Top 100 Heavy Metal and glam rock acts from the MTV era - it's still real to me (1 Viewer)

[foxco]

I thought the very Zeppelin-esque Slow an' Easy was them at their best.

Gretta Van Fleet would be jealous, Kingdom Come as well. I love Slow an Easy, played it for a buddy and he was like "How do I not know this Zeppelin song?" 

 

[beer 30]

Should just make this the short one because who gives a rat's ###

20. Whitesnake

Here I Go Again

I feel so free!

Just kidding, I still have to figure out the Sykes stuff, and whether everyone is just dancing around a coke issue..

They always impressed me as a band that cashed in on the void left when Led Zeppelin broke up. Slide It In was my foray into Whitesnake and they crushed it with with the follow up, Whitesnake. They were another band that hit the road hard during the 80's. 

Again, at Buckeye Lake in OH, maybe 1987? They opened for the Crue. Backstage and a helicopter delivers Whitesnake in a field behind the stage, everyone piles out and the last two off are Tawny Kitaen and Heather Locklear. Tawny in white leather, Heather in black. Hot as balls outside, they had to be miserable but they both looked like they just walked off a magazine page. Two of the most smoking hot ladies I ever saw backstage. They didn't age well.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Gun to my head, I'm a Still of the Night, Slow and Easy type of Whitesnake fan.

Just went to pick up my kid from school and Hair Nation played Still of the Night.  Definitely had my face rocked.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Gretta Van Fleet would be jealous, Kingdom Come as well. I love Slow an Easy, played it for a buddy and he was like "How do I not know this Zeppelin song?" 

I remember we called Kingdom Come "Kingdom Clone" in high school.  

 

[UncleZen]

I liked Poison because when they were big, I was just learning how to play guitar and I could play their songs. They were a huge hit with the ladies too. My first band covered quite a few of their songs. After I actually learned how to play guitar, I realized exactly how bad CC and the boys were. Still, they did write some great party songs and did I mention that the ladies loved them! It certainly helped me out in my 1st band. 

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Gun to my head, I'm a Still of the Night, Slow and Easy type of Whitesnake fan.

Add Slide It In and you have the three Whitesnake songs I like.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I did not like Poison in high school because I deemed them "false metal" or whatever.  It was stupid.  Once you realize Poison is a glam rock/pop band, I think they become pretty easy to enjoy on their own terms.  

 

[Todem]

For me Tesla and Whitesnake filled that Led Zeppelin void big time in the 80’s. Both bands had huge Led Zeppelinesque riffs and grooves. 

 

[zamboni]

Always got a kick out of Rudy Sarzo's signature lick-the-finger-wraparound move on his bass.  

Gotta give another shout out to Rudy with Whitesnake, this time as a blonde.

 

[foxco]

I did not like Poison in high school because I deemed them "false metal" or whatever.  It was stupid.  Once you realize Poison is a glam rock/pop band, I think they become pretty easy to enjoy on their own terms.  

Unskinny Bop and Nothing But a Good Time are really fun guitar riffs. I have no problem with Poison, they have their place. 

 

[foxco]

For me Tesla and Whitesnake filled that Led Zeppelin void big time in the 80’s. Both bands had huge Led Zeppelinesque riffs and grooves. 

Agree big time, and I'd add BIlly Squire for very early 80's, Don't Say No wears it's Zep influence on its sleeve.  

And doesn't belong in this thread but in more recent days I'm digging Parlor Mob - Everything You're Breathing For, who carry the Zep torch proudly without being outright cover bands like Greta.   

 

[plinko]

20. Whitesnake continued

1974, David Coverdale gets the open Deep Purple singing job.  They made three albums and there is some solid stuff, this being the standout 

Mistreated more great, old live videos to come this week.. ####### Good Year blimp hi
 .. (would also be a staple of Blackmore/Dio Rainbow live sets, Mistreated not the blimp)..

Leaves Purple, goes solo, which morphs into Whitesnake.  Decent material, blues rock all the way

Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City 

Flash forward to 1982, Saints & Sinners, wherein we find the "hobo" Here I Go Again plus an early version of Crying In The Rain.  There's some other good stuff here

Victim of Love
Saints An' Sinners

Next one is Slide It In and now we're talking.

Love Ain't No Stranger
All Or Nothing shove your remasters coverdale

Musically anyway.  The lineup problems start at guitar, Coverdale fights with and fires his guitarist(s).. and brings in Sykes.  He has a mancrush and wants a flashier stage presence.

Things are looking up anyway, back to the studio in '85..

The next problem the band faced was a serious sinus infection with which Coverdale was stricken. This put the album's production behind schedule, especially when Coverdale underwent surgery and half a year-long rehabilitation program without a guarantee the voice would come back. While recovering, various invoices started circulating from Toronto and London, with Coverdale saying that "received no support from Sykes at that time" and "he did everything he could to take advantage of me being compromised". Allegedly Sykes grew impatient, claiming that the singer "used every excuse possible to explain why he didn’t want to record his vocals", and reportedly suggested bringing in a new vocalist and carrying on without Coverdale, which eventually led to the end of Coverdale's relationship with both John Sykes and producer Mike Stone. Sykes thirty years later denied this: "Now I want to correct a rumour that I know has been out there for a long time. It's been said that when David was having his troubles, I went to Geffen and urged them to bring in another singer to replace him in Whitesnake. That's rubbish. How on earth could you ever have anyone fronting Whitesnake apart from David Coverdale?"

Another interview with Sykes is not so friendly. https://bravewords.com/news/whitesnake-guitarist-john-sykes-discusses-david-coverdale-i-have-no-interest-in-ever-talking-to-him-again

Given all this, major sinus issues and the fact he married Tawny ####### Kitaen and it all points to a habit .. would explain if Sykes WAS trying to push him out..

So, enter Adrian Vandenburg AND Vivian Campbell, freshly let go from Dio, Rudy Sarzo is brought in and they're off to the races.

Still Of The Night   stellar bow work, jimmy page never sounded so good

During the supporting tour for the band's self-titled album, Campbell's wife was barred from traveling with the group, due to strife between her and Coverdale's wife Tawny Kitaen; this caused friction between Campbell and Coverdale. After the tour ended, the latter informed the rest of the band that the next Whitesnake album would be written by him and Adrian Vandenberg alone.

Vandenburg hurts himself and ultimately Steve Vai records all that stuff.  The record is OK, I don't hate Slip of the Tongue but it was disappointing on some level for sure.

Fool For Your Loving remake ---original   ok thanks?

Now You're Gone Now You're trying to be Heart or something

Coverdale says to hell with it all and goes on a long, multi-year much-needed, Kitaen free break.  Tawny, may you rest in peace.   And as far as we're concerned, that's all there is, but I did enjoy seeing his new incarnation incl. Mr. Beach at the Download Fest a few years ago.
 

Tom Breihan Number Ones on Here I Go Again

 

[rockaction]

In my eighth grade yearbook, I'm listed as next Poison lead singer. That's about where that love begins and ends. Van Halen and Poison. Two of my favorite eighth and seventh grade bands. Befitting. 

Poison was glam/pop. None of the Dolls, whose look they copped (really, they were copping an L.A. look in the '80s that copped Hanoi who copped the Dolls and Aerosmith, combined.) I would later go on to listen to my fall junior year and then many, many years thereafter because of my love of eighties glam. I still own New York Dolls shirts with the lipstick lettering. But Poison wrote catchy tunes and an infernal ballad that will not leave airwaves alone ("Every Rose..."). 

Not a bad accomplishment for guys who clearly couldn't really play like some of the other bands. Songwriting is an entirely different game than performance, and nothing cements it like comparing a Posion song to an Satriani one. 

 

[rockaction]

Interesting other selections. Alice Cooper was 70s scholck but then reborn with the song "Poison." I only really know his output from "School's Out" and the pop culture jokes made about him on '70s sitcoms. 

People tend to chime in about the first show they ever saw alone without their parents and mine was Whitesnake/Motley Crue for the Girls Girls Girls tour. Not a bad show. 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

To this day my favorite DC song is from his short stint with Deep Purple. Richie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Coverdale really did Burn.

 

[Bogart]

Definitely a bigger fan of the early Whitesnake days with Jon Lord and Cozy Powell in fold.

I thought the very Zeppelin-esque Slow an' Easy was them at their best.

Cozy Powell is a name I hadn't thought about in forever. I went WAY deep into Gary Moore in the late 90s, buying up and listening to all of his stuff and people he worked with. I own a copy of Octo#### by Cozy Powell on CD and listened for longer than a person should listen to a drum driven album.

 

[zamboni]

To this day my favorite DC song is from his short stint with Deep Purple. Richie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Coverdale really did Burn.

Famous clip from the California Jam in 1974

Glenn Hughes was also badass as co-vocalist and on bass.

 

[SteevieG]

22. Poison

You would have thought these were Cali guys, as gussied up as they were.. but no, they hail from right up the highway in Mechanicsburg, PA.  Here's a tidbit, named after a KIX SONG -- these guys cut their teeth behind Kix..

The look I would expect out of guys from Mechanicsburg

All four guys move to LA to pursue their dream, original guitarist throws in the towel and goes back home, and they hook up with New Yorker C.C. DeVille.  Similar to QR and DuBrow.. they don't much like the guy but the band dynamic works.

Look What the Cat Dragged In was practically a demo.  Hey, I don't love these dudes but they got it done.  Open Up and Say AAH was a little more fleshed out, and by the turn of the decade they were just about as big as anybody in glam.

Flesh & Blood, 1990, they had two more hits on that and like fellow Keystoners Cinderella, they still had momentum.  What sunk the ship - bad behavior and inability to get along. C.C. leaves in a huff and they bring in a young up and comer named Richie Kotzen for their fourth album , Native Tongue.  The record blows, and here is what Kotzen has to say on the matter...
 

####### = shtupping Rikki Rockett's girlfriend apparently.  OK then.  So, bad blood?  I will play devil's advocate and suggest that chops or no, these dudes wrote a bunch of songs that people want to hear and in 30 years Richie Kotzen never wrote #### anybody wanted to hear.

Seems to go without saying that the 3 other guys were pretty burnt out at this point.  I think there was a lot of regret on Bret's part for the early pretty-boy stuff, and he made up for it by getting wasted and fighting with everybody.

Flash forward, they make nice with CC eventually and join the nostalgia circuit.  Saw them ~5 years ago and frankly.. they were pretty ####in' great

Talk Dirty To Me

From Less Than Zero, Rock and Roll All Nite cover >>> Mama Don't Dance

Fallen Angel  
Every Rose Has Its Thorn - written for a stripper who broke poor country Bret's heart
Tom Breihan's Number Ones on Every Rose

Unskinny Bop still rocks
Something To Believe In  I believe I'll listen to something else

Always a relief when everyone is still alive

Another twist of fate, Eric Brittingham plays with Bret Michaels primarily now..

Bret Michaels is on Barrett Jackson right now selling a 2007 Bentley for charity.

eta - $115,000 bought it.  

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Fool For Your Loving remake ---original   ok thanks?

I recently learned that Fool For Your Loving was originally supposed to be offered to B.B. King, but Coverdale decided he liked it too much to let it go.  Which now sounds completely obvious when I listen to it.  

 

[Raging weasel]

I think we all grew up in the 80’s in here and we all had our tribes when it came to rock music. 

I was a Rush fan.....it is no secret here at FBG they were and will always be the absolute monster band for me. But Rush aside. Here was my big time groups in the 80’s MTV era Metal and I guess some glam (was not huge on the hair metal)

Maiden

Dio

Ozzy

Dokken 

Whitesnake

Ratt

Queensryche

Van Halen 

AC/DC

Def Leppard (pre Hysteria)

Fates Warning 

I would say those were the real big time heavy weights for me and my group of friends. 

Love this list! I'd add pre-Turbo Preist and the Scorpions

 

[plinko]

19. Skid Row

Anybody who cares, already knows Sebastian Bach, smart assed Canadian artist's son with the golden rock pipes.  Wailing in Toronto rock bands as a teen.  Kid Wikkid is a great band name.

Bach was spotted singing at rock photographer Mark Weiss's wedding by Jon Bon Jovi's parents, who subsequently approached him and suggested he get in touch with their son's friend, Dave Sabo, who was looking for a lead vocalist for his band.[10]

..so I go to check out the article that's cited:

Bach was invited to join Skid Row in 1987 at the age of 18 when guitarist Dave Sabo heard him sing at famed rock photographer Mark Weiss's wedding. Sabo sent him a videotape of the band playing, and Bach subsequently joined the band. After enjoying commercial success as lead singer of Skid Row, Bach was eventually fired in 1996.

Who are you going to believe?  Who's more likely to be at famed rock producer Mark Weiss's wedding, Dave Sabo or Jon Bon Jovi's parents?  

TBH somebody could ask this guy on twitter and he would answer

gat damn, #### kicked, though..
Youth Gone Wild
18 And Life
we know this stuff.. a personal crank it up fave Midnight/Tornado

They're the perfect fresh faced kids at the time plus they're actually good.

I won't be a MUDKICKER, it turns out "Bas" gets a little excitable and can be kind of a tool in public, it seems like a lot 

But the sophomore album comes out a couple years later, and against all odds, it kicks ### too!

Monkey Business
Slave to the Grind
Quicksand Jesus I guess my preferred of the three same-ish ballads

And there were some very good  covers

I saw them on the 91 GNR tour and they were excellent.

Subhuman Race, while in ya face, wasn't an often repeated listen for me.  I was still excited about the band but they couldn't get along, and they really meant it, because there is money to be made.

As for me, I am only interested in heyday drama not old man drama, unless it's really juicy.  This is just guys that can't look at each other anymore.  More grumpy old men to come.

The Moscow set

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

No man has done more damage to my throat via ill-considered decisions to sing along in my car.  

Probably my person on this countdown to appear regularly on Gilmore Girls.

 

[zamboni]

One of my favorite Sebastian Bach trivia notes is that his brother Zac Bierk is a former NHL goalie and is now the goaltender coach for the Ottawa Senators.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

BTW, Monkey Business hits the trifecta.  Hall of Fame vocal, Hall of Fame riff, and Hall of Fame cowbell.

 

[zamboni]

Nowadays I mainly think of Bach from the 2006 VH1 reality series Supergroup. Entertaining stuff, although he came off as a pretty big tool.

 

[MindCrime]

I started down a wormhole the other day that included a deep dive into the genesis of Saigon Kick.  I was telling my son about Clinton/Gore doing a campaign stop at UF in 1992 and River Phoenix's band Aleka's Attic played a few songs before the speeches.  Aleka's Attic were honestly pretty terrible, but I remembered that their drummer (Josh Greenbaum) also played with one of my favorite Gainesville Bands - Big White Undies.  In googling Big White Undies, it turns out that Greenbaum was best friends and bandmates with future Saigon Kick guitarist Jason Bieler.  Greenbaum apparently left Miami to chase fame with Rivers' band but didn't end up with a ton to show for it.

Weird that I hadn't thought about Saigon Kick in years (maybe ever) and then they pop up in different contexts twice in one week.

Huge Saigon Kick fan, so I’ll add on to this if anyone cares. Jason Bieler has been doing acoustic shows with Jeff Scott Soto joining him for vocals. I’ve seen great reviews, would love to catch a show. Saigon Kick reformed with Kramer and Phil Varone about 6 years ago, saw them in Orlando at a club with about 300 people- and it was amazing.

last tidbit- Varone and former Saigon Kick bassist Chris Mclernon (formerly of hair band Cold Sweat) have a new group who just released a single-  Panic Boom- Revolution

 

[MindCrime]

Who are you going to believe?  Who's more likely to be at famed rock producer Mark Weiss's wedding, Dave Sabo or Jon Bon Jovi's parents?  

I just read this story in the 80s metal book. Bon Jovi was on tour, or he would’ve been there, but his parents lived right down the road from Weiss and they were friends, so he invited them to his wedding. Bas got up to sing and I believe it was Zack Wylde on guitar for an impromptu jam session. 
ETA- The internet wins again. Video from the Wedding.

 

[raidergil]

I finally saw him live about 10 years ago at Jiffy Lube Pavilion in Manassas. He opened for Iron Maiden. There were 5 of us around-50-ish and we all went there for Vince, except one guy who was a big Maiden fan.

Alice Cooper killed it. He wasn't able to use the whole stage (because Maiden had a bunch of their #### up there), but it was still a great show. He had a fantastic band, including that lady guitar player (Oriantha or something like that, is her name) - good God, she could play. He played quite a few of his 80s stuff, IIRC, and it all sounded great.

All accounts I've read and seen about Cooper talks about how generous he is with younger musicians and how many he helped get started. 

Never had an Alice album or sought out his music past the radio/MTV.  First saw him open for Heaven & Hell (Dio back with Sabbath maybe 15 yrs ago or so). Friends I went with felt similar about Alice & we all came out very impressed. Stage show aside, band was heavy! Saw him again as opener for Crue's (supposedly) final tour with different friends and all had same review of Alice.

And now he does Callaway Golf commercials! Very cool dude.

 

[FairWarning]

To this day my favorite DC song is from his short stint with Deep Purple. Richie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Coverdale really did Burn.

Depending on the day it’s Burn or Stormbringer.  Coverdale/Whitesnake put out a great late career album (the Purple Album) - all remakes of his DP days. 

 

[Nick Vermeil]

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Am I the only one that thinks Poison is too low?  Again I’m a bit younger than some of you guys, but Look What The Cat Dragged In was one of the first tapes I remember owning.  AC DC Dirty Deeds and Beastie Boys License To Ill are some of the others I recall

i remember us having an independent music store (new and used tapes and records you could browse and buy) like a mile from my house.  It was in a strip mall with a drug store and a video store and a book store so my friends and I would always walk up there for something 

also seems crazy to me that as an 8 year old I was allowed to walk to a store that far away and basically buy the whatever the hell whatever I wanted (candy, tapes, rent whatever video)

good times

 

[DJackson10]

Rikki Rocket is a frequent contributor on some AXS TV show that I seem to accidently binge a couple of nights a week.  Top 10 Songs with a Color in the Title or Top 10 Artists from Canada or some other clickbait theme.  I'll just be flipping channels, stop on AXS at 8:10 to hear what the guitarist from Foreigner or Eddie Money's daughter has to say and then, next thing I know, it's 3 hours later.   Rikki Rocket actually comes off as pretty well-spoken compared to some of the other goofballs.  

He's pretty well spoken dude. He's always explaining stuff and he tries to keep his personal beliefs out of stuff. He's made a few vaccination posts but nothing that would flame war or anything. More of hey I got my shot today or whatever. Had Covid himself at one point and kept people updated. 

He apparently has a big hobby with photography though similar to Nikki Sixx 

 

[DJackson10]

Should just make this the short one because who gives a rat's ###

20. Whitesnake

Here I Go Again

I feel so free!

Just kidding, I still have to figure out the Sykes stuff, and whether everyone is just dancing around a coke issue..

David Coverdale another awesome guy. Whitesnake has a few good songs. 

 

[DJackson10]

I think we all grew up in the 80’s in here and we all had our tribes when it came to rock music. 

I was a Rush fan.....it is no secret here at FBG they were and will always be the absolute monster band for me. But Rush aside. Here was my big time groups in the 80’s MTV era Metal and I guess some glam (was not huge on the hair metal)

Maiden

Dio

Ozzy

Dokken 

Whitesnake

Ratt

Queensryche

Van Halen 

AC/DC

Def Leppard (pre Hysteria)

Fates Warning 

I would say those were the real big time heavy weights for me and my group of friends. 

I was born in 88 grew up in the 90s I started out with Springsteen, Mellencamp and the like as that's what my dad had for the most part and classical music from my pop-pop. I'd switch over to the local rock station which had newer bands with mix of classics like KISS and Van Halen< Def Leppard, AC DC and Motley. I couldn't stand any of the grunge stuff. There were a few bands I liked but a lot of them never were famous. I hated Nirvana and Pearl Jam and still do to this day. I thought the Grunge scene was such depressing BS woo is me I'm blaming everyone else for my like sucking so hard. Meanwhile the 80s bands I heard felt more like "lets have a good time, party and screw authority."

It wasn't until High School I really got into the 80s bands. Middle School I became Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Metallica, Slayer, Slipknot and most of my friends and I grew up with the punk bands like Green Day, Good Charlotte, Sum 41 etc. However I always loved the 80s. Then a whole new door opened and I found out that there was an 80s revival in Europe in Finland, Sweden/Norway/etc but mostly Sweden and loved it felt like I was living in the 80s buying CDs and MP3s from overseas etc. By College I got into more hardcore stufff and power metal like Nightwish, Arch Enemy, Children of Bodom etc. Always was a Maiden fan before this but started following Halloween, Edguy, Avantasia etc. 

Over the years I've dabbled in Country music and certain rap depending what it is plus some Italian type music. However I always go back to the 80s as well as the New Age of 80s hair bands. I still love when Eddie Trunk talks about the 80s band though. I tell people constantly I should've been born in the 70s and grew up in the 80s. 

 

[DJackson10]

19. Skid Row

Anybody who cares, already knows Sebastian Bach, smart assed Canadian artist's son with the golden rock pipes.  Wailing in Toronto rock bands as a teen.  Kid Wikkid is a great band name.

..so I go to check out the article that's cited:

Who are you going to believe?  Who's more likely to be at famed rock producer Mark Weiss's wedding, Dave Sabo or Jon Bon Jovi's parents?  

TBH somebody could ask this guy on twitter and he would answer

gat damn, #### kicked, though..
Youth Gone Wild
18 And Life
we know this stuff.. a personal crank it up fave Midnight/Tornado

They're the perfect fresh faced kids at the time plus they're actually good.

I won't be a MUDKICKER, it turns out "Bas" gets a little excitable and can be kind of a tool in public, it seems like a lot 

But the sophomore album comes out a couple years later, and against all odds, it kicks ### too!

Monkey Business
Slave to the Grind
Quicksand Jesus I guess my preferred of the three same-ish ballads

And there were some very good  covers

I saw them on the 91 GNR tour and they were excellent.

Subhuman Race, while in ya face, wasn't an often repeated listen for me.  I was still excited about the band but they couldn't get along, and they really meant it, because there is money to be made.

As for me, I am only interested in heyday drama not old man drama, unless it's really juicy.  This is just guys that can't look at each other anymore.  More grumpy old men to come.

The Moscow set

Who's Skid Row? Just kidding. This band is dead to me if Bach isn't in it. I'm a sucker for 18 and Life and probably could sing it word for word if it was played. One of the big reasons I liked the 80s stuff is a lot of the songs are great sing alongs or open mic night songs. A few of the songs made it on the old video game guitar hero play list. 

Bach is awesome but his mouth sometimes gets him in trouble. He's a cool dude. A few months ago something was wrong with ticket sales at a venue a fan mentioned he was suppose to play. Bach contacted the fan right there and said tell me whats going on as I'm not aware of this. I will gladly get this fixed. Sure enough he did. 

 

[DJackson10]

Gretta Van Fleet would be jealous, Kingdom Come as well. I love Slow an Easy, played it for a buddy and he was like "How do I not know this Zeppelin song?" 

Can someone tell me why these guys are so popular? I've heard a few of their songs and just don't get them. People tell me they are like an 80s band but I just don't see it and could probably name like 20 bands of the new wave in Europe of the 80s genre I'd put ahead of these guys. as well as some American Bands who didn't make it big here but popular over seas 

 

[DJackson10]

Never had an Alice album or sought out his music past the radio/MTV.  First saw him open for Heaven & Hell (Dio back with Sabbath maybe 15 yrs ago or so). Friends I went with felt similar about Alice & we all came out very impressed. Stage show aside, band was heavy! Saw him again as opener for Crue's (supposedly) final tour with different friends and all had same review of Alice.

And now he does Callaway Golf commercials! Very cool dude.

He also does a Commercial with Baker Mayfield for Progressive. He's a surprising funny guy Cooper too from what I've heard. 

 

[FairWarning]

Am I the only one that thinks Poison is too low?  Again I’m a bit younger than some of you guys, but Look What The Cat Dragged In was one of the first tapes I remember owning.  AC DC Dirty Deeds and Beastie Boys License To Ill are some of the others I recall

i remember us having an independent music store (new and used tapes and records you could browse and buy) like a mile from my house.  It was in a strip mall with a drug store and a video store and a book store so my friends and I would always walk up there for something 

also seems crazy to me that as an 8 year old I was allowed to walk to a store that far away and basically buy the whatever the hell whatever I wanted (candy, tapes, rent whatever video)

good times

Musically I think they should be in the bottom 25, but they were great at marketing.  

 

[FairWarning]

Can someone tell me why these guys are so popular? I've heard a few of their songs and just don't get them. People tell me they are like an 80s band but I just don't see it and could probably name like 20 bands of the new wave in Europe of the 80s genre I'd put ahead of these guys. as well as some American Bands who didn't make it big here but popular over seas 

Personally I love them.  Considering the rock music that is put out now, they are a throwback to the music we liked 10-30 years ago. 

 

[DJackson10]

Am I the only one that thinks Poison is too low?  Again I’m a bit younger than some of you guys, but Look What The Cat Dragged In was one of the first tapes I remember owning.  AC DC Dirty Deeds and Beastie Boys License To Ill are some of the others I recall

i remember us having an independent music store (new and used tapes and records you could browse and buy) like a mile from my house.  It was in a strip mall with a drug store and a video store and a book store so my friends and I would always walk up there for something 

also seems crazy to me that as an 8 year old I was allowed to walk to a store that far away and basically buy the whatever the hell whatever I wanted (candy, tapes, rent whatever video)

good times

I'm with you there. I wasn't allowed to go far or turn right when I first grew up as our corner was on a busy street. Turn left and too the park. We lived in row homes and my baby sitter lived behind us so we always could go down our basement steps out to the drive way cross it and into my baby sitters parents house. They were typical Italian parents so we could just walk in whenever. My babysitter would take us down the street 5 minute walk to the local stores and I'd look through all the music. Her boyfriend now husband (who ironically is my nabisco rep) and I would pick different music and stuff constantly. What I was allowed to pick out and watch over those years still amazes me. My dad was more liberal with me in what I listened to then my mother though. 

 

[DJackson10]

Personally I love them.  Considering the rock music that is put out now, they are a throwback to the music we liked 10-30 years ago. 

Yeah I was just wondering what's so great about them. I'm the same way with Mumford and Sons. I didn't care for their music but they were on live radio broadcast for a concert they did in Philly on a station my dad listens to awhile back. I wouldn't seek their albums or music out but I would see them at a festival with other bands I liked were playing or if someone offered me a free ticket to see them. But I personally couldn't listen to them on my own. 

However GVF I just don't care for at all. 

 

[MindCrime]

If you are looking for throw back rock from new artists, check out Dirty Honey.

 

[TripItUp]

I hate Poison since they were exactly what was wrong with hair bands.  They were pretty guys that couldn’t play music very well and acted like clowns.    

Totally agree, they were made by and for MTV.  Give me Cinderella and a slew of lower ranked bands over manufactured Poison every time.   

 

[TripItUp]

I like to see Skid Row and Whitesnake in the top 20...both deserving.

 

[shuke]

Also a shout out for Coming Home by Cinderella

Wow, that is still good.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

We're talking Skid Row and not mentioning I Remember You? For shame.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Never had an Alice album or sought out his music past the radio/MTV.  First saw him open for Heaven & Hell (Dio back with Sabbath maybe 15 yrs ago or so). Friends I went with felt similar about Alice & we all came out very impressed. Stage show aside, band was heavy! Saw him again as opener for Crue's (supposedly) final tour with different friends and all had same review of Alice.

And now he does Callaway Golf commercials! Very cool dude.

I was ten years old when "School's Out" hit. That damned song was a weapon in kids' hands and the bane of every school administrator in the country.

All of his/their early 70s albums are really good, though I'd suggest getting the original Greatest Hits for a novice. One of the best bang-for-your-buck LPs money can buy.

The thing about Cooper is - for all of the imagery, "shocking" lyrics, and staged beheadings - that the nuts-&-bolts of the songs are really solid. They are built on the Motown model: have a huge beat, a memorable melody, and "hook 'em in the first 30 seconds and don't let 'em go".  Even his late 70s ballads were fine songs, even though most true believers thought he sold out.

Then he turned around and dumped Flush The Fashion on an unsuspecting citizenry in the early 80s. He was accused of coat-tailing New Wave (which was true), but he was also satirizing that whole scene. The thing is, the songs were still really good. "Clones" became a decent-sized hit. I really need to go back and listen to this LP. It's been years since I've last heard it. I remember it being off-putting when it came out, though I liked it. And I recall listening to it again maybe 15 or 20 years ago and understanding it better.

 

[zamboni]

Apropos of absolutely nothing, and may have been said earlier: there was another Skid Row before Seabach. This was an Irish band in the late ‘60s/early ‘70, which in the beginning featuring none other than Phil Lynott and Gary Moore pre-Thin Lizzy.

https://youtu.be/R383e6Aw2IM

 

[scorchy]

I can't let a mention of Tawny Kitaen go without bringing up Chuck Finley.  Dude was a stud for my rotisserie league baseball team back in the late 80s and 90s.  

On April 4, 2002, Finley filed for divorce three days after Kitaen was charged with committing domestic violence against him, twisting his ear and having beaten him repeatedly with a stiletto heel in the arm, leg and foot while he was driving a car in Orange County, California, two weeks earlier. In the divorce filings, he stated, "I am fearful that (Kitaen)... will harm herself or will harm others, including me or including my children." She received a temporary restraining order preventing her from seeing him and he received temporary custody of the children.

As Finley took the mound for a April 16, 2002, road game against the Chicago White Sox, the Comiskey Park musical director took a subtle dig at Finley's messy divorce, and played "Here I Go Again" by the band Whitesnake, referencing Kitaen's appearance in that band's videos and her previous marriage to the band's lead singer, David Coverdale. Lasting only 1+2⁄3 innings, Finley gave up nine runs including two home runs. The musical director was later fired, and the White Sox apologized

 

[Todem]

Personally I love them.  Considering the rock music that is put out now, they are a throwback to the music we liked 10-30 years ago. 

Check out Rival Sons who are vastly better and far more original. But they capture that vibe and are on point.