Old Timers Day

Classic rockers did their best to not let Rock and Roll die, spending the decade releasing new music to their shrinking fan bases. Some proved they still had something relevant to say while others looked like they were going thru the motions.

The Future Past Of Rock And Roll

Probably the most visible (and biggest following) performer to make my list is The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. He was prolific, putting out like five albums. Of those, the one to impress me was 2007's Magic where I felt he had a good batch of songs ("Radio Nowhere", "Livin In The Future" and "Long Way Home" were highlights) and recaptured some of the 'ol E Street magic (I thought they sounded stiff on 2002's The Rising which is otherwise a good disc). The Boss's idol, or The Bosses Boss if you will, Bob Dylan, issued the excellent Love and Theft in 2001. Dylan's album had a ramshackle well worn feel alongside vibrant material (like the relaxing "Sugar Baby"). Meanwhile, Sir Paul McCartney came up with a winner on his Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (2005) by having quality tunes and a nice homemade feel. "Jenny Wren" had a great classic Beatles feel to it.

Let Your Freak Flag Fly

More prolific was Neil Young who should win the award for most faithful recreation of a 60's event by spitting out a vitriolic anti war album in Living With War (2006) which doesn't make my list for song quality yet deserves mentioning just for intent. Maybe the only 60's liberal rock survivor I can think of that used his flower power era anti establishment cred for something other than a marketable cache of cool. Agree or disagree with him, Young showed guts to stand behind his established politics even as it just made him seem that much more like a walking antique. But in terms of the actual music, I liked the acoustic Prairie Wind (2005) on which Young muses on fleeting personal mortality.

John Mellencamp also went acoustic and a little somber on Life, Death, Love and Freedom (that's probably not the right title but too tired to look up right title) the disc that turned around decades of hatred...for me that is. I hated John Mellencamp's music since 1982 yet this album grabbed my attention. This disc made me feel like American values of fairness and freedom for all were slipping through my very fingers. Impressive album.

Jackson Browne (a personal favorite of mine) also went anti war in a more low key way (because he is Jackson Browne after all) in 2008's Time The Conqueror. Browne's songwriting was as eloquent and So Cal with its laid back urgency (oxymoron alert!) as ever in an enjoyable way. And though John Fogerty made an anti war statement on the weak Deja Vu All Over Again (2004) CD, he turned it around musically by reviving his Creedence sound on Revival (2007). By getting back to his old swamp grounds Fogerty's anti Bush rants like "Gunslinger" carried more weight.

Peaceful Easy Feeling

Speaking of laid back So Cal urgency, Browne's fellow scenesters also dished out plenty of harmony driven goodness. Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had nice solo turns with Under the Skin (2006) and Trouble In Shangri La (2001) respectively, outshining their one Mac disc together the spotty Say You Will (2003). Buckingham went the acoustic route with rewarding results. The minimal instrumentation gave a break from Buckingham's usually dense production style adding freshness to head boppers like "Show You How". Ms. Nicks pumped up her resume' with a polished disc containing older songs written in her songwriting prime. Hence the outstanding numbers "Sorcerer" and "Planets Of The Universe" saw the light of day with strong results.

Meanwhile Hell froze over again thanks to The Eagles double disc smackdown Long Road To Eden (2007). While far from an astounding album, it's solid and a firm reminder of their best qualities.

Gotcha Covered

Because writing new compelling material is the ultimate challenge for every rock and roll artist, watching established performers turn to cover albums became a regular event. Of these, my favorite was the first Matthew Sweet / Susannah Hoffs team up Under The Covers Vol 1 (2006). They had a nice heartfelt vibe in paying tribute to power pop's past. Jack Blades (Night Ranger) and Tommy Shaw (Styx) also teamed up well on their paean to the early 70's with Influence (2007). Shaw / Blades had the best cover of Yes' "Your Move" ever (Sweet / Hoffs covered it in '09). In this list of Marvel Comics Team Ups I've got to throw in The Black Crowes with Jimmy Page Live At The Greek (2000) for tearin' it up on Led Zep covers. Let's face it, unless you were one of those Billionaires at the one and only Led Zep reunion show this is as close as you're gonna get to Valhalla. Bean town's Aerosmith rocked hard and well on their "blues" covers album Honkin On Bobo (2004) including a nice zipping take on "Baby Please Don't Go". Lastly, Def Leppard's best effort in the 21st Century was 2006's Yeah. Lep even got me to enjoy "Rock On", a song I personally loathe for just plain sucking in general.

Next, I'll run a catch all thru the remaining genres before naming my favorite album of the new millennium.

Midnight Madness - Donny And Marie Christmas

I was talking to my wife and reminiscing about the old Christmas specials that used to be on tv as a kid and one title that stood out in my mind was Donnie and Marie. The toothy twosome were on tv all the time and I used to watch weekly to discover that she was a little bit country and he was a little bit rock and roll. I don't remember a thing about this Christmas special, but here's a tribute to all the old Christmas shows gone by into the forgotten heap of ancient memory. Sometimes I miss the safe patter, canned laughter and earnest cheesiness of the 70's.

Rollin With The Homies - Sad passing of young actress Brittany Murphy, who I knew mainly from her role as the outsider being made over in the teen movie Clueless and the voice of Luanne in King Of The Hill. I wasn't a huge fan or anything, just appreciated that she had talent and a likable presence.

Last Christmas - I thought the overplayed Christmas song this year was "Santa Baby" but in the past few days cover versions of the Wham! classic "Last Christmas" have overtaken it. In the last 48 hours I've heard four different versions of this song including one with a rap. A rap!

Desperate Times - Amy Winehouse has been arrested for assault. I swear every punch with her is just another career move at this point.

Tried To Send Me Back To Rehab - Steven Tyler boldly goes where he has gone before, rehab for his addiction to painkillers. Does this mean no more Brand Tyler?

Fantastic...Amazing...Unbelievable... - Tried to watch Snooze Along With Gordon Ramsey, the famously irritable chef's attempt to appear happy and friendly on tv. The only fun to be found was watching visibly nervous Ramsey fill in dead air with these random words in between the scripted segments. Agh, it's stuck in my head! Fantastic...Amazing...Unbelievable...

I'm (sob) Sensitive! - This won't win me any macho points, but I was a sucker for Tori Amos debut album Little Earthquakes. There's a great track by track dissection of the album by Tori Amos on Rolling Stone magazine's web site. If you like the disc it's a fine read. Now I'm going to curl up in a ball on the couch with some fancy tea and watch Oprah.

Tik Tok - This song by Ke$ha (yes, the dollar sign is in her name) is the #1 song in the land. I remember this was a free download on Itunes one week, the video was about being a drunk slut in front of your family or something. Not that I'm a prude, part of this track's appeal is probably the coarseness that puts me off it. Unbelievable...Fantastic...Amazing...

Super Friends - Def Leppard is developing a cartoon about themselves. No, that's not a joke they really are doing this.

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By The Way - Guitarist John Frusciante has left the Red Hot Chili Peppers again though this time not abruptly. Judging from how they fared without him the last time, I don't think RHCP will be able to maintain the quality of their music now. And with drummer Chad Smith having another successful band to jump to if he wants I wonder about the future of the group. Because even mediocre RHCP is better than none.

Merry Christmas - I don't know if I'll post tomorrow, so Merry Christmas to all!

And now, because you didn't ask for it, the rap version of "Last Christmas"!

...The Quick And Easy Way...

...leads to the Dark Side of The Force. I wanted to make a quick post so I'm just gonna go on about whatever comes up in shuffle mode on my IPOD. It's a popular blog gimmick and I love it so here it goes!

1. Aerosmith "Rag Doll" (live)

My Ipod has been Aerosmith crazy lately, almost like it could sense a tremor in The Force. How has this year gone for the Beantown boys? Guitarist Brad Whitford got hurt, then I think drummer Joey Kramer got hurt, then I think bassist Tom Hamilton had an operation, then Steven Tyler fell off a stage-and all that before the recent drama. Tyler's revolving door answers to if he's in or out of Aerosmith gives me a headache. I'm so glad I got to see them live a few years ago, even with them playing a truncated set and Hamilton being absent (I believe he was battling Cancer at the time) they were great. "Seasons Of Wither" was awesome in that show.

2. White Stripes "Conquest"

One of my favorite White Stripes songs, unique with that Spanish sound added to the heavy drums / guitar combo that is their trademark. Jack White's vocal has a playful absurd tone to it which is very funny. I often skipped to this song on the CD during my commute to work a few years back, it got me pumped up like I was bull fighting or something.

3. Arcade Fire "Intervention"

Not since the glory days of Rick Wakeman can I recall this much church organ in a song. Off the excellent Neon Bible album, I like the downtrodden mood and cynicism balanced with longing for a way out in this track.

4. Led Zeppelin "Stairway To Heaven"

And she's buy-yuy-ying a sta-hair-way...to he-avennn. Well, I'm going to have some time to do some typing now won't I? For the first five years or so of my buying and listening to rock music, I did not hear this song. Heard it about it, yes, but actually heard it, no. Once I did hear it, I thought "Is that it?". Years later in college I had a tv production class where the assignment was to create a production about a poem. I asked if song lyrics counted (because I don't know poetry from jack) and was told yes, so my production was me reading the lyrics to this song while we did slow camera movements on pics taken from a Best Photos From Life Magazine issue. After reading the lyrics over and over from this assignment I came to appreciate the song more. While they didn't invent the soft to loud song pace, their influence is unmistakable on other rock bands that copy this structure. The best rip off? Whitesnake's "Sailing Ships" from the Slip Of The Tongue disc. Guitarist Steve Vai tears it up while Coverdale wails, blasphemous as it is I like "Sailing Ships" better than "Stairway".

5. Courtney Jaye "I Need Love"

This is off one of the Paste Magazine samplers, this is my first listen of it. Hmmm...pleasant Country rock with a sort of George Harrison slide guitar lick and clip cloppy percussion. A sort of updated 70's feel. Stuff like this is what I like about Paste samplers, it gives me exposure to new music that fits my style. Twangy female vocal is good. Nice song, it's growing on me.

6. Jake Shimabukuro "3rd Stream"

Another Paste Magazine track, very intricate acoustic guitar here. Sort of Hawaiian mixed with some Spanish guitar it sounds like. I like acoustic guitar solos where it's very complex with all these neato nimble finger moves you can hear. This is even better than the last song, good stuff. Makes me want to go to Starbucks and order a Mocha Latte. I think the free Itunes download I got from Starbucks for Roberto Y Gabriela is in the same vein. Impressive...most impressive. (An update, now that I've looked this up on You Tube dude is playing a ukelale. Wow)

7. The Beatles "Here Comes The Sun"

In my book, George Harrison is the best Beatle. For me, that is. Lennon's avant garde touches could get a little too "out there" for me, while McCartney's melodicism could get a bit wimpy. Harrison had a direct approach that balanced melody and guitars in a way that appealed to me...that is except for hippy trippy stuff like "Within You Without You" of course. When Harrison died, this song was featured in just about every televised tribute to the man and with good reason, its a great song. So breezy and hopeful without being slight. Awesome.

8. Boston "What's Your Name"

I have a ton of Boston on my Ipod, which would mean something except they only have like five albums. This came from the Walk On Cd aka the one where they started using synthesizers. Seemed totally wrong for Boston, who proudly advertised on their record jackets that they didn't use synthesizers, would turn around and use them. It's not like it saved them time in recording, the gap between Walk On in 1994 and the prior album Third Stage in 1986 was eight freakin' years. Oh, back to the song. I love the guitar solo part of "What's Your Name", where the multitracked guitars solo in unison while another guitar in the background makes this descending sound like a spaceship landing.

9. Tommy TuTone "867-5309 Jenny"

A classic of arena sized power pop, it instantly takes me back to 1982. All those news stories of people dialing this phone number, a number that belonged to real people, was funny or what we in '82 liked to call "gnarly". Too bad Tommy TuTone couldn't come up with another humdinger of a pop hit like "Jenny". This song still fires me up and has me dreaming of the numerous county fairs this song must be played at annually. I want me some corn dogs!

10. Mary J Blige "Real Love"

Mary Mary, why you buggin? Sorry, couldn't resist that. You know, as big a hit as this song was in the early 90's it was some tv commercial a year back that got me into this song. Was it a phone commercial? Probably. I like the occasional R&B song and Blige has come up with a winner on occasion, she had some song that sampled part of a soap opera theme (Young and the Restless?) for an aptly titled tune "No More Drama" that I liked too. Didn't care as much for her duet with U2 on "One" though, a little over the top on that one. Anyway, I like the groove here with the slow heavy bass and antsy piano figure on top while Mary soulfully wails away.

All right, that was painless - for me that is. Not as painful as being cut off at the legs with a light saber or anything. And now Lord Vader...rise!

Mr Mike's AOR Project 1989

In 1989 Arena Rock saw equality towards the sexes as the number of female rockers rose. It was like the 25th century had arrived.

Here we are, the dream we all dream of. It's 1989, the last year of my car CD set of 80's Arena Rock. In 1989, the tide shifted towards female rockers as Lita Ford, Vixen and others took hairspray and spandex back from the boys for a moment. '89 was also the start of the last wave of Arena Rock that would last until Kurt Cobain would wipe them all off the face of the earth in '92. But that is the future, it's now 1989.

Disc 1:

Danger Danger - Naughty Naughty

The the band band with with a a love love of of repetition repetition enjoys their moment in the sun.

Joe Cocker - When The Night Comes

Bryan Adams was a killer ghost writer, coming up with gems for Loverboy, 38 Special and Mr. Cocker in addition to his own sizable catalog. I got into this song when it was heavily advertised in commercials for the Tom Sellick flick An Innocent Man. I'm innocent I tell you! Can't you hear the Joe Cocker song in the background? If that doesn't say innocent, I don't know what does.

Vixen - Edge Of A Broken Heart

Speaking of songwriting, the all girl rock band that clearly took inspiration from the Wilson sisters turn out a Richard Marx jam.

Great White - Once Bitten Twice Shy

Before they became synonymous with tragedy, Great White was a second tier hard rock unit that rode a Mott the Hoople tune to #1.

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - Brother Of Mine

4/5ths of Classic Yes unite for some of that ten minute razzle dazzle excess they were famous for.

Signal - Does It Feel Like Love

To my surprise, this group finally became available thru ITunes so I now have this album after all these years. Brilliant power ballad cheese.

Blue Murder - Jelly Roll

Guitarist John Sykes came up with a lot of those magic sub-Zep riffs that Whitesnake's David Coverdale howled into hits before a failed coup attempt led to his dismissal. With "Jelly Roll", Sykes made some nice backwoods Metal.

Winger - Seventeen

Kip Winger took a second away from crafting his perfect hair and stubble beard to write this pop metal classic. Guitarist Reb Beach shreds all over the place and Winger goes for the perfect bass player spin move.

Bulletboys - Smooth Up In Ya

You can't have an Arena Rock set and not include the Bulletboys. You just can't.

Tesla - Love Song

Sac Town's favorite sons made it to the big time thanks to this power ballad. I know it's just me, when I hear the acoustic opening some of it sounds like the Buck Rogers theme to me. Love is gonna find a way Wilma Deering!

Lee Aaron - Whatcha Do To My Body?

Canada's Metal Queen has important questions and demands answers.

Joan Jett - I Hate Myself For Loving You

Jett's second #1, who would have known this would become better known than "I Love Rock and Roll"? This is now her signature tune.

Richard Marx - Satisfied

Marx wrote the Vixen track while still riding high on his own success, the lead single from his Repeat Offender album was pop rock brilliance.

Guns N Roses - Patience

Axl Rose chills out for a pleasant acoustic ballad. Maybe a song that best describes GNR fans who have to wait decades between albums.

Bad English - When I See You Smile

A Reeses peanut butter cup of a supergroup, ex-members of Journey and The Babys team up for one of Diane Warren's best known power ballads.

Disc 2:

Doobie Brothers - The Doctor

The Bay Area boogie band lays off the McDonalds and returns to their "China Grove" roots. Still my favorite Doobie Bros song.

Alice Cooper - Poison

70's shock rocker Alice Cooper couldn't get arrested most of the decade until he toned down and glammed up a little.

TNT - 10,000 Lovers (In One)

10,000 lovers? Better get tested wanna be Wilt Chamberlain.

Joe Satriani - Big Bad Moon

The Satch man shreds a plenty on Coldplay's next hit. Really looking forward to Chickenfoot, hope it lives up to the hype.

Shooting Star - Touch Me Tonight

Long running AOR group makes it to the end of the decade with their biggest smash hit (I think it made it to like #76 on the pop charts).

Warrant - Heaven

This group felt like a paint by numbers sort of rock band to me, case in point - generic power ballad. And yes, I play this one loud because that's what I like!

Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood

The Crue close out their peak period with one of their best riffs, no one could deny the power of it.

Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly

Where ex-Runaways band mate Joan Jett went for leather and attitude, Ford was about curves and sex appeal. Years later Weezer would borrow the verse melody from "Deadly" for their hit "Hash Pipe".

The Cult - Fire Woman

All of those believers were validated when The Cult finally crossed over to a broad audience thanks to this blazin' hit.

Skid Row - 18 And Life

I'm not a fan of Skid Row yet it seemed wrong to deny their place in history...

Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire

...or as Billy Joel would say "Flash in the Pan / Sebastian Bach / on the Rolling Stone cover / AIDS shirt / punch out fans / Slave to the Grind / We Didn't Start The Fire..."

XYZ - Inside Out

Don Dokken had protege's, yes, I'm not kidding. XYZ, not to be confused with the failed Yes and Led Zep combo, were actually pretty good and got on the radio with this chugging anthem.

Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You

After resisting releasing "Never Say Goodbye" as a single from Slippery When Wet, Jon Bon Jovi gave in to the power ballad loving audience demands with awesome results.

Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator

The Beantown boys cemented their comeback with one of their best jams, a swinging ode to being stuck between floors.

Queen - I Want It All

A few years before his demise, Freddie Mercury and the band still had that talent for triumphant rock anthems.

Strangeways - After The Hurt Is Gone

Smooth AOR as it was meant to be done.

Trevor Rabin - Something To Hold On To

80's Yes fans left in the lurch by Jon Anderson jumping ship to ABWH were given something to hold on to with Trevor Rabin's solo album Can't Look Away.

And that was the '80's. I haven't decided if I'll continue up to '92 or back track thru the 70's yet so that's all for this project for now. Seacrest out.

Mr Mike's AOR Project 1988

It was a concert I had wished I had gone to.

It's fitting after covering a whole lotta Zep that 1988 is the next year in my AOR Project because that was the year everyone wanted to be Zep. In the wake of Whitesnake's success a slew of bands took to the Zeppelin sound and interest renewed in the original members. On top of that Hair Metal went into overdrive. The Monsters of Rock tour was somewhere around this time led by the Hagar driven Van Halen. Everything was great in '88!

Disc 1:

Fate - Love On The Rox

When bands split up, it usually doesn't seem clean. So when Mercyful Fate divided and one half became Fate, well that was just pure genius.

Robert Plant - Heaven Knows

I debated with myself to include this or "Tall Cool One". Tough call to make, I went with the slower tempo number.

Cheap Trick - The Flame

Not just a great power ballad, one that seems to get a pass from people critical of this genre. Great acoustic guitar sound on this track.
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Kingdom Come - Get It On

In one of the best marketing moves of the day, the band sent this record to radio stations without a mention of who it was. Rumors spread that this was Led Zeppelin's new song (because it sounded very "Kashmir") and it got all over the airwaves.

Bonham - Wait For You

If anyone who was not a former member of Led Zep had a right to tackle that sound, it was Jason Bonham. The prodigal son gets his Physical Graffiti on with this ripping cut.

Toto - Pamela

Not to be outdone, Toto also sounded like Led Zep...no, not really, Toto came off as very Toto with a jazzy retread of "Rosanna".

3 - Talkin' 'Bout

To this day I'm shocked they didn't force Robert Berry to legally change his name to something like Like so they could remain ELP. Emerson, Like and Palmer has a nice ring to it.

Mr. Big - Addicted To That Rush

A few years before they invented the campfire clap power ballad, the mini supergroup made up from former members of Eric Martin Band, David Lee Roth and Racer X fired up the fret work to a crazy fast beat.

Hurricane - I'm On To You

Current Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen spent the 80's rocking like a, um Hurricane.

Shy - Break Down The Walls

I'm not even gonna front yo, I've got to admit I learned about this group through Melodicrock and had not heard of this group at the time. Not bad stuff.

Aerosmith - Angels

Power ballads are all about the cheese baby, and it's hard to top the fondue fountain that is "Angel".

Saraya - Love Has Taken It's Toll

One of my favorite lost bands, this song has so many memories of drunken games at the pool halls for me. It sucks this album is out of print, Sandi Saraya rocks!

Alice Cooper - Poison

In 1988 none could resist the power of Desmond Child and he revived the 70's Icon with this comeback jam.

Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me

The Lep seemed all washed up when the 5th single dropped a year after the album release. One of the first mainstream meldings of rap and metal after "Walk This Way", it became a legend of 80's rock.

Pat Benatar - All Fired Up

A few years before her unfortunate foray into Blues, Benatar came up with one more Arena Rock winner before heading off to the oldies circuit.

Guns N Roses - Sweet Child O Mine

The reason everyone knows this band was because of this uncharacteristically sweet midtempo rocker. A great song, though if I have to hear the story of how Slash came up with the opening riff again I'll go into convulsions.

Disc 2:

Glass Tiger - I'm Still Searching

The Tiger made a play for a lasting career but was caught looking on a fastball. How's that for mixed metaphors!

Poison - Every Rose Has It's Thorn

I'd put down Bret Michaels but the man has a dream life: He slaps on his weave and plays generic music to screaming fans and has VH1 act as his personal pimp every few months. Lame or not, Michaels did come up with one of the best known poems in the late 20th century. Every rose has its thorn, just like every day has its dawn, just like every cowboy sings a sad, sad song.

Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine

An awesome, awesome hair band arena rock jam with a big ass chorus and rapidfire verses.

Van Halen - When It's Love

Things looked a little wussy in Van Halen land for a second with this lenghty ballad. "Unchained" this is not.

Queensryche - I Don't Believe In Love

Part of the classic Operation: Mindcrime album, the Seattle based unit brought the heat on this dramatic rocker.

Britny Fox - Girlschool

C'mon, it's Britny Fox! What else can I say?

Eddie Money - Walk On Water

Eddie was on the money with this amazing slice of AOR written by Sammy Hagar's ex-keyboardist Jesse Harms. I remember getting out of the hospital and buying the tape. And finding out this was the only good song on the whole freakin' tape.

Jimmy Page - Wasting My Time

Unable to get Robert Plant to stick around (sounds familiar), Page cut a fine solo album called Outrider that featured this hard rockin' cut.

Scorpions - Rhythm Of Love

I find it weird how sometimes a certain song title will become popular. Case in point, "Rhythm of Love" was released by Yes in '87 and the Scorps in '88 and the two songs have nothing to do with each other at all.

Europe - Superstitious

Hey, it turned out guitarist John Norum was the most important member of this group after all. When Norum left this was the last hit the group could generate.

Def Leppard - Love Bites

One of the most interesting power ballads in terms of lyrics ("Love Bites / Love Bleeds / It's what I need"). Probably goes over well with that Twilight crowd. Say it. Vampire. Ooh...

Kix - Don't Close Your Eyes

You know it's 1988 when it's another song, another power ballad.

White Lion - Wait

Maybe the best name in Hair Metal, Mike Tramp, led his group through the jungle with this winning melody.

Paul Dean - Sword and Stone

Loverboy guitarist Paul Dean cut a Paul Stanley song for his solo album with strong results.

AC / DC - Heatseeker

It's Ac/Dc. You either get it or you don't.

Bad Company - No Smoke Without A Fire

The radio station in Sacramento loved this song, I heard it a couple times a day for months. This chorus is forever jammed in my brain.

Sheriff - When I'm With You

In a strange turn of events, a failed band from 1983 got their song played on the radio by a DJ who liked this song in 1988 - years after the band had split up. Later the singer and guitarist would team up with former members of Heart to make Alias.
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And that was 1988. Just one more year to go!

Mr Mike AOR Project 1987

I had this poster up on my wall back in the day, right next to James Bond.

1987, the year that will live in infamy. It lives in infamy because it was the year that Arena Rock's most infamous incarnation took hold of the mainstream. Hair Bands! Spandex, hairspray, makeup, party hearty anthems to work up a sweat and mushy ballads to make mascara run, went for middle America's jugular and took first blood. So flick your bic and hold it high because we're rocking like Amadeus into 1987 (and yes, "Rock Me Amadeus" was 1986).

Disc 1:

Sammy Hagar - Give to Live

The Red Rocker was feeling very "peace on earth and goodwill to men" on his contractually obligated solo album a year after joining Van Halen.

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

Remember back when Tawny Kitaen wasn't all jacked up? Doing cartwheels on fancy cars seemed so simple then. She gave David Coverdale a reason to twirl his mic stand.

Guns N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle

One of the definitive rock anthems of the decade, Axl Rose's screeching over Slash's rampaging riff is 80's rock magic. It's still often used as a story telling device when a show or movie wants to introduce urban blight. As for me, I thought of this song often when I worked at a Marine animal theme park a year later.

Survivor - Is This Love

The last Top 10 hit for the AOR legends was this spiffy pop rocker with a Steve Perry style vocal hook. Love the cascading keyboards on this one.

Yes - Rhythm of Love

Guitarist Trevor Rabin thought it would be funny to make a Yes song about sex. And in that context, it is pretty funny.

Genesis - Tonight Tonight Tonight

What started as an eight minute prog album track turned into a 30 second beer commercial phenomenon which led to a three minute pop hit. They don't call Progressive Rock "Math Rock" for nothing!

Bonfire - Sleeping All Alone

Cutout bin classics Bonfire generate some heat.

Europe - Carrie

Swedish meatballs Europe wipe away the tears with sheer power balladry.

Bob Seger - Shakedown

What was supposed to be Glenn Frey turned into Bob Seger's monster hit to the Beverly Hills Cop 2 soundtrack. Shakedown...take down...you're busted!

Heart - Alone

One of the best remembered of all the power ballads, Heart's dramatic take on I Ten's song raised the bar on glossy theatrics. That's why it gets sung every year on American Idol.

Patty Smyth - Downtown Train

Before an, er, trainload of people got the idea to cover this Tom Waits song the ex Scandal singer had her take on it.

Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive

Ok, there's such a thing as too much ego and Jon Bon Jovi's comparisons of this song to "Stairway to Heaven" back in the day is a clear example. It's a great song, who doesn't want to be a cowboy on a steel horse or see a million faces and rock them all ?

Motley Crue - Girls Girls Girls

Some magazine had a caption for this song I can't beat. It said something like "L.A. Rockers ode to the titty bars they love." That's downright poetic.

Bryan Adams - Heat of the Night

A guaranteed hit song as the first single of a new album following Reckless, Adams hits a heavy groove that he would never touch again in the years of movie soundtrack love songs that would come later.

Aerosmith - (Dude) Looks Like A Lady

And with one fell swoop, Aerosmith replaced the Dallas Cowboys as "America's Team" with a fired up declaration to transgender issues.

Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms

A big year for (parenthesis), I was watching VH1's one hit wonders of the 80's and everyone came to the conclusion that this song is about sexual climax. Huh huh, I said "came". I still think that guitar lick was pilfered from "Der Kommisar".

Andy Taylor - Take it Easy

Barney, Opie and the gang get together for one last song on the porch before Otis stumbles in and eats Aunt Bea's Apple Pie. Ex-Duran Duran guitarist took his shot at Arena Rock glory and came up with this decent nugget for Mitch Gaylord's American Anthem movie.

Disc 2:

Dokken - Dream Warriors

One, two Dokken's after you. Guitarist George Lynch tries to outshred Freddy Kruger and wins.

The Outfield - Since You've Been Gone

I saw the band perform this live before the second album dropped, I was so sure this was going to be a big hit. Little did I know the public had enough Outfield from the first record.

Tesla - Little Suzi

It was practically Sacramento, CA's theme song in the late 80's as the local boys made good. Last year during MTV's celebration of their channels launch I found out this was originally a new wave song by a different band. Had no idea!

Cinderella - Nobody's Fool

You know, that girl's tilted clock hat fad never really took off. Cinderella started with flash and glam before bloozing things up a few years later.

Night Ranger - The Secret of My Success

Nothing says Flashback like a theme song to a Michael J Fox movie co-written and produced by David Foster. Throw in the synth horns and this is like Chicago on steroids.

Bon Jovi - Livin On A Prayer

Jon Bon Jovi delivers his masterpiece, a brilliant mix of talk box effects and escalating chorus vocals. I watched this interview with Desmond Child one time, he said he gave this song a Latin flair. Another one of those things I would have never guessed.

Georgia Satellites - Keep Your Hands To Yourself

The Satellites gave Southern Rock a good name and for a second seemed to have a strong future.

Ace Frehley - Into The Night

Space Ace took his leave of KISS to record some decent songs including this sly rocker. Last night the video came on VH1 Classics, it's powerful stuff.

Great White - Rock Me

Maybe one of the best song titles in Arena Rock, this long cut stealthily sneaks up on you and then shifts into overdrive. So sad what happened at that club years later.

Boston - We're Ready

A sort of forgotten hit even though it made the Top 10, it is almost never included in Boston's greatest hits comps. I have no idea why, it's wicked awesome.

Jet Boy - Feel The Shake

A great 80's rock band name if there ever was one, Jet Boy hit the afterburners on this anthemic tune.

REO Speedwagon - That Ain't Love

It threw everyone for a loop, Kevin Cronin grew a mustache! He looked all old and goofy with that thing on, made it hard to take him seriously. Ironically, with a bitter song like "That Ain't Love" Cronin was asking to be taken seriously. He looked like a snake oil salesman.

Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly

This was all over the radio back then, it was the first Pink Floyd song to be listenable since The Wall in 1980. Tongue tied and twisted just an Earth bound misfit, I.

Foreigner - Say You Will

No more head games, Foreigner made one of their patented midtempo pop rock jams the first single. A game of wordplay reigns supreme, say you will, say you won't, say you do, say you don't...damn, they've got a lot to say.

Rick Springfield - Rock of Life

It was rough not being able to squeeze more Genius into these CDs, but fortunately '87 was a weak year for AOR. Springfield takes a Sting like quality in the verses before slamming into the shifting chorus.

Fleetwood Mac - Big Love

I was so convinced it was Stevie Nicks making those little gasps countering Lindsey Buckingham's. Turned out both gasp noises were Buckingham, he just sped up his voice on the second set.

Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

You may think being in love with a Mannequin is wrong, but who are you to judge? You can't put limits on love! The heart wants what it wants.

Looks like we're heading towards the end, just two more years to go in this magnificent decade. Don't hate '88, it's almost here.

Anniversary Day Flashback

Friday March 6th is the 15th anniversary of my marriage to my wonderful wife. To commemorate this day, I will flashback to 1994. We were driving through the mountains to go to our wedding and there were two songs that came on the radio that always remind me of that day.

The first is "Amazing" by Aerosmith. The song was part of some countdown on the radio and the dj told the story of Steven Tyler. Tyler was described on the radio as a shy person who changed after high school into the extrovert he is now. My wife (fiancee' at that moment) pointed out that I could make changes too, like Steven Tyler. While I am no where near the extrovert that Steven Tyler is today, I have made some changes along those lines to be more outgoing. Anyway, when I hear this song I often think of the support I received and the time spent with the person who would become my wife.

The second song is "The Calling" by Yes. I am a big Yes fan and was unaware at the time that the prog rockers were recording a new album. The surprise and thrill of hearing a new song from a favorite band I took to be a good omen (though I am generally not superstitious).

I was hoping to get this post up during my anniversary but fell short of finishing it off in time. It's been a wonderful 15 years and many more to come! I love you Bunny!

Numbers 25, 24 and 23

Rock On Gold Dust Woman: Stevie Nicks warns people about the Sister of the Moon. Yeah, you read that right, the moon has sisters. Is that weird or what?

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Time to add three more to my 100 Favorite CD list and shake it like a Polaroid picture (sorry, Outkast is playing on the IPOD). On this round we have Bay Area Punks, Beantown Blues Rockers and a Gypsy Woman to throw on the CD player.

Number 25: Green Day American Idiot (2004)


When Green Day exploded on the rock scene with Dookie (1994) they were revered as the return of Punk. Then when they couldn't match Dookie, they were dismissed as one hit wonders. It didn't seem likely that a Pop Punk band writing a concept album would make a comeback vehicle, but the Berkeley trio bucked the odds when they returned with a vengeance on American Idiot. The story of a disaffected suburban teen who gets lost in his outsider world of drugs ("Give Me Novocaine") and infatuation ("Extraordinary Girl") connects as the music pounds out a feeling of unfocused rage. A slew of hits spawned from this disc, the sardonic punk of the title track, the up-in-arms Holiday and the depressed Boulevard of Broken Dreams. It's all topped off with the poignant ballad Wake Me When September Ends complete with a topical video of young love and war. A real challenge and accomplishment artistically, Green Day even puts the Punk ethos of short-fast-loud on its head with two ten minute multi segment tracks ("Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming"). A complete and cohesive album from a Punk band.

Number 24: Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic (1975)


When music critics hail the best this Boston based band has to offer, they almost universally cite Rocks (1976). That is a great album, no doubt, but my preference is the slightly goofier Toys in the Attic. In any case Aerosmith was in full swing by the mid 70's and Attic contained 9 cuts of limber blues rock. The classic rock staples Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way groove and shake providing an anchor for the rest of the album. The band shows range between the rampaging Title Cut and the retro blues of Big Ten Inch Record. For me, the highlight is the straight ahead Arena Rock of No More No More. Yes, Aerosmith would rock harder and sell more records after Attic but this album has the right mix of indelible riffs and sleazy fun for me.

Number 23: Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna (1981)


I think I've mentioned before I was so into Stevie Nicks as a teenager that my parents referred to her as "my girlfriend". Back in the day I was hot for Ms. Nicks with her warbly voice, low cut lace tops and witchy woman ways. I even followed her through her late 80's slump of illegal drug addiction followed by her early 90's slump of prescription drug addiction. It's funny, but in 1990 I had a sort of epiphany as I played this tape in my car - I really liked her singing and songwriting separate from her looks. Now this is probably not the most macho thing I can write, Nicks writes in all these metaphors about snow covered mountains, white winged doves and maybe even little ponies that ride on candy colored rainbows for what my memory is worth. And one of the best put downs of her famous voice I've heard included the phrase "Black and Decker Vibrator". Yet in her best work (meaning Fleetwood Mac and her first two solo albums) at the center of her mystique is real emotion and artistic originality.

Bella Donna is one of the best examples of what Nicks is capable of, hooking up with Tom Petty Producer and future Interscope Records guru Jimmy Iovine (both figuratively and literally) Nicks rock sound toughens up and has a little more twang than her Fleetwood Mac work. The jittery guitar of Edge of Seventeen launches Nicks into a fanciful eulogy of death and remembrance of youth. To ensure some chart action, Nicks stacked the deck by having two duets: the first being the Tom Petty penned Stop Draggin My Heart Around performed with the man himself. The second is the ballad inspired by Waylon Jennings and his wife, Leather and Lace, trading lead vocals with the slightly less raspy Don Henley. Other album tracks hold up well, like the countryish "After the Glitter Fades" and the slow trance like "Kind of Woman". The extended length Title Song serves as a mission statement even if I can't make literal sense out of the lyrics. Stevie Nicks channels both sensitivity and fury with a touch of bittersweet resignation. And she looked great on the album cover too.

To close I think I will write out one of those Stevie Nicks sentences...that have a...lot of...ellipses...now...

Back In The Saddle Again

Just a quick post before going to bed, after my wife saw me off to work this morning and I got into the car. When I started it I found the CD player was cued up to the beginning of "Back In The Saddle" on Aerosmith's greatest hits. I didn't plan it or realize I had left off the song before, so I took it as a good sign and the perfect tune to return to work to.

Aerosmith "Back in the Saddle"

Top 10 Favorite Hair Bands

My list is not as good as theirs. I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!

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After posting about Motley Crue, I saw there was a lot of debate about which hair band sucked the most. Being a fan of Hair Bands / Glam Metal / Pop Metal / Poser Metal I thought I would throw in my favorites just because it looked like fun. My qualifications for this list were that the bands had to be musically excessive, wear spandex and use more hair spray than an army of Supermodels (meaning Metallica, Guns N Roses and AC/DC were disqualified). It also gave me a chance to learn from my wife how to name links with different words. So, my 10 favorite hair bands:

10. Ratt

The masters of the "street urchin" look (torn spandex, fishnet and wrist/leg wraps), Ratt started as Mickey Ratt and were all about Stephen Pearcy's reptilian voice and Warren DeMartini's Van Halenish guitar solos. Out of the Cellar (1984) was a Pop Metal classic with hits like "Lack of Communication", "Wanted Man" and of course "Round and Round". Known for their provacative album covers (Whitesnake girl Tawny Kitaen is on the cover of Cellar) and videos the band were on MTV often during the mid 80's. They were never able to match the power of Cellar but still convinced enough people to Ratt N Roll for the rest of the decade. Sleazy, cheesy and a lot of fun was what I thought of them.

Favorite Album: Dancing Undercover (1986) had the spiraling guitars of "Dance", the rockin' "Body Talk" that was featured in Eddie Murphy's Golden Child movie and my favorite Ratt song-

Favorite Song: Slip of the Lip was fun.

Most Hair Band Moment: Their fragmentation following their greatest hits disc in 1992 has included lawsuits, reunions with some but not all original members, weak comeback attempts and the unfortunate death of guitarist Robbin Crosby. Pretty much writing the book for most hair bands career path whose hey day ended with Grunge.

9. Scorpions

When people think of human pyramids, they probably think of cheerleaders or the start to Eight is Enough. But what I think of is an aging '70's German metal band that found second life as one of the premier hair bands of the 80's performing human pyramids onstage. The Scorpions blew up with their 1981 album Blackout and came up with one of the best known Pop Metal anthems, "Rock You Like A Hurricane". At the beginning of the 90's, their power ballad "Wind of Change" became the theme song for a reunified Germany. In between, classics like "Still Loving You", "Rhythm of Love" and "No One Like You" rocked all over the world. And they completely left Ratt in the dust for risque' album covers.

Favorite Album: Made before their Hair Band peak, 1979's Lovedrive is an awesome display of the Scorps at their least compromising. Molten riffs, screaming vocals and face melting solos. But, to add a sensitive side the ballad "Holiday" closes the record. Essentially Lovedrive was the template for the band's future albums.

Favorite Song: Every time I hear Can't Live Without You from Blackout it gets stuck in my head for days.

Most Hair Band Moment: Did I mention Human Pyramids? Or that their mascot from Blackout was a crazy guy with forks in his eyes? But their most hair band moment was the comings and goings of original Lead Guitarist Michael Schenker. Lead guitarists were like the quick draw gunsmiths in the wild west, sometimes going where the ego feeding, I mean money, I mean artistic expression takes them.

8. Steelheart

Two words: Michael Matijevic. His voice was maybe the most powerful ever heard in Pop Metal, a multi octave flamethrower that could set any track on fire. The ultra power ballad "I'll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes) is my favorite song of all time. And poser rock? This guy knew every lead singer pose there was. He did the lean back and scream with the mic way up in the air, the side shimmy, the head shaking during the suspended notes, the fast spin-there was no Hair Band singer that was better. Or less recognized by the general public.

Favorite Album: I only have one of their two CDs they recorded during their peak, so I'm going to have to go with Steelheart (1991).

Favorite Song: I'll Never Let You Go . Best. Song. Ever.

Most Hair Band Moment: This band's moment was one of the saddest as it ended the intial part of their career. Lead singer Michael Matijevic climbed an improperly secured lighting rig and it fell on him. It literally plowed his head into the stage resulting in injuries that took him out of music for years.

7. Tesla

It's debatable if Tesla belongs in this category because they were a bit more Hard Rock, but if the spandex fits then wear it. I lived in Sacramento CA during the late 80's, the band's hometown where they were considered like Gods. Very representative of the city they came from, even at dance clubs you would hear Tesla in between MC Hammer and Janet Jackson songs and the dance floor would not stop moving. And watching frat boys try to impress girls by drunkenly warbling the power ballad "Love Song" is burned in my mind. "Luv is gonnnna find a weighhh (hic) way back two uuuu-dude, get me another beer". Despite this, I still thought they were a great band with versatility and some authenticity. A rarity in Hair Band metal.

Favorite Album: Psychotic Supper (1991) was one of the band's sharpest records, raging hard rock ("Edison's Medicine") alongside rock anthems ("Call It What You Want") and power ballads ("What You Give").

Favorite Song: Don't De Rock Me is a clusterbomb of twin guitar soloing with Jeff Keith's ragged vocals and Troy Lucketta's pounding drums to up the ante.

Most Hair Band Moment: Twisted Sister's Dee Snider derisively credited Tesla with the "unplugged" movement of the early 90's following the band's hit cover of "Signs".

6. Whitesnake

David Coverdale saw a generation of kids who had never seen Led Zeppelin and milked it for all it was worth. But he did it with style. 'Ol leatherhead (well, not anymore after plastic surgery) took his bleached blond hair and howled at the moon a'la Robert Plant to the tune of Platinum records and #1 singles. But let's face it, the times Led Zep showed their face during the 80's was few and far between and in terms of sheer Rawk power Whitesnake had both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's solo discs beat. Not even John Bonham's son (Bonham) or the near second coming that was Kingdom Come ("Get it On") could not compete with Coverdale's Zepparama. "Here I Go Again" has become a pop culture staple of thanks to twirling mic stands, airy keyboards and a fist pumping chorus. And the video with Tawny Kitaen on a Jaguar became a media classic.

Favorite Album: Slide It In (1984) was part of the two album roll that had Coverdale working with guitarist John Sykes (Blue Murder). Sykes skill with adapting Page's stop time riffage to slicked out 80's guitarwork was key to the band's success. Slide It In was rougher and more impolite than the mega successful Whitesnake (1987) making it the better choice.

Favorite Song: Here I Go Again seems the obvious pick but my true favorite is Love Ain't No Stranger .

Most Hair Band Moment: Whitesnake and David Coverdale are said to have inspired parts of the film This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and Michael McKean's character David St. Hubbins. Otherwise, having a specific beautiful girl as your band's calling card (the next band copied the move by bringing in Alicia Silverstone in the early 90's).

5. Aerosmith

In 1984, Bostonian hard rockers Aerosmith reunited it's original lineup including vocalist Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry after a few years of drug abuse had torn the group up. They released a strong album, Done With Mirrors, in 1985 and were ignored. So they turned to Bon Jovi vets Bruce Fairbairn (producer) and Desmond Child (songwriter) and turned Hair Band. It led to one of the biggest comebacks in rock, a string of Platinum albums and power ballads followed and soon they were considered America's Band. Pop Metal classics like "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)", "Angel", "Janie's Got A Gun", "Love In An Elevator" and "Livin On The Edge" cemented their place in Hair Band history.

Favorite Album: Of their Hair Band period, Pump melded their bluesy Hard Rock edge to hooky choruses the best leading to four hit singles and nearly every other track becoming a rock radio favorite. "Elevator", "Janie", "What It Takes", "The Other Side", "Young Lust" and "FINE" all come from this album.

Favorite Song: Love In An Elevator had a swingin' groove, Tyler's hyperactive come ons and an Arena ready chorus. Oh Yeah!

Most Hair Band Moment: Years after the end of the genre, Aerosmith conquered the charts in 1998 with their ultimate power ballad - the Diane Warren penned "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing". Even nearing the new millenium Aerosmith were still spurring bic lighter sales (shortly replaced afterwards with cell phones).

4. Dokken

...rhymes with Rockin' is what the cover to their Breaking The Chains album said. After I heard the power ballad "Alone Again", I was hooked on Dokken. They had a darkness to their sound that was very Metal, but the songs were catchy. The combo of Don Dokken's dramatic vocals and George Lynch's stunning fretwork made them a contender for being a best selling band but they could never crossover. They tried hard, recording movie soundtrack songs ("Dream Warriors" for Nightmare on Elm Street 3) and even tried to sound happy one time ("Burning Like A Flame") but pop success was elusive. As a result, lesser talented bands are better remembered than Dokken.

Favorite Album: Under Lock And Key (1985) had Producer Neil Kernon matching the band's bombast with heavy over production making it the most fully realized Dokken effort. Speed metal, midtempo melodies and power balladry all sit comfortably side by side.

Favorite Song: It took a little while for me to warm up to, but Into The Fire has become my favorite track from the LA rockers.

Most Hair Band Moment: Every rock band is famous for having "creative tensions" between members, but the feud between Don Dokken and George Lynch is the stuff of legend. What's funny is I can't think of any single incident happening between them that was memorable, just constant reports of their battles back in the day. Because they never crossed over, they were better known as a band for their infighting than any music they recorded. Making Dokken the number one example of Hair Band egos at their worst.

3. Def Leppard

I'm always amused that this band was once considered part of the British New Wave of Heavy Metal. When Def Lep met producer Mutt Lange, Pop Metal history was made as Lange focused the groups basic elements into a cohesive sound. Pyromania (1983) and Hysteria (1987) are two of the best selling albums of the 80's. Their ability to spend years crafting perfectly structured Glam Metal is well known, coming up with a sound that rocks with some crunchy riffs, bounces with heavy synthesized production and capped with squealing multitracked vocals. All the bad luck in the world couldn't stop this band.

Favorite Album: Pyromania combined AC/DC style slam bang grooves with their hooky Glam rock choruses to create a potent mix. "Photograph", "Rock of Ages" and "Foolin" were MTV staples. Even album tracks like "Rock Rock (til you drop)" and "Comin' Under Fire" still stick 25 years later. Unta Gleebin Glossen Globen.

Favorite Song: Is Tear It Down a song I once read described as an "Atomic Rocker". The version I like is the one with Steve Clark that was a B side to "Women", not the rerecorded version for the Adrenalize album.

Most Hair Band Moment: Taking four years a shot to record an album while they multitrack everything. Like Samson's hair, it was the source of their power but also their bane. It was like they were in a betting race with Tom Scholz of Boston to see who could spend more time making a record, leaving fans a lot of time to twiddle their thumbs between releases.

2. Bon Jovi

My story with Bon Jovi is a long and windy one. The band started out an Arena Rock band, sort of a Foreigner meets Bruce Springsteen, which is when I became a fan of Bon Jovi thanks to their minor hit "Runaway". After the first album, Jon Bon Jovi figured out that he got bigger royalties for selling albums instead of singles and that Metal bands sold primarily albums while Arena Rock bands sold singles. This prompted Bon Jovi's switch to metal, naming their second album 7800 degrees Fahrenheit (1985) which was promoted as "the melting point of metal". I still followed them through this change even though I was disappointed they were no longer Arena Rock.

Bringing in Producer Bruce Fairbairn and songwriter Desmond Child, Bon Jovi recorded the Pop Metal classic Slippery When Wet (1986). I loved that album for the first three months and played it until I got sick of it-I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. That's when "You Give Love A Bad Name" went to #1 and suddenly everyone had the record and was playing it constantly. It just burned me out on them. Though I was never as big a fan as just before they hit it big, I remained a Bon Jovi fan for the years that followed. Slippery and New Jersey (1988) became the pinnacle of Hair Band metal as they became all things to all people-enough rock to appease Hair Band fans while providing beefcake to the ladies.

Because they were never true Metal, Bon Jovi has been able to adapt to any trend whether it be Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Teen Pop or New Country making them the most enduring act of the genre. But in the late 80's they were one of the top Hair Bands in the country.

Favorite Album: Is still Slippery When Wet because time heals all wounds. "Livin On A Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" came from this album as well. Even the cast off "Edge of A Broken Heart" from the Disorderlies soundtrack was great.

Favorite Song: Is a song I don't own anymore. The stomping King of the Mountain from 7800 Fahrenheit is the tune that's always caught my attention. It's not that distinct a song, it just works for me. Go Tico!

Most Hair Band Moment: Hair bands often had to look pretty, in the image conscious 80's rock could no longer star ugly guys. Jon Bon Jovi perfected the pretty boy look for Hair Bands selling millions of posters to female fans and giving Kip Winger a fashion guru. And it was so annoying to see guys get that Superman tattoo on the shoulder to try to be like Bon Jovi.

1. Van Halen / David Lee Roth

It seems strange to name Van Halen because I consider them more an influence than an actual part of the Hair Band scene. But they were active performers during the era and were as much a part of it as anyone else. Van Halen's style- the slick clothes, the flamboyant front man, the shred guitar solos, the acrobatic stage shows and party hearty anthems were copied by all the Warrants, Slaughters and White Lions of the rock world. Nobody did it better before or since. Between a Sammy led Van Halen and a Steve Vai finger tapping David Lee Roth the genre had a battle going on where fans were the winners.

I was a little disconcerted when Hagar first joined Van Halen just because he seemed to try too hard to be the "Party Guy". But afterwards he relaxed into it more and is now like the Jimmy Buffett of Hard Rock. Meanwhile, Roth has rejoined Van Halen after an aborted attempt in 1996 disappointed fans. And let's pretend Van Halen III never happened.

Favorite Album: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) combined Hagar's style with the Roth era approach to rockin'. It was weak in terms of songwriting, but the performance wins me over every time.

Favorite Song: Just can't top Diamond Dave's Yankee Rose for Pop Metal, the one two punch of Roth's rambling and Vai's talking guitar is unbeatable. It's the song I wished he had done with Van Halen.

Most Hair Band Moment: They had weird album titles throughout their career, but for three albums Van Halen got really off the wall. 5150 (1986) was advertised as the police code for the insane, OU812 (1988) was a joke in itself and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was an anagram of the first letter of each word.

And that's my Top 10 for Hair Bands, I wished I could have added Motley Crue and Europe and to the list but I'm going to leave it at ten. But this list really should have gone to 11.