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d6/Whitesnake_%28album%29.jpg/220px-Whitesnake_%28album%29.jpg)
Obviously not always a hair band but I don't think many would dispute they were very much so by 1987
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Extreme_%28_Extreme_album_-_cover_art%29.jpg)
They certainly looked the part for that album, even though they never sounded like hair metal. But maybe that makes them the best of them all.
Is that Hair band, or HEAD Band?
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Winger..especially when considering their second act (which I consider even more impressive than their first).
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My favorites:
- Night Ranger
- Cinderella
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From a musical standpoint, I've always loved Dokken.
But I always answer this question with Motley Crue. They just completely exemplify the hair band scene. They lived it, they ruled it, and they wrote great songs on top of it all. True bad boys of rock and roll.
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Cinderella easy.
Tesla and Skid Row often get lumped in as hair bands but I never viewed them as such.
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Ya know, it is really hard to define what a "hair band" is these days. I mean, people love their lists and genres (most of us, including myself fall into this category), but it is really subjective.
SO many great musical acts had big hair and makeup back from like 1985-1991. There are some killer bands that wrongly face a stigma of their music not being really good because of the high priority on image at the time. For example, most people would, I think, call Winger a "hair band." But Winger has some of the best musicians in rock music. Reb Beach is a virtuoso, Kip Winger is a brilliant songwriter, both in rock and classical music, and Rod Morgenstein plays in the Dixie Dregs. So how is Winger a "hair band" ya know?
You can say the same thing about groups such as Extreme and Skid Row. Both those bands get that hair band label too. But Extreme is much, much, more than that. And Skid Row is a metal band. Are we going to call Guns N Roses a hair band? Last I checked, back then, Axl's hair was teased up to the moon. :lol
I'm sorry to be shouting from the soapbox. I guess as I get older and grumpier, I don't really like the stigma attached to it. It makes it sound like the music created was bad, when it wasn't. Cinderella, Bon Jovi and Poison weren't metal bands. They were rock bands with a pop sensibility to them. Cinderella was bluesier, Bon Jovi was more pop and Thin Lizzy rock inspired, and Poison was a party vibe. Their songs were good and catchy. But the thing is, those songs, for the most part, stand up today, even if they are simpler.
So, I am not sure how to "pick" a hair band. I mean, if the majority of the lyrics were about tits and ass, and that's how you define "hair band" music, then maybe it would be Poison? I just don't know.
I just hate the label and stigma attached to it. It doesn't seem fair, and I think for years people have said -- "no, that band was labeled as a hair band, but they weren't because..." You can make that argument for every band in the 1980s except for the thrash bands.
p.s. no disrespect to Skeever and the original post. It just caught my attention this morning and I felt like ranting. :lol
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Ya know, it is really hard to define what a "hair band" is these days. I mean, people love their lists and genres (most of us, including myself fall into this category), but it is really subjective.
Yup, totally. For purposes of this thread, I'm going to be way overinclusive and go with basically You can make that argument for every band in the 1980s except for the thrash bands.
So, along those lines:
Y&T: Fantastic hard rock band that repeatedly sniffed but never quite achieved arena superstar status, except in select markets. But before desperately trying to go all-in and throw up the "hair metal hail Mary" with Summertime Girls and what followed, they had an INCREDIBLE run of outstanding hard rock albums in Earthshaker, Black Tiger, Meanstreak, and In Rock We Trust.
Def Leppard. At their peak (Pyromania and Hysteria) they were about as good as it gets (for 80's hair/glam bands).
Absolutely. Pyromania was such a huge game-changer for me musically. I was dumbfounded that music could sound like that and be that cool. And even when they overtly went a more pop route with Hysteria, they did it so well that it was hard to argue with.
Whitesnake: I realize I'm going to come across as a bandwagon jumper, but the run of Slide It In, s/t (1987), and Slip of the Tongue were outstanding. Coverdale just killed it with those albums.
Scorpions: Another band with a LONG career that had a sweet spot of a handful of albums that really did it for me. For me, it was Blackout (although the two albums preceding it were pretty good as well) through Savage Amusement, and then the resurgence with Face the Heat (Crazy World didn't really do it for me, despite its commercial success).
Tesla: Their first two albums are incredible, straightforward hard rock. Doesn't get much better. I didn't care for subsequent releases as much, but there were still some strong songs here and there. Into the Now was a HUGE comeback.
Skid Row: Similar to Tesla, their first two albums are amazing, and then they fell off my radar. Such a huge change in form from the s/t to Slave To the Grind. But Slave is so raw and heavy, and yet still melodic, and that's what makes it.
Cinderella: Again, two outstanding albums to kick off the start of their career. These two albums are classics.
Badlands: They occupy a strange place, as a pseudo-super group. But they wrote some incredible tunes.
Stryper: Every album of theirs other than THWTD seems to have a few really good songs, and then a bunch of others I couldn't care less about. But those good ones, and that one solid album throughout, put them on my list. And Michael Sweet is a REALLY good guitarist and singer.
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White lion because they had Vito Bratta on guitar.
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Cinderella: Again, two outstanding albums to kick off the start of their career. These two albums are classics.
Now that's interesting. I'd put Heartbreak Station quite some way ahead of Night Songs although it's still a fine album. Long Cold Winter, though: :hefdaddy For me, the only weak track is Fire and Ice but it's still perfectly okay.
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Cinderella: Again, two outstanding albums to kick off the start of their career. These two albums are classics.
Now that's interesting. I'd put Heartbreak Station quite some way ahead of Night Songs although it's still a fine album. Long Cold Winter, though: :hefdaddy For me, the only weak track is Fire and Ice but it's still perfectly okay.
Really? Huh. I like it, but I just feel the dropoff. I mean, they are a band where you can clearly see/hear what they were about by following the evolution of their four albums. For Night Songs, they had that blues base, but had put themselves into that hair metal mold to capitalize on it. It is part of their sound, and I felt that they did it well. They achieved enough success that they had a bit more say in their sound by the next album, and it was mixed in terms of them bringing to the table what had made them successful, while sprinkling in a lot more of that blues sound that Tom was a huge fan of. They had enough clout to bring out that influence more, and had been enough of an industry success that the label was going to have big names work with them enough to package it all in a way that would be commercially successful. And it was. And that gave them more clout and more freedom to just do what they wanted for the third album. And that is where, to my ears, they went too far and got just a bit afield from what I liked about them to begin with.
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Cinderella: Again, two outstanding albums to kick off the start of their career. These two albums are classics.
Now that's interesting. I'd put Heartbreak Station quite some way ahead of Night Songs although it's still a fine album. Long Cold Winter, though: :hefdaddy For me, the only weak track is Fire and Ice but it's still perfectly okay.
Really? Huh. I like it, but I just feel the dropoff. I mean, they are a band where you can clearly see/hear what they were about by following the evolution of their four albums. For Night Songs, they had that blues base, but had put themselves into that hair metal mold to capitalize on it. It is part of their sound, and I felt that they did it well. They achieved enough success that they had a bit more say in their sound by the next album, and it was mixed in terms of them bringing to the table what had made them successful, while sprinkling in a lot more of that blues sound that Tom was a huge fan of. They had enough clout to bring out that influence more, and had been enough of an industry success that the label was going to have big names work with them enough to package it all in a way that would be commercially successful. And it was. And that gave them more clout and more freedom to just do what they wanted for the third album. And that is where, to my ears, they went too far and got just a bit afield from what I liked about them to begin with.
I'd have to agree that LCW is Cinderella at their peak. Heartbreak Station strayed a little too far from what they did best.
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^Yeah, exactly. I think Heartbreak Station was the album they (or at least Tom) always wanted to make. But it wasn't they type of album that represented what they were best at.
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I thought that Heartbreak Station was just so... clichéd. Not that Night Songs wasn't, haha, but it seemed like HS was that album that "showed we had substance", but it was, for me, a bad Stones knockoff, whereas there was some interesting, reasonably fresh stuff on NS and LCW.
By the way, Still Climbing is worth searching out. It's kind of more towards LCW than HS, though it doesn't have the songs from top to bottom that LCW does. But it does have two of my favorite Cinderella songs: "Hard To Find The Words" (that song hits SO close to home) and "The Road's Still Long".
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I generally hate using this criticism, but there's no other way to say it: I found Still Climbing to be fairly unmemorable, other than having more in common with Heartbreak Station than LCW. I didn't hate it. But after listening to it a few times when it was released, I never really felt like going back to it for any reason.
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Dokken
This. I went through 2 or 3 copies of the of Under Lock and Key cassette. Damn, now I have to go listen to it again.
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I generally hate using this criticism, but there's no other way to say it: I found Still Climbing to be fairly unmemorable, other than having more in common with Heartbreak Station than LCW. I didn't hate it. But after listening to it a few times when it was released, I never really felt like going back to it for any reason.
Admittedly, my opinion might be colored by the times. I saw Cinderella - having never heard of them - open for David Lee Roth, and they blew me away (it was the Night Songs tour). So friggin' good. And I thought LCW was just the next step above for me. I was SOO looking forward to the next album and was totally underwhelmed by "Shelter Me" (one of my least favorite Cinderella songs ever). Coming as it did right as the Black Crowes hit it big with their version of the Rolling Stones Revue, it just seemed so... opportunistic. This was, after all, the time that Fish issued his first solo album and Robert Plant had sort of put his "Zeppelin" demons to rest with Manic Nirvana. I didn't get Still Climbing until WAYYYYY later, around the time I saw them at the Electric Factory in Philly (around 2010) and figured I should complete the catalogue.
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Stadler, when was the DLR show? I saw DLR in Providence in January of '87 and Tesla opened. Are you sure that wasn't '88? I don't remember who opened his next tour. I didn't go.
I did see Cinderella (and Extreme) open for DLR in '91 in Mansfield.
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re: Cinderella
Love the band. I agree with bosk1 that Heartbreak Station is where the "drop off" feeling occurred. Night Songs and Long Cold Winter were excellent, but it felt like they were starting to lose steam a bit. I like it a lot, but it hit me the same way. I never got around to getting Still Climbing until about seven or eight years ago, and stupidly sold it during a CD purge. I still have it digitally, but need to find it again on CD and put back in the collection.
p.s. I thankfully got to see them live on Aug. 1, 2010, opening for the Scorpions. So glad I did, given that it doesn't look like they will reform any time soon.
Re: Dokken
I get the appeal, but was never a big fan for whatever reason. I'm still not. And not really interested any longer in seeing them without that classic lineup. I've seen Lynch Mob, and George Lynch solo, but never Dokken (or Don Dokken). I was supposed to, but a winter storm in 2003 prevented a flight that would have gotten me there (it was a package tour with Whitesnake, I believe).
Re: Def Leppard
Ya know, like most, I found out about the band during the Pyro/Hysteria years. I became a fan and followed them though Euphoria (which had a couple of tracks, Promises, and most importantly, Paper Sun) that I loved. After that...pass. But it's hard to deny Hysteria and the era it was in. Def Leppard was a borderline stadium act then, before 80s metal bands played stadiums...
Re: Winger
Winger is an incredible band, regardless of era. I was very disappointed in their last release, because it was co-written with some 80s songwriter whose name I can't recall. But before that, starting with Pull and going through Karma, the band really developed some great progressive songwriting. And that's not surprising, given my previous post about the individual members of the band and just how incredible they are.
That said, you can't deny the self-titled (Sahara) and In the Heart of the Young albums' marketing...Kip went the sex symbol route...and it worked. LOL.
Re: Extreme
Being a Long Islander, a diehard Yankees fan, and a proud overall New Yorker, I hate Boston. (No offense to some of the great people I know from there.) I even turned down a scholarship to attend a prominent law school in Boston because I didn't want to live in the city. :lol :lol That said, Extreme was one of the best things to ever come out of Beantown. They were and are such a dynamite band. The key thing about Extreme was the complexity of their music flew over the heads of so many people. Everyone knows how deep Three Sides is, but not many realize that Pornograffiti is a concept album. Nuno has talked about that over the last few years when they celebrated its anniversary. They sort of patterned some of it after The Who. Queen, and Queensryche.
Sure, they got the "hair band" stigma because of the image from the first record (which is grossly underrated), the flamboyance of Cherone, and of course, the big ballad with More Than Words. But they weren't singing about tits and ass to sing about tits and ass. There was a story involved.
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I still can't believe Fred Coury only played drums on one of their four albums (Heartbreak Station). Okay, two. He played on one song from Still Climbing.
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So many of these "hair" bands had the most talented (still today) guitar players.
Vai - DLR/Whitesnake
Becker - DLR
Bratta - White Lion
Gilbert - Mr. Big
Bettencourt - Extreme
Yngvie
Beach - Winger
Collen - Def Leppard
The list could go on.
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I still can't believe Fred Coury only played drums on one of their four albums (Heartbreak Station). Okay, two. He played on one song from Still Climbing.
Never knew that. Who did?
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I still can't believe Fred Coury only played drums on one of their four albums (Heartbreak Station). Okay, two. He played on one song from Still Climbing.
Never knew that. Who did?
I believe Denny Carmassi did some, but I don't remember. Hang on...
EDIT: Jody Cortez on Night Songs. No idea. Must be a session guy. Denny Carmassi on LCW. Kenny Aronoff on Still Climbing. LWC was the one I remembered. I was surprised at the time because I didn't know it was a thing for non-band members to step in on albums. But there are reasons for it, I guess. As much of a beast as Jimmy DeGrasso is, and as much as he has done more complicated drum parts before and after, he couldn't for some reason get his anxiety under control when recording Y&T's Ten album and had to excuse himself from the studio, so they brought in Steve Smith to lay down the drums on that album. Steve says he kept 99% of what Jimmy did, so it is still Jimmy's parts that are on the album. But Steve Smith played them. My understanding is that Coury similarly wrote the drum parts for most Cinderella songs, but just didn't play them for whatever reason.
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re: White Lion (thanks for mentioning them jingle boy)
I love this band. They were great, and while a product of the era, Vito Bratta was the real f'in deal on guitar. That guy was phenomenal.
Funny story - back in 2008, Mike Tramp did a tour for "Mike Tramp's White Lion." He was coming my way, so I was planning to go. I saw an email from his promoter sent out to those that signed up for news, that the show in my town was tentatively canceled due to a venue problem. I inquired, and apparently the place was shutting down. He said they were trying to book at another venue in town.
About a week later, he sends out the updated venue. I had never heard of it. It was simply called "The Motorcycle Club" with an address in a suburb. A day before the show (the gig was a Saturday night, I believe), I am driving back from dinner with the Mrs., and we go hunting for the venue. The address brings us to this storage facility. Unmarked, not one of the chains, just an office park with a bunch of storage garages. I shook my head. It certainly couldn't be this...
Well, I go to the show the next night, and yup, that's it. Apparently someone in a local motorcycle club that rented one of the bigger garage spaces there for a hangout, wanted the band to play. I parked on the road, walked in, and there were maybe 20 people there, and there was an opening band called "The Grumpy." They were playing in a corner of the storage garage. Bathrooms and a makeshift bar were on the other side. They were selling beer out of coolers.
A really cheap RV rolls up, and about 20 minutes later, out steps Mike Tramp and his band. Tramp is clearly nervous as hell for whatever reason. They play, do a decent job, but they cut out the ballads. He thanks them for having them at their club. 75 minutes of watching Mike Tramp literally look like he's going to piss himself (he was all rock star looking). It was one of the saddest, but most funny concert moments I've ever had. I just sat on one of the bar stools the whole night, nursed a beer, and just wondered what Vito Bratta was thinking... :rollin
Re: FireHouse
Any love for these guys? I dug em. Still do. Got to see them years ago at a casino (2006, I think). They played for 75 minutes. Great set, CJ Snare sounded amazing. It was sad though. There were like 50 people, max. CJ called out to them during the show, as the band stop playing, to sing a line, and there were...crickets. It was SO uncomfortable. LOL. But solid gig.
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re: studio musicians subbing in
Bosk -- thanks for the Cinderella info. That's interesting. Here's another band from this era that did that:
WARRANT
I thought Warrant's first three records were really good. What I didn't know was, all the lead guitars on the first record, and I am guessing some of the rhythms, were done with an outside guy. Apparently the guitarists in Warrant weren't good enough at that point to play to a level that would benefit the record. So someone else recorded the guitars on Jani Lane's songs. Unreal.
BTW - Jani Lane was a great songwriter. I love that first Warrant record, and Cherry Pie aside, the second record smoked. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" remains their best song ever (for me) and I really wish the label wouldn't have made them write Cherry Pie and change the name of the record to that. Jani shouldn't have caved, but it was a double-edged sword...such as shame he is no longer with us.
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Stadler, when was the DLR show? I saw DLR in Providence in January of '87 and Tesla opened. Are you sure that wasn't '88? I don't remember who opened his next tour. I didn't go.
I did see Cinderella (and Extreme) open for DLR in '91 in Mansfield.
It was October of '86, the Eat 'Em and Smile tour. Cinderella played the entire Night Songs record (though not in order).
As for drums:
Jody Cortez played on Night Songs, as Fred didn't join until after the album was recorded. The album cover was shot on my street in Philly, about four blocks from where I lived for several years.
Denny Carmassi played on Long Cold Winter (though I've heard Cozy Powell played some as well). I don't know why Coury wasn't on the record.
Kenny Aronoff played on Still Climbing, though Fred Coury played on the song "Hot and Bothered". H&B was recorded earlier for Wayne's World.
Vito Bratta is a beast; it's a shame his muse isn't music anymore.
EDIT: I just saw Bosk's post. Sorry, I didn't mean to repeat.
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Vito Bratta is a beast; it's a shame his muse isn't music anymore.
I'd love to know what happened to him. He's more elusive than Jake E. Lee ever was. And, last night, I was listening to a podcast interview with Mike Tramp (who sounds like Lars Ulrich's little brother). There's definitely no love lost between those two. Tramp kept saying the two of them never had anything in common and never hung out together back in the day. He went on to say that, even if Vito Bratta ever decided to come back, he'd have no interest in playing with him again. I wonder if he's just that butt-hurt that Vito won't come back or if there really is another reason why he would never play with him again. It's not like Mike Tramp, solo artist, is in huge demand. Although, I would be curious to hear his recent stuff.
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Vito Bratta is a beast; it's a shame his muse isn't music anymore.
I'd love to know what happened to him. He's more elusive than Jake E. Lee ever was. And, last night, I was listening to a podcast interview with Mike Tramp (who sounds like Lars Ulrich's little brother). There's definitely no love lost between those two. Tramp kept saying the two of them never had anything in common and never hung out together back in the day. He went on to say that, even if Vito Bratta ever decided to come back, he'd have no interest in playing with him again. I wonder if he's just that butt-hurt that Vito won't come back or if there really is another reason why he would never play with him again. It's not like Mike Tramp, solo artist, is in huge demand. Although, I would be curious to hear his recent stuff.
Vito doesn't play any longer. He hung it up to go get a regular job and support his parents, who needed it. He lives in Staten Island, I believe, with a regular 9-5. He was on Eddie Trunk's show a few years back, and basically explained that he loves the fact people still enjoy the music, he doesn't intend to go back to playing.
A few years after that, apparently Vito and Mike resolved a lawsuit, giving Mike the ability to call whatever band he has "White Lion." But I don't know the specifics of it.
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Here's another band from this era that did that:
WARRANT
I thought Warrant's first three records were really good. What I didn't know was, all the lead guitars on the first record, and I am guessing some of the rhythms, were done with an outside guy. Apparently the guitarists in Warrant weren't good enough at that point to play to a level that would benefit the record. So someone else recorded the guitars on Jani Lane's songs. Unreal.
BTW - Jani Lane was a great songwriter. I love that first Warrant record, and Cherry Pie aside, the second record smoked. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" remains their best song ever (for me) and I really wish the label wouldn't have made them write Cherry Pie and change the name of the record to that. Jani shouldn't have caved, but it was a double-edged sword...such as shame he is no longer with us.
Oh, I didn't realize that. They were one of those few bands where I was in on the ground floor. I saw them as an opener before the first album was released, and they put on an amazing show. I picked up DRFSR on release and felt privileged when it blew up months later once Down Boys and Heaven started getting played on radio and MTV.
Jody Cortez played on Night Songs, as Fred didn't join until after the album was recorded.
Ah, didn't know that was the reason. Was Cortez a "former member" or was he a session guy brought in because they didn't have a drummer at the time?
And since no discussion of Cinderella's formative years would be complete without this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XOWYe9TgaU
...which sort of brings my entire post full circle, since the show I referenced above where I discovered Warrant was being headlined by Britny Fox. And any diehard fan of Cinderella is going to know the connection between Cinderella and Britny Fox. I thought the latter were a pretty good band as well. Michael Kelly Smith is a fun guy to talk to. I thought Tommy Paris was a much better fit for them at singer and was glad they moved that direction. Shame it was so late in the game for bands of this type that they didn't get any traction.
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"Uncle Tom's Cabin" remains their best song ever (for me)
Just in case you need instructions on how to jam to this song, courtesy of our local tribute band. https://www.facebook.com/hairbangersball/videos/10154596036673079/
Also my favorite Warrant tune.
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Jody Cortez played on Night Songs, as Fred didn't join until after the album was recorded.
Ah, didn't know that was the reason. Was Cortez a "former member" or was he a session guy brought in because they didn't have a drummer at the time?
As I understand it, he was a session guy because they were between drummers, though the Wiki article indicates that they HAD a drummer when recording the album, and that there was another guy in between recording and touring and before Coury joined. But I've never heard that before. Coury played with Ozzy as a fill-in before Cinderella.
I just noticed that "Kevin Valentine" was listed as a "previous member" but I can't see where or when that was. Kevin Valentine basically played all the drums on Kiss's Psycho Circus.
...which sort of brings my entire post full circle, since the show I referenced above where I discovered Warrant was being headlined by Britny Fox. And any diehard fan of Cinderella is going to know the connection between Cinderella and Britny Fox. I thought the latter were a pretty good band as well. Michael Kelly Smith is a fun guy to talk to. I thought Tommy Paris was a much better fit for them at singer and was glad they moved that direction. Shame it was so late in the game for bands of this type that they didn't get any traction.
A couple guys in Britny Fox were in an early version of Cinderella in Pennsylvania, no? Poison was originally from PA too, I think.
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A couple guys in Britny Fox were in an early version of Cinderella in Pennsylvania, no? Poison was originally from PA too, I think.
Cinderella and Britny Fox were from Philly. Britny's first drummer was from Cinderella. I think Poison was from the Harrisburg, PA area.
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A couple guys in Britny Fox were in an early version of Cinderella in Pennsylvania, no? Poison was originally from PA too, I think.
Cinderella and Britny Fox were from Philly. Britny's first drummer was from Cinderella.
Yes. Cinderella's original lineup was Kieffer and Brittingham, along with Michael Kelly Smith on guitar and Tony Destra on drums. Smith and Destra left to form Britny Fox.
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WARRANT
I am certainly no Warrant fan, but I've said this before. I saw them twice. Opening for Crue on the Feelgood tour in an arena and opening for Paul Stanley in a club, and they COMMANDED both stages.
Outstanding live band.
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I am certainly no Warrant fan, but I've said this before. I saw them twice. Opening for Crue on the Feelgood tour in an arena and opening for Paul Stanley in a club, and they COMMANDED both stages.
Outstanding live band.
There is a really good interview with Erik Turner from earlier this year on Dean DelRay's "Let There Be Talk" podcast. Apparently, they always had a great live presence, even in the club days. Not really being a fan of theirs, I wouldn't know.
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Blue Murder with Tony Franklin and John Sykes , one of the best live bands I have ever seen. Hammerjacks 1980 something . I think Tony is still jamming somewhere.
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I am certainly no Warrant fan, but I've said this before. I saw them twice. Opening for Crue on the Feelgood tour in an arena and opening for Paul Stanley in a club, and they COMMANDED both stages.
Outstanding live band.
There is a really good interview with Erik Turner from earlier this year on Dean DelRay's "Let There Be Talk" podcast. Apparently, they always had a great live presence, even in the club days. Not really being a fan of theirs, I wouldn't know.
I've heard that before; if I'm not mistaken the Used Bin Radio guys (who were there on the Strip back in the day) said something similar, but I've also heard that the guitar players couldn't cut it on record. Hard to believe the two are both true (though it's possible, I suppose).
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re: studio musicians subbing in
Bosk -- thanks for the Cinderella info. That's interesting. Here's another band from this era that did that:
WARRANT
I thought Warrant's first three records were really good. What I didn't know was, all the lead guitars on the first record, and I am guessing some of the rhythms, were done with an outside guy. Apparently the guitarists in Warrant weren't good enough at that point to play to a level that would benefit the record. So someone else recorded the guitars on Jani Lane's songs. Unreal.
BTW - Jani Lane was a great songwriter. I love that first Warrant record, and Cherry Pie aside, the second record smoked. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" remains their best song ever (for me) and I really wish the label wouldn't have made them write Cherry Pie and change the name of the record to that. Jani shouldn't have caved, but it was a double-edged sword...such as shame he is no longer with us.
There was a disclaimer on the 3rd album from the producer stating that all guitars were played by members of Warrant on that album. Strange as the guitars don't stand out as being anything other than ok on the first two albums.
At the time, I never heard the music referred to as Hair Metal. It was just metal, or hard rock.
I don't think there's been a band mentioned yet I don't like.
I'll throw Vain into the mix. Their No Respect album is killer. They toured the uk with Skid Row and blew them off the stage.
And Samsara, I love the first two Firehouse albums. They went to shit after that though.
But Brent had it right, don't listen to TAC 😀
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Warrant's Dog Eat Dog was really good. That is the one with Machine Gun on it, if I remember right. But that is an outstanding record. Either way, the songs were written by Jani, which shows how good he was as a songwriter. Good stuff.
Agreed on Firehouse. Reach for the Sky is my favorite track, and that's on the second record, Hold Your Fire. I have the third album, but if I remember right, there really wasn't much growth, and the songs weren't there.
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9c/Extreme_%28_Extreme_album_-_cover_art%29.jpg)
They certainly looked the part for that album, even though they never sounded like hair metal. But maybe that makes them the best of them all.
Is that Hair band, or HEAD Band?
:rollin
Well played, sir!
But Brent had it right, don't listen to TAC 😀
;D
Not well played!
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I didn't really care for Dog Eat Dog. Maybe it was just because it was such a departure back then. It could be something I would appreciate more now, but I don't recall a thing about it.
I bought the first Firehouse album and thought it was okay. But I didn't like it enough to bother with the second one.
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I didn't really care for Dog Eat Dog. Maybe it was just because it was such a departure back then. It could be something I would appreciate more now, but I don't recall a thing about it.
I bought the first Firehouse album and thought it was okay. But I didn't like it enough to bother with the second one.
I probably play Dog Eat Dog more than the first two albums. The one after that went grunge and was pretty shit.
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Definitely not Ratt. They were a flash in the pan. They had one headline arena tour in 1985.
Bon Jovi is the answer, even though while I don't really consider them a hair band, they were responsible for Hair Metal's success.
Other than that, you're looking at Motley Crue and Poison.
I liked Ratt a lot, but you're right. Their success was very short lived. If I'm not mistaken, Bon Jovi actually opened for Ratt on that 1985 Tour. That's the only time I saw Bon Jovi live.
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Definitely not Ratt. They were a flash in the pan. They had one headline arena tour in 1985.
Bon Jovi is the answer, even though while I don't really consider them a hair band, they were responsible for Hair Metal's success.
Other than that, you're looking at Motley Crue and Poison.
I liked Ratt a lot, but you're right. Their success was very short lived. If I'm not mistaken, Bon Jovi actually opened for Ratt on that 1985 Tour. That's the only time I saw Bon Jovi live.
You're correct Steve. Bon Jovi did open that tour. 7800. I didn't go. I remember it well though. I thought Ratt sucked. I did see Bon Jovi open for Scorpions the previous year though.
Bon Jovi was fantastic live.
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I first saw Bon Jovi opening up for the Scorpions on The Love at First Sting tour. I agree with Tim. I had my own favorites but they never lasted. One or two albums and gone.
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Just to jump on the bandwagon with some of these...
Firehouse debut was killer; Hold Your Fire had it's moments, but was mostly mediocre. Everything after was shit.
Warrant - Dog Eat Dog was their peak ... don't know much of what came after. Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the greatest songs from this group of bands.
Slaughter was another one that had two terrific first albums, but then fell off after that. I didn't re-discover them until a few years back, and was pleasantly surprised at the rest of their 90s output. Mark just released a solo EP about a month ago ... it's "solid".
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Just to jump on the bandwagon with some of these...
Firehouse debut was killer; Hold Your Fire had it's moments, but was mostly mediocre. Everything after was shit.
Warrant - Dog Eat Dog was their peak ... don't know much of what came after. Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the greatest songs from this group of bands.
Slaughter was another one that had two terrific first albums, but then fell off after that. I didn't re-discover them until a few years back, and was pleasantly surprised at the rest of their 90s output. Mark just released a solo EP about a month ago ... it's "solid".
Never bothered with Slaughter after the debut. Not a fan of his voice as it's in the same ballpark as another singer I can't stand...cough Robert Plant cough
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Mark's voice is a thousand times better than Robert Fleischman on those Vinnie Vincent albums. Now there's a voice I can't stand.
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Mark's voice is a thousand times better than Robert Fleischman on those Vinnie Vincent albums. Now there's a voice I can't stand.
Maybe, but that first VVI album was the only one with personality.
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The vocals on the first Elm made that album unlistenable.
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The vocals on the first Elm made that album unlistenable.
I actually like the Oak. The Pine was pretty good too.
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Why have you all not agreed on Winger yet?
Because that's the right answer.
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Actually the correct answer is a tie between Rough Cutt and Leatherwolf. Triple Axe Attack baby, triple axe attack!
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Just to jump on the bandwagon with some of these...
Firehouse debut was killer; Hold Your Fire had it's moments, but was mostly mediocre. Everything after was shit.
Warrant - Dog Eat Dog was their peak ... don't know much of what came after. Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the greatest songs from this group of bands.
Slaughter was another one that had two terrific first albums, but then fell off after that. I didn't re-discover them until a few years back, and was pleasantly surprised at the rest of their 90s output. Mark just released a solo EP about a month ago ... it's "solid".
Never bothered with Slaughter after the debut. Not a fan of his voice as it's in the same ballpark as another singer I can't stand...cough Robert Plant cough
Yeah yeah... I know your stance on those two. We all have our special fail... or fails in this case. :D
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I don't know if I could say who's the best but these days my favorites are Tesla and Dokken. Def Leppard and Motley Crue are in there as well. With Crue, I'm only really familiar with Shout at The Devil, Decade of Decadence, and the self-titled album. It's a shame "Decade..." is out of print. It was a nice one-stop shop. :P
I grew up on a lot of the bands mentioned in this thread although for some of them, I only know two or three songs (Cinderella, Winger, Warrant, etc.). Nice to see people still remember Firehouse and White Lion. Both of their debut albums were in the mix when I was a kid. I also loved the Slave To The Grind album by Skid Row.
Unless I've missed it, I haven't seen any mention of Great White or Kingdom Come, although they were barely even a flash in the pan at all. :P
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I admittedly never got the fascination with Cinderella. Granted, I've only heard the hits, and I liked Nobody's Fool, but the rest never did a lot for me. I mean, I would watch the videos when they were on MTV back then, but I never went out of my way to hear their songs like I did for songs by Europe, Stryper, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses and Poison.
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The vocals on the first Elm made that album unlistenable.
I actually like the Oak. The Pine was pretty good too.
I also hear you like it in the r***:biggrin:
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I admittedly never got the fascination with Cinderella. Granted, I've only heard the hits, and I liked Nobody's Fool, but the rest never did a lot for me. I mean, I would watch the videos when they were on MTV back then, but I never went out of my way to hear their songs like I did for songs by Europe, Stryper, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses and Poison.
I loved his vocals on Coming Home when he didn't shriek.
Speaking of voices I hated. That Britny Fox singer Dizzy Dean. Man I hated his voice.
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I think a good question would be which hair metal had the best monster ballad. Seems like they all had one that was hugely popular at the time.
Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
Europe - Carrie
Cinderella - Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)
Motley Crue - Home Sweet Home
Stryper - Honestly
What am I am missing?
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I think a good question would be which hair metal had the best monster ballad. Seems like they all had one that was hugely popular at the time.
Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
Europe - Carrie
Cinderella - Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)
Motley Crue - Home Sweet Home
Stryper - Honestly
What am I am missing?
Winger - Headed For A Heartbreak
Tesla - Love Song
Dokken - Alone Again
Skid Row - I Remember You
White Lion - When The Children Cry
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Warrant - Heaven
Winger- Headed For A Heartbreak
Giant - I'll See You In My Dreams
Ninja'd.
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Oh lord, you're missing a bunch
Skid Row - I Remember You
Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive
Damn Yankees - High Enough
Slaughter - Fly To The Angels
White Lion - When the Children Cry
Tesla - Love Song (though, I personally wasn't a fan)
Warrant - Heaven
And since when the fuck is Sweet Child O' Mine a power ballad?
Edit - Double ninja'd
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Would Faster Pussycats "House of Pain" qualify?
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Would Faster Pussycats "House of Pain" qualify?
Yes, it qualifies for House of Shit!
Winger- Headed For A Heartbreak
Winger - Headed For A Heartbreak
Really guys? WTF??
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Winger - Headed For A Heartbreak
Really guys? WTF??
Winger Theater Forums...
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Tim, you take you "build a wall to keep Winger out of this thread" propaganda out of here! :lol
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More like Heading For An Earache.
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More like Heading For An Earache.
Come on now man. Can't even admit they have one good song?
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I believe Wolfking won the Winger Round with a "just ok" song.
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I need to revisit that and see what people sent for songs.
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I need to revisit that and see what people sent for songs.
I don't! :lol
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:lolus
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My initial thought was Def Leppard. But they were also my favorite.
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The def leppard High and dry album was one of the best of the decade. When Steve Clark died they lost the heart and soul of their band.
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Guess I'm the odd one out there but:
Cinderella's first two records are good but nothing really special, Heartbreak Station set them apart and is (imo) their best one by miles.
Same goes for Tesla, the first two are good but Psychotic Supper and (to a lesser degree) Bust A Nut knock them out of the park.
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I first saw Bon Jovi opening up for the Scorpions on The Love at First Sting tour. I agree with Tim. I had my own favorites but they never lasted. One or two albums and gone.
I'm pretty sure I saw that tour as well. I know I saw BJ as an opener. They were pretty good.
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I'm not sure why Enuff Z'nuff isn't mentioned more here. "Fly High Michelle" is a truly great song if you ask me.
Have we decided whether Night Ranger is a "hair band" or not? Or not? I like almost all their records, but the first two are just stellar from top to bottom.
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Enuff Z'nuff -- weren't they kind of late in the game, and had this whole hippy image to set them apart? I liked "Fly High Michelle" and another song, but they were good. Apparently the main guy in the band (guitarist, I think) sings better than the lead singer, and after the latter got into some issues, kicked him out recently, and now just sings everything himself. :lol
Also... hey Tim...
(https://noseatbeltblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/winger-512bcfe0e03fc.jpg)
CLEARLY this is the best band from this era. Just accept that your hate is misplaced, and you are simply incorrect. :lol
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I first saw Bon Jovi opening up for the Scorpions on The Love at First Sting tour. I agree with Tim. I had my own favorites but they never lasted. One or two albums and gone.
I'm pretty sure I saw that tour as well. I know I saw BJ as an opener. They were pretty good.
I have always enjoyed BJ as an opener but umm............Bon Jovi were my first ever arena gig at the age of around 17yo. New Jersey tour with an Aussie hair band called Roxus opening. Great concert although I he was already struggling with his range (non-existent "these days"). Juno Roxus actually made Bon Jovi seem underwhelming in the vocal department.
Sadly New Jersey was the last album of theirs that really interested me. I was fully on board up to including that one though. Slippery When Wet was number one forever in Australia. Good times.
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Tesla's probably my favorite from this time period. Unjustly categorized as a "hair" band, in my opinion. The Great Radio Controversy is probably my favorite. But, you can't go wrong with really anything off the first four. And, Into The Now was a pretty solid return.
Unfortunately, the last few have been pretty generic. They needed to pick up the tempo a bit on at least a few songs. Too much mid-tempo sameness.
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Tesla's probably my favorite from this time period. Unjustly categorized as a "hair" band, in my opinion. The Great Radio Controversy is probably my favorite.
The first three were killer. TGRC got the gong in my Top 50 but it could've been any one of them. Psychotic Supper is patchy but the best songs are some of my all time faves - esp Song and Emotion :metal
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I have always enjoyed BJ as an opener but umm............Bon Jovi were my first ever arena gig at the age of around 17yo. New Jersey tour with an Aussie hair band called Roxus opening. Great concert although I he was already struggling with his range (non-existent "these days"). Juno Roxus actually made Bon Jovi seem underwhelming in the vocal department.
Sadly New Jersey was the last album of theirs that really interested me. I was fully on board up to including that one though. Slippery When Wet was number one forever in Australia. Good times.
Bon Jovi were an early favorite of mine. I remember when Slippery came out. I was 10, and I remember kids at school having all these wild, disgusting rumors about Jon Bon Jovi. :lol But I didn't care. Slippery was great, and I remember my mother going grocery shopping one day, and they used to (back then) have these cases where they locked up cassettes to buy. She picked me up that and 7800, and man, they rocked. I don't remember when I got the self-titled, but it was probably a year after that, and I wasn't as impressed (since then, I appreciate it more).
New Jersey was just crazy good. After that, I do have Keep the Faith, although it wasn't as good (Dry County absolutely slayed, however). I do have an affinity for These Days, however. The title track, Hey God, This Ain't a Love Song, and the killer "Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arms" are all excellent. The rest of the album...not so much.
After that, Bon Jovi went total pop with Crush in 1999, and that's when I stopped being a fan. A couple good songs after that, but they albums weren't worth it for me.
I saw them on the These Days tour at Jones Beach in 1995. Great set, although the image seared into my brain was the two gigantic blow-up hula dancers on either side of the stage, who were topless with huge tits. :lol
re: TESLA
>>>>>>>>>>Tesla was a huge favorite through the comeback record Into the Now. After that, once they booted Tommy, they lost their metal edge. Dave Rude, who replaced Tommy in 2006 (I saw the last show with Tommy, which was an animal rights benefit show, I believe), is a hell of a nice guy and an incredible player. But he's more into the same vibe as Frank Hannon -- that hippy heavy rock thing. As a result, all the records after Into the Now, while OK, are more mellow to a degree. The last one, Simplicity, just sounded like old men playing classic rock songs. It just bored me to tears.
BUT, back in the day, from the beginning through Into the Now, Tesla absolutely slayed. SO many great songs and good records. The Great Radio Controversy was the big one for them, and it is amazing. But I think some of their best stuff appeared on Psychotic Supper and Bust a Nut (thinking Freedom Slaves and Shine Away.
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^
Agreed Brian..................love Freedom Slaves and Keep The Faith was pretty much a one song play for me (Dry County)
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For all the talk about Winger, "Down Incognito" is one of my favorite songs of all time by any band. "Cause I'm all out of charm.... and I'm all out of money... hangin' down incognito... waitin' for the sun to shine!" I LOVE LOVE LOVE his voice on that song. One time I was driving in my car and I hit repeat on that song EIGHT times.
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I just didn't like Winger. For a lot of reasons, they are an easy punching bag, as unfair as that might be. There is no denying the musicianship. And I know they've done a lot of music that is far better than Seventeen. But I just didn't care for them.
Samsara, I'm with you on Bon Jovi. Through New Jersey, I thought they were fantastic. I bought the s/t as an impulse buy one day at the record store. I don't remember whether 7800 had recently come out, or if it came out shortly after that, but I bought that one not long after. I loved them both. I remember the in-store ads and displays for Slippery before it came out. A lot of that stuff had the original album cover that ended up getting pulled. Bought that one and loved it. New Jersey came out while I was in Marine Corps boot camp, and I remember buying it at the PX on graduation day. It was really the soundtrack of that Summer and Fall, and I have a LOT of nostalgia wrapped up in that album. There are so many songs on that one that are just perfect and easy to latch onto for a young dude getting out away from home and finding his own way for the first time, being a long way from home, and missing his girl who was halfway around the country. I remember pulling that album off the shelf a couple of years ago. I was surprised and disappointed about how little a lot of those songs emotionally resonate with me now because my life is just so different than it was back then. But in terms of the music, it obviously still stands up.
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Tesla's probably my favorite from this time period. Unjustly categorized as a "hair" band, in my opinion. The Great Radio Controversy is probably my favorite.
The first three were killer. TGRC got the gong in my Top 50 but it could've been any one of them. Psychotic Supper is patchy but the best songs are some of my all time faves - esp Song and Emotion :metal
This precisely. Really didn't like Bust A Nut when it came out, but when I spun a few years ago, it had aged well. I tried Forever More, and thought it was good, but I don't remember Into the Now at all?? *off to Spotify*... Oh, here's why I don't remember it, IT'S NOT ON SPOTIFY! :angry: *off to YT*
@ Stads... Down Incognito is a teriffic song, but Blind Revolution Mad is where it's at for me.
I look at Keep the Faith the same way I look at Psychotic Supper. Some really great songs, but too much mediocrity (or worse). I gave up on them after These Days
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bosk,
It's weird with Bon Jovi's lyrics. I think many are timeless stories. I mean, the stuff like Bad Medicine, and all the initial relationship songs like Born to Be My Baby and Living in Sin are what they are, and I'm (like you) way past it. But then you have stuff like Blood on Blood, Stick to Your Guns, stuff like that still resonates.
I can't think back to all the songs on the albums before that, but it's sorta the same in a way. Slippery very much reminded me of Thin Lizzy. Jon has this way of telling a story like Phil Lynott. Some of it was a young man's lustful stuff, but others really are more timeless. If you speed up a few years to Keep the Faith and These Days, when Jon got a bit more socially conscious, it really resonated a bit. He matured as a lyricist even further, and that's why I stuck with them.
I haven't given Bon Jovi's post-These Days albums a critical look, at least lyrically (musically, they are mostly too pop for me). But one thing I always say about Jon -- he hasn't lost that storyteller vibe he always had.
But on New Jersey, man, that album is the perfect blend of nostalgic songs and timeless anthems.
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@ Stads... Down Incognito is a teriffic song, but Blind Revolution Mad is where it's at for me.
Amen on this. Blind Revolution Mad is killer. My favorite Winger song. Brings to mind a cool story. My buddy Jonathan, years ago now, probably 2004 or 2005, was living on Long Island, after I moved away. both of us big Winger fans. We saw them in 2002 at Mulcahy's together. Great show, hung out afterward with the band for pics, etc. (those pics are sadly lost.)
Anyway, Jonathan goes to Kip's solo gig at the Downtown in Farmingdale. He holds up his phone so I can hear Kip do Blind Revolution Mad, and after the song, Kip stops, notices the phone, and says, who's on the phone? Jonathan says it is me, and Kip says, OK everybody, say hi to Brian -- "HI BRIAN!" Ha ha ha. I still remember that. Fast-forward a few years later, and I'm interviewing Kip, and I bring that up, and he absolutely remembered it, because he added a part I forgot about -- Kip asked what I wanted to hear, and I told Jonathan "Rainbow in the Rose," and I heard Jonathan tell Kip, and Kip played it. I totally forgot about that, but Kip remembered.
Kip is a hell of a nice guy, and was a great interview. The man is extremely intelligent and a deep thinker. If those of you not really buying the whole hair metal days of Winger, do yourself a favor and pick up Winger's "IV" record. It's a lot more complex than you think. I remember Kip remarking to me in the interview that it flew over the heads of a lot of people when it came out, and after that, he was a bit more conscious of putting some more straightforward songs on Winger records.
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But on New Jersey, man, that album is the perfect blend of nostalgic songs and timeless anthems.
I agree. It's one of those albums that always brings you back to a certain time in your life.
I can remember the disappointment with Keep The Faith when it came out. Dry County is probably the only song I'd still listen to off that one. My interest fell away rapidly afterwards.
Def Leppard / Poison / Warrant were probably the other ones I listened to around that time. Skid Row also, but they had a harder edge, and it's probably not fair to lump them in with "hair metal".
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Tesla is weird; I was into them for a while (there was a cute girl next door at college that loved them...) but when I go back now, it's not the same. With other bands - Scorpions, Priest, some of the bands here - they may not be my favorites now but I understand why I loved them and I can sort of get into the mindset, but Tesla sort of eludes me today and I don't know why.
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But on New Jersey, man, that album is the perfect blend of nostalgic songs and timeless anthems.
I agree. It's one of those albums that always brings you back to a certain time in your life.
I can remember the disappointment with Keep The Faith when it came out. Dry County is probably the only song I'd still listen to off that one. My interest fell away rapidly afterwards.
Def Leppard / Poison / Warrant were probably the other ones I listened to around that time. Skid Row also, but they had a harder edge, and it's probably not fair to lump them in with "hair metal".
New Jersey is the one for me. Made my top 50.
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Mark's voice is a thousand times better than Robert Fleischman on those Vinnie Vincent albums. Now there's a voice I can't stand.
Maybe, but that first VVI album was the only one with personality.
This. I'd take Fleishman over Slaughter. Those guitars on VVI are insane. Another album that made my top 50.
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But on New Jersey, man, that album is the perfect blend of nostalgic songs and timeless anthems.
I agree. It's one of those albums that always brings you back to a certain time in your life.
I can remember the disappointment with Keep The Faith when it came out. Dry County is probably the only song I'd still listen to off that one. My interest fell away rapidly afterwards.
Def Leppard / Poison / Warrant were probably the other ones I listened to around that time. Skid Row also, but they had a harder edge, and it's probably not fair to lump them in with "hair metal".
New Jersey is the one for me. Made my top 50.
I gave it to SWW in my Top 50. Mostly because of two things - it had more impact (being my first album of theirs) and Bad Medicine makes me cringe ;D
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More like Heading For An Earache.
Come on now man. Can't even admit they have one good song?
I'm a big Winger fan but that one isn't anywhere near being their best song. Oh, no, I'm agreeing with Tim😱. Sort of.
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Tim has been hair banned from this thread.
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Tim has been hair banned from this thread.
:lol
I am willing to bet there is a photo of Tim somewhere in the family vaults with him sporting spandex, makeup, and big hair. And one day, we will see it.
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Definitely not Ratt. They were a flash in the pan. They had one headline arena tour in 1985.
Bon Jovi is the answer, even though while I don't really consider them a hair band, they were responsible for Hair Metal's success.
Other than that, you're looking at Motley Crue and Poison.
I liked Ratt a lot, but you're right. Their success was very short lived. If I'm not mistaken, Bon Jovi actually opened for Ratt on that 1985 Tour. That's the only time I saw Bon Jovi live.
You're correct Steve. Bon Jovi did open that tour. 7800. I didn't go. I remember it well though. I thought Ratt sucked. I did see Bon Jovi open for Scorpions the previous year though.
Bon Jovi was fantastic live.
You're right again Tim. Ratt sucked as a live band because they partied too hard on the road and probably didn't practice there sets enough. Bon Jovi was clearly the better band. Although, I never really was a Bon Jovi fan. A little too commercialized and not heavy enough for my tastes. Still a good band though.
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Mark's voice is a thousand times better than Robert Fleischman on those Vinnie Vincent albums. Now there's a voice I can't stand.
Maybe, but that first VVI album was the only one with personality.
This. I'd take Fleishman over Slaughter. Those guitars on VVI are insane. Another album that made my top 50.
As huge a Kiss fan as I am... I don't think I've ever heard the VVI albums. Should I (bear in mind, if memory serves, Creatures was in my top three Kiss albums in a discography I ran here a couple months ago, and I love Lick It Up).
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Tesla is weird; I was into them for a while (there was a cute girl next door at college that loved them...) but when I go back now, it's not the same. With other bands - Scorpions, Priest, some of the bands here - they may not be my favorites now but I understand why I loved them and I can sort of get into the mindset, but Tesla sort of eludes me today and I don't know why.
To really understand Tesla, I think you really have to see them live. I got to see them on the Mechanical Resonance tour opening for Def Leppard. They just flat-out rock! Especially back then, with Tommy's attitude (meant in a good way). I saw them as a four-piece when they toured for Time's Makin' Changes and later with Dave Rude for Into The Now. Always great live. Jeff's voice may be a bit (lot) rougher than it used to be. But, their attitude was always there.
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Winger came in for a morning meeting at my work to demo some new Bose PA gear for us last winter, and they were pretty tight for 7:30 am. They did Can't Get Enuff, Headed for a Heartbreak, and Rainbow in the Rose, and they nailed the last two tunes. Kip joked about performing Seventeen, but said, "she's like, 45 now, and that just doesn't ring the same," and then he sang, "she's only 45!" which got a good laugh out of us. But yeah, at 7:30 am, he was hitting those high notes in Heartbreak and Rainbow. Also, Reb Beach was a beast on his solos, his legato playing on the first solo in Heartbreak was especially tasty. And, it was nice to hear Rod Morgenstein cut loose on the outro solos on the last two tunes. Had a few co-worker buddies who were, "pssh, Winger," before the meeting, walking out of the meeting saying, "damn, that was good."
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I kind of love that after all this time, it's the same guys. They've all done all kinds of stuff - out of genre - but seem to fall back into it. Pretty impressive.
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TNT : the duet Le Tekkro / Harnell was fantastic. Harnell is such an underrated singer, but what a voice he had back then.
B.Lee
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Kings X with Dugs mohawk would qualify as a hair band
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Winger came in for a morning meeting at my work to demo some new Bose PA gear for us last winter, and they were pretty tight for 7:30 am. They did Can't Get Enuff, Headed for a Heartbreak, and Rainbow in the Rose, and they nailed the last two tunes. Kip joked about performing Seventeen, but said, "she's like, 45 now, and that just doesn't ring the same," and then he sang, "she's only 45!" which got a good laugh out of us. But yeah, at 7:30 am, he was hitting those high notes in Heartbreak and Rainbow. Also, Reb Beach was a beast on his solos, his legato playing on the first solo in Heartbreak was especially tasty. And, it was nice to hear Rod Morgenstein cut loose on the outro solos on the last two tunes. Had a few co-worker buddies who were, "pssh, Winger," before the meeting, walking out of the meeting saying, "damn, that was good."
That is a great story. During live shows, he sings "she's only 35" or when I saw them in 2002, he sang "35" all the time. It was really funny. Kip's voice has held up well, and to be honest, I think he's tons better now (they all are) then they were 30 years ago. Reb is just amazing. He's been playing with Whitesnake for like 15 years now, and nobody knows who he is still. It's crazy.
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Mark's voice is a thousand times better than Robert Fleischman on those Vinnie Vincent albums. Now there's a voice I can't stand.
Maybe, but that first VVI album was the only one with personality.
This. I'd take Fleishman over Slaughter. Those guitars on VVI are insane. Another album that made my top 50.
As huge a Kiss fan as I am... I don't think I've ever heard the VVI albums. Should I (bear in mind, if memory serves, Creatures was in my top three Kiss albums in a discography I ran here a couple months ago, and I love Lick It Up).
You should. Be prepared for vocals as high as anything Paul Stanley belted out in the 80s, all the way through the song😀. First one wins for me. The songwriting is very Creatures/Lick It Up.
2nd one, they toned everything down and it wasn't the same, but still a decent album, even with Mark Slaughter.
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I get a lot of flack for this, but I strongly feel that Kix must be the single most underrated "hair metal" band of all time.
Blow My Fuse is *NOT* their best work. Their self-titled debut, and their 3rd album Midnite Dynamite are freaking FANTASTIC. And their Live album is amazing as well.
Their signature piece is "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"....but you have to hear the original first before you can truly appreciate the live version. Because he does this dialog at the 3 minute mark that became (locally) famous at their shows around Maryland. So then when they played a sold out show at the University of Maryland on the Hot Wire tour and recorded it for a live album....it was PERFECT.
But, I can't find the "Live Album" version, on YT, so I found a show in Maryland from the same time period.
The original is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOUFiKXRLpk
Live at Hammerjack's in 1991:
https://youtu.be/JG4u4-sgIG4?t=1h32m29s
The other hair metal band that I don't think gets enough credit is Tesla. Much more talented than their singles would have you believe.
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Kix post.
Sometime around 82/83, there was a I taped a King Biscuit show off the radio that I wore out. It was only like 5 songs or something like that.
You should. Be prepared for vocals as high as anything Paul Stanley belted out in the 80s, all the way through the song😀. First one wins for me. The songwriting is very Creatures/Lick It Up.
Thank you.
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And since when the fuck is Sweet Child O' Mine a power ballad?
I said monster ballad. :P
I think it qualifies.
Have we decided whether Night Ranger is a "hair band" or not? Or not? I like almost all their records, but the first two are just stellar from top to bottom.
I've never thought of them as a hair band. While some hair band rose up in the early 80s, I think the latter 80s was pretty much the "era of hair metal," and Night Ranger's peak was 1982-1985. That said, I agree that their material has aged well. :coolio
New Jersey is the one for me. Made my top 50.
While I only know the hits from it, I could never quite embrace that record simply because I thought Bad Medicine was a bag of shit.
Lay Your Hands on Me is a crackin' tune, though.
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Blood on Blood is killer tune from that album.
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New Jersey is excellent.
Blood On Blood, Wild Is The Wind, Stick To Your Guns. Heck, I even think Born To Be Your Baby is a great tune as well.
Ninja'd!
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:lol
Yeah Born To Be My Baby is one of my favorite tunes from Bon Jovi.
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I will check out those deep cuts to see if they are worthy. ;)
Now, what about Europe's Out of This World? I still think that is a good record.
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Never heard it.
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Never heard it.
Figures. :lol :biggrin:
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TNT : the duet Le Tekkro / Harnell was fantastic. Harnell is such an underrated singer, but what a voice he had back then.
B.Lee
TNT " Seven Seas " hell yes !!! Fantastic band for real. ( I could sing that in my car PERFECT LOL )
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I have the vinyl in my attic. they just never stuck for me.
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Never heard it.
Figures. :lol :biggrin:
It's been a long time since I heard that album.
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Never heard it.
Figures. :lol :biggrin:
I made a tape of the The Final Countdown album. I never thought very much of it, so I never checked out anything they did after that. I did see them open for Def Lep in 1988.
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Reliving 1984 tonight ( Knights of the New Thunder ) , that was also the year of ...YJM Rising Force. It messed a few of us up actually.
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This is the point in the thread where I say once again that the first time I heard Dream Theater, I thought that they sounded like Europe on steroids. :metal :metal
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Early Europe was awesome . Even The Final Countdown album was cool if I remember correctly. Edit : I just checked , Wings of Tomorrow was the one I was thinking of.
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Reliving 1984 tonight ( Knights of the New Thunder ) , that was also the year of ...YJM Rising Force. It messed a few of us up actually.
Rising Force is awesome. But what JSS does on Marching Out is ridiculous.
This is the point in the thread where I say once again that the first time I heard Dream Theater, I thought that they sounded like Europe on steroids. :metal :metal
When I heard Dream Theater for the first time, my thought was that "this is the music Rush should be making".
I found them to be a cross between 70's Rush, 80's Maiden, with the vocals of Helloween.
All fucking win.
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For Real on the Marching Out , I am a Viking and Anguish and Fear are my faves .
Side B of DT IAW was a daily listen for quite a few years for me man.
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I&W is my favorite album of all time. Side 2 rules.
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Now, what about Europe's Out of This World? I still think that is a good record.
Out of This World was pretty good, but I prefer Prisoner's in Paradise.
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New Jersey is excellent.
Blood On Blood, Wild Is The Wind, Stick To Your Guns. Heck, I even think Born To Be Your Baby is a great tune as well.
Ninja'd!
I'll Be There For You is one of the best cheesy rock love songs, especially when Sambora started to sing lead for the song in their concerts.
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New Jersey is excellent.
Blood On Blood, Wild Is The Wind, Stick To Your Guns. Heck, I even think Born To Be Your Baby is a great tune as well.
Ninja'd!
I'll Be There For You is one of the best cheesy rock love songs, especially when Sambora started to sing lead for the song in their concerts.
Just looking over the tracklist, I think Homebound Train has be the worst song on the album. I always skip it. Lay Your Hands On Me and Bad Medicine are sort of played out, but the rest are all still solid.
Wild Is The Wind would be my pick for top song.
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Would Faster Pussycats "House of Pain" qualify?
Yes, it qualifies for House of Shit!
:eek But that's a great tune! :biggrin:
The rest of their output really was dreadful, though!
What about House of Broken Love by Great White? I like it. Although I may have been forever persuaded by the cover of the CD single, admittedly :coolio
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I have the vinyl in my attic. they just never stuck for me.
Tell No Tales was great but it was downhill from there. Of the rest, only New Religion made any positive impression on me.
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Never heard it.
Figures. :lol :biggrin:
I made a tape of the The Final Countdown album. I never thought very much of it, so I never checked out anything they did after that. I did see them open for Def Lep in 1988.
Tim, Prisoners In Paradise. Listen to it.
I don't mind Out Of This World and prefer it more now than when it came out. It was too heavy on the keyboards for me, but there is some good stuff on it. It doesn't rock though.
Tim, seriously, Prisoners In Paradise. :biggrin:
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While I agree that Out Of This World was a bit key heavy , I have never subscribed to the theory that PiP is much heavier. A few songs on PiP may rock a bit more but the production isn't in the same league as OOTW in my opinion and neither is Kee's guitar playing. So I played OOTW a lot more.
I love a few songs on PiP but I found a lot of it very skippable - needs a few songs cut from it IMO. And yet they had genuinely rocking songs that only made the cut as bonus tracks ::) (Break Free etc.._)
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Would Faster Pussycats "House of Pain" qualify?
Yes, it qualifies for House of Shit!
:eek But that's a great tune! :biggrin:
The rest of their output really was dreadful, though!
What about House of Broken Love by Great White? I like it. Although I may have been forever persuaded by the cover of the CD single, admittedly :coolio
I actually LOVE Great White. I could listen to Jack Russell sing the sports pages (though some of their material was a little short of the mark). I would have loved to have heard Russell in Van Halen, not Cherone, frankly (and I'm a HUGE Gary Cherone fan).
"House of Pain" is a good song, not great, but Taime Downe is horrible. That song (I had to look it up and I got sidetracked by the cover of "House of Broken Love", sorry) "Babylon" is just... there are no words how much his vocals are annoying. He is neck and neck with Anthony Keidis for worst vocals to come out of LA in the '80's.
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Out Of This World is the only Europe record I ever owned (it didn't make the transition from vinyl to cd). It wasn't bad but Joey Tempest started literally every song with yeah, oh yeah, mmmh yeah and the like over the intro and that got on my nerves after a while. >:(
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Joey Tempest started literally every song with yeah, oh yeah, mmmh yeah and the like over the intro and that got on my nerves after a while. >:(
Maybe not every song :D But yeah..........totally agree - drove me mad too.
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It's a long time I last heard the full record but I'm almost sure it was EVERY song.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3tSUGpfT-8 ;)
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Tim, seriously, Prisoners In Paradise. :biggrin:
I got a c-note that says he'll hate it.
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Tim, seriously, Prisoners In Paradise. :biggrin:
I got a c-note that says he'll hate it.
Funny you posting in the "hair" thread.
;D
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:lol
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Tim, seriously, Prisoners In Paradise. :biggrin:
I got a c-note that says he'll hate it.
Funny you posting in the "hair" thread.
;D
(https://replygif.net/i/1459.gif)
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Tim throwing haymakers.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3tSUGpfT-8 ;)
There's probably an album version somewhere with an extended intro and some bonus yeahs :biggrin:
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I had the pleasure of seeing some of the "best hair bands" mentioned in this thread just this year... Poison, Bon Jovi, Scorpions...
But I'd vote Motley Crue, wish I got to see them on their final tour.
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I was fortunate enough to see a lot of the bands mentioned here in their heyday, including many of my favorites. Some of those shows include:
-Def Leppard: Some of the shows included seeing them on the Hysteria tour with Tesla opening, and seeing them again on the Adrenalize tour, which was VERY similar to the Hysteria tour, with a few new songs thrown in and Vivian Campbell on guitar.
-Y&T: MANY times--can't even remember all the shows. But a couple of the memorable ones were seeing them on Halloween at the Concord Pavillion with Faster Pussycat opening (if I remember correctly), and this being either the first show or one of the first where Jimmy DeGrasso played with them; and a show at the Omni in Oakland where they played a sampling of songs they had written for their next album and conducted a fan poll at the show to help them figure out which ones to include on the album.
-Whitesnake: Saw them on the Slide It In tour as the second act of a show opened by Kick Axe and closed out by Quiet Riot. Saw them again on the s/t tour as the third act at Day on the Green, where the roster was Jetboy, Poison, Whitesnake, Motley Crue. Saw them again on the Slip of the Tongue tour, I think with Faster Pussycat opening.
-Scorpions: A bit late to the game with them live, as I only got to see them on the Face the Heat tour. But I loved that album, and they played some new cuts from that, plus a lot of classic era songs, so it was a great set list for me.
-Tesla: Despite now living in their hometown, I have only seen them three times: once on the afore-mentioned Def Leppard Hysteria tour, and then much later in the 2000's.
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-Scorpions: A bit late to the game with them live, as I only got to see them on the Face the Heat tour. But I loved that album, and they played some new cuts from that, plus a lot of classic era songs, so it was a great set list for me.
tell me about it :lol
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How did Klaus sound?
I saw them on the Love At First Sting Tour and it was really good. They kind of lost me in the nineties and aughts a little bit, though. I kind of lost interest when Herman Rarebell took his lyrics and went home. I still go back to the early Roth albums pretty frequently.
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How did Klaus sound?
I thought he sounded fantastic. I don't think he really started to lose a step vocally until the 2000's. It is amazing how much power, clarity, and range the man maintained for so long.
I was a bit late to the game with them in general. I was vaguely aware of them during the Blackout era, but that was when I was first really starting to get into hard rock, and I hadn't heard enough of them to really gravitate toward them yet. But then when the video for Rock You Like a Hurricane dropped, my reaction was basically "Whoa! :eek This is AMAZING!" From there, I was hooked. Through that album cycle, I really got into Love at First Sting and Blackout. World Wide Live introduced me to some of the more prominent tracks from Love Drive and Animal Magnetism as well. I didn't really go back much further than that though, partly because there was so much of their discography, and partly because of just my aversion at the time to anything '70s. I thought Savage Amusement was pretty good. Crazy World was just okay. But Face the Heat was on par with some of their best stuff. After that, they lost me. So my "sweet spot" for them is the Jabs era through Face the Heat, basically.
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I was surprised how good Klaus sounded just last week. His voice wasn't as powerful as it is on the albums (my only basis of comparison), but his singing was still solid and he overall sounded great.
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Tim, seriously, Prisoners In Paradise. :biggrin:
I got a c-note that says he'll hate it.
Oh, he'll hate it but he should still play it.😀
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I'll sample it..
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I'll sample it..
Consider it respite from your roulette 😀
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I'll sample it..
Consider it respite from your roulette 😀
OK, I literally couldn't make it through the first 30 seconds of each of the first 4 songs.
This album blows.
Damn.
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This morning on the news they were mentioning entertainment happening this weekend and said that hair metal bands Megadeth and Scorpions were coming to town. So by that statement, I'd go with Megadeth as best hair metal band.
This is exactly the kind of thing my buddy loves to get me going on. There are so many bands that have the title hair metal thrown on them that absolutely don't deserve it, at least in my opinion.
I always find this topic infuriating because it seems so loose so I'm going to stand down before I develop a headache.
My vote goes to Steel Panther. Honestly, no one does hair metal better than that. It's in its most honest form with that band.
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I'll sample it..
Consider it respite from your roulette 😀
OK, I literally couldn't make it through the first 30 seconds of each of the first 4 songs.
This album blows.
Damn.
And there it is.
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(https://media.tenor.com/images/09f00d6e9f34074d3e925835c7e19ca5/tenor.gif)
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This morning on the news they were mentioning entertainment happening this weekend and said that hair metal bands Megadeth and Scorpions were coming to town. So by that statement, I'd go with Megadeth as best hair metal band.
This is exactly the kind of thing my buddy loves to get me going on. There are so many bands that have the title hair metal thrown on them that absolutely don't deserve it, at least in my opinion.
I always find this topic infuriating because it seems so loose so I'm going to stand down before I develop a headache.
My vote goes to Steel Panther. Honestly, no one does hair metal better than that. It's in its most honest form with that band.
Crazy, yea Megadeth is definitely not hair metal, not by my understanding at least. That was the same show I saw last week, fantastic concert.
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I'll sample it..
Consider it respite from your roulette 😀
Speaking of roulette's.... when the fuck are you gonna finally run one?
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Such salty language Chad. Must be from dealing with Tim all day on this forum.
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Such salty language Chad. Must be from dealing with Tim all day on this forum.
Shut your cake-hole you filthy whore!
I think I need a snickers... or a scotch.
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Whiskey on an ice ball for me right now.
This cake hole has had one slice of cake in 4 months. I'm dying slowly inside.
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I'll sample it..
Consider it respite from your roulette 😀
Speaking of roulette's.... when the fuck are you gonna finally run one?
Oh, not that again. 😀
You'd only send me Robert Plant and Glenn Hughes songs and I'd have to stab myself in the ears with a fork... 😖
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It would still be better than getting Harem Scarem.
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Ouch. Expect a cutting reposte 😀
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Did you say repost?
OK...
It would still be better than getting Harem Scarem.
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It would still be better than getting Harem Scarem.
Or UFO.
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I'll sample it..
Consider it respite from your roulette 😀
Speaking of roulette's.... when the fuck are you gonna finally run one?
Oh, not that again. 😀
You'd only send me Robert Plant and Glenn Hughes songs and I'd have to stab myself in the ears with a fork... 😖
Yes that again. C'mon ya bloke... you're the only cool cat that hasn't run one yet - hell, even JJ did.
Lowder, Lowder, Lowder, Lowder, Lowder, Lowder, Lowder, Lowder, Lowder, Lowder
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It would still be better than getting Harem Scarem.
Or UFO.
(https://media.makeameme.org/created/well-that-just-fvcy2i.jpg)
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Here is a question that I do not think has been asked yet:
Which hair band collectively had the biggest and/or most hair?
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Here is a question that I do not think has been asked yet:
Which hair band collectively had the biggest and/or most hair?
Which band used the most Aqua Net?
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Here is a question that I do not think has been asked yet:
Which hair band collectively had the biggest and/or most hair?
Which band used the most Aqua Net?
Haha, exactly!! :lol :lol :lol
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(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/Nelson_-_Because_They_Can_cover.jpg)
The Timotei Twins 😀