The Design Of A Decade Pt 1: Devil Horns To The Sky!

The future is the past. The past is the future. Chickenfoot keeps arena rock alive in 2009!

The first decade of the 21st Century is almost over, makes me feel like I'm Buck Rogers living in this space age of microwave ovens and high definition sunglasses. And with any landmark of time there must be Best Of lists because hell, if you can't list things you like in an arbitrary order then why have an internet? So this is my list, in order of genre, of my favorite CDs of the past ten years. I wish I could say every album on my list is a flawless gem but I'm old, most new music (even by old artists) don't hit me like that. This is part 1 of a series that I'm naming after a Janet Jackson album because as she would say, what have you done for me lately?

We're at the stage of life for 70's / 80's rock bands to discover that sadly rock and roll does not come with a pension plan. As a result these groups keep chugging along on the road to make dough for their IRA. Or maybe they just plain love what they're doing and meant it all those years ago when they gave interviews saying "I'll play live til I die whether it's to 20,000 people or just one guy in the room." In any case, these road warriors hit the stage to rock out annually and occasionally release new material to keep things fresh. Here's my favorite Arena rock releases of recent past.

Rock The Half Sold Out Arena!

My favorite of all music genres headed up by my favorite band, Journey. The 21st Century era of this group will forever be in dispute because for some Journey begins and ends with Steve Perry. Though Perry is my all time favorite singer, I was a fan of the band as a whole which included Jon Cain, Neal Schon and Ross Valory and was happy to see them continue. Arrival (2001) is the best of the bunch with Steve Augeri on the mic, Journey rocked hard on cuts like "Higher Place", "To Be Alive Again" or the strutting "I Got A Reason". Naturally this had to be offset by soft soaring ballads such as "Lifetime Of Dreams" or "Signs Of Life". Only the "When You Love A Woman" rewrite "All The Way" feels like a misstep although it isn't bad. Augeri allowed the group to rock its hardest since the Escape / Frontiers era. After drafting Arnel Pineda a year ago, the bay area band recorded Revelations (2008) which brought back some needed soulfulness to the vocals (Augeri was a better rock belter, Pineda a better crooner). The strong mix of rockers and ballads continued with the high flying "Change For The Better" offset by the soft "Turn Down The World Tonight".

Recent Journey tour mates Heart and Cheap Trick both had good albums to back up their noise. Heart delivered Jupiter's Darling (2004) that found middle ground between their Zepified 70's persona and slick 80's model. Meanwhile, the Tricksters have spent decades trying to recapture their early magic with hit and miss results. On 2006's Rockford they hit the right balance of catchy power pop brilliance and power chord thunder.

Other early 80's survivor Loverboy strapped on the head bandanna one more time for Just Getting Started (2007). One of the few successful attempts to meld modern sensibility into an established 80's rock sound. The fired up title track has plenty of Loverboy's famous freewheeling fun, the bluesy "One Of Them Days" swings and the power ballad "The One That Got Away" is first class.

Shagadelic

The Hair Metal bands of the 80's have some renewed interest thanks to the Guitar Hero / Rock Band phenomenon. Still, no one is willing to reproduce their classic spandex pants with wall of hair look. Instead they opt for leather pants and a shaggy shoulder length hair cut that says "Hey, I'm old and won't look out of place shopping at Wal Mart but still know how to rawk!"

It took a band not from that era to hand down the truest (and at same time mocking) expression of this maligned art form: The Darkness. They came out of nowhere to throw down "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" establishing a heady mix of Queen and hair band euphoria. Their album Permission To Land (2003) backs up their hit tune with other material that is silly and playful in its excess. Too bad drugs and a delayed follow up caused them to crash and burn.

Whitesnake proved David Coverdale could still howl in the still of the night with the excellent Good To Be Bad (2008). Copying your own hits over again usually seems lame, in the hands of a master like Coverdale remakes of "Slow and Easy" or "Is This Love" (titled "Good To Be Bad" and "All I Want All I Need" respectively) are downright inspired. I got to see them live just before Coverdale's voice gave out, he rawked!

Marketing king Jon Bon Jovi spent much of this decade serving up streamlined pop rock to the masses with success. Although I liked the hit songs he's had lately, as a full album statement the disc I liked the most was the hitless Bounce (2002). I wish I could say this was a great album, it's just pretty good, yet as an album it blends the faster and slower material evenly and cleanly. Plus I love that title song.

It's A Long Way To The Top If You Want To Rock And Roll

Two bands that were virtual outlaws in their hey day compared to where they landed now are AC/DC and Metallica. AC/DC were shunned as being "Satanic" and represented all that was "evil" in rock music during the late 70's and early 80's. Raunchy sexism hammered down with a heavy guitar riff and a jolt of humor made them easy targets for God fearing parents wrath. How weird is it now, nearly 30 years later, you can buy AC/DC memorabilia at department stores and see little kids decked out in the Aussie band's branded merchandise? Times have changed making AC/DC classics like "Let Me Put My Love Into You" or "Let's Get It Up" tame by comparison.

AC/DC didn't do a whole lot the last ten years to necessarily earn this boon, though they did turn in the enjoyable Black Ice (2008). Black Ice had some catchy stuff such as the slick "Wheels" or the menacing title tune. I'd like to say 2000's Stiff Upper Lip was great as that was the disc that got me into the band beyond a casual interest. Just can't say that because too much of the CD has songs stuck in the same groove making it repetitive.

Metallica is another band that rocked so hard they couldn't get any recognition from mainstream media for the first third of their career. They managed to hit it big on their own terms initially, since the mid 90's they have continuously watered down their image to ensure lasting popularity. Even if it reeked of career move-itis, last year's Death Magnetic was the bay area thrashers throwback to basics CD. Lengthy songs, pummeling rhythms, spiraling solos and dog bark vocals came back with a vengeance. Admittedly some of Death Magnetic rings hollow, still I'll take this over most of what the band has done the last fifteen years any day. I have no favorite individual songs from this disc, I like it as a whole.

Oh Yeah!

The last CD I have under this style is 2009's Chickenfoot. The supergroup made up of half of Van Hagar (Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar), guitar god Joe Satriani and funky drummer Chad Smith cranked out shameless hard rock. Playing to their strengths, straightforward AOR performed with inspiration produces an adrenaline fueled feeling of power. Would have been nice if the songs were a touch better, what is here is good enough anyway.

That's a wrap on part one of this series, think I'll tackle the 90's stars next. Until next time, same Bat time, same Bat channel!

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.

Mr Mike AOR Project 1985

It's the roar of the crowd: Arena Rock's commercial slickness and focused energy became attractive to movies and aging rockers who wanted to meet mass appeal.

1985 was the year AOR went Hollywood, movie soundtracks and classic rockers hit the arena rock scene hard. The Iron Eagle soundtrack spawned a slew of Arena Rock classics, so much I purposely limited the number of songs on these CDs because it was dominating the whole thing. So, not included are Queen's "One Vision", Adrenalin's "Sign of the Gypsy" and Eric Martin's "These Are The Good Times". On top of that was the classic Rocky IV soundtrack, giving us another shot of John Cafferty and Survivor genius. Following '84's Footloose soundtrack, Arena Rockers were finding a lot of work playing over a film's ending credits or getting cut into that most famous of 80's film fads, The Montage. At the same time, Rock legends from the 60's like Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton jumped in too choosing slicker sonics to blend with the times. Arena Rock was still big business and everyone wanted in.

Disc 1:

Heart - What About Love

The Wilson sisters kicked off their new deal with Capitol records by releasing a nice shiny epic power ballad. Few on the planet can wail like Ann Wilson.

Fiona - Talk to Me

The smoky voiced chanteuse will forever be the person Demi Moore lip sync'd to in No Small Affair to me, though she is probably better known for acting opposite Bob Dylan in his big screen flick. Fiona tried every trick in the book to achieve fame to no avail, which is shocking because if a duet with Kip Winger called "You're Sexing Me" can't get you attention then what can?

David Lee Roth - California Girls

Diamond Dave rocked out the Beach Boys classic to the tune of random shouts and windmill kicks, giving him the delusion that he could do it all on his own. If only I could get a DeLorean and go back in time to stop him.

Alan Parsons Project - Days Are Numbers (The Traveller)

Wistful is not an adjective that comes up much in Arena rock, the pomp rockers get all teary eyed over the magic Traveller man. Travel on you questing spirit!

Loudness - Crazy Night

The Japanese Metal Gods tried the American market for a little while, I couldn't get a good copy of the excellent "Let it Go" so I went with another good tune from them.

Robert Tepper - No Easy Way Out

Just think, without Robert Tepper then Rocky might never have jumped into his Porsche to drive away his regrets and fears over Apollo Creed's death. Drago!

Supertramp - Cannonball

Who needs Roger Hodgson? Oh yeah, Supertramp does. The first single sans Hodgson was a sleek piece of jazz rock that sounds oddly close to the James Bond theme towards the end.

Bryan Adams - Heaven

Forgotten fact about this song: it was released as part of a soundtrack for a movie where Christopher Atkins (Blue Lagoon) is a male stripper in a relationship with his teacher Lesley Ann Warren. A Night in Heaven I think it was called. Or if it was made today, it would be titled Another Day at School.

Mick Jagger - Just Another Night

The Stones front man shaked and shimmied as hard as he could to make this song fly. He nearly succeeds as he pushed this to the Top 20. Sorry Mick, you really need Keith to make this stuff work.

Motley Crue - Home Sweet Home

Before it was American Idol's kiss off song, the Crue took power balladry to new heights on this jam which saw them switch from Satanic leather to spandex and scarves. No longer shouting at the devil, they're all sensitive and missing home.

Dokken - In My Dreams

Dokken still rhymes with rockin', their best heavy harmony topped off with George Lynch's blazing guitar. In the early 90's this song was remade as a dance track by a Disney group called The Party.

Starship - We Built This City

Stiff, mechanical, dopey and cheesy: everything I love! The Starship hit warp speed with this idiotic yet insanely memorable smash. I even had the twelve inch back then which consisted of five minutes of the drum machine pattern going over and over again followed by the regular song.

Marillion - Kayleigh

They didn't make much of a splash in the U.S., Marillion was a well respected British prog band who hit the European charts with this pop cut.

Survivor - The Search is Over

It's like Cats with rockers, Survivor croon their dramatic tale that made the list of VH1's Awesomely Bad Love Songs just because it's about finding true love after dating a lot of women.

The Hooters - And We Danced

Philadelphia's eccentric pop rockers were named after an actual musical instrument, not what you might think (get your mind out of the gutter!). For some reason this band has a knack for writing hits for female singers, case in point - Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and Joan Osbourne's "One of Us" (you know, the what if God was on the bus song).

Fortune - Dearborn Station

One of the lost bands of AOR, Fortune released a classic Arena rock disc in '85 and was virtually ignored for their trouble. Not so, ahem, fortunate.

Van Zant - I'm A Fighter

Before reviving Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Van Zant took a shot at making a name for himself and made a little bit of headway with a two fisted rockers and ballads approach.

Disc 2:

Asia - Go

The last sort of hit for the British Prog AOR group, "Go" is like listening to Manheim Steamroller with Barry Manilow on lead vocals. That sounds awful, but it's really good. At least to me.

Magnum - On A Storyteller's Night

Germany likes to rock and Magnum serves up a bright shiny anthem that builds from a ballad to straight ahead rock. Combined with Asia, they serve up a special kind of cheese that can only come from Europe.

Tina Turner - Better Be Good To Me

Half the fun is listening to Turner's raspy insistent delivery, at it's core "Good to Me" is classic Arena rock dressed up in Adult Contemporary garb. The other part of the fun is listening to my wife's great Tina Turner imitation :)

REO Speedwagon - Can't Fight This Feeling

Along with Survivor, '85 was a big year for finding love right under your nose. Was it social commentary as the 60's spirit of unmarried sex combined with the wave of conservatism created a culture where it was expected to sleep around before getting married? Nope, just coinkidink. This song added some much needed miles to the Speedwagon's career as it shot to #1 on the Pop charts.

Joe Lynn Turner - Endlessly

Ex-Rainbow singer JoLT powered his solo debut with this magnificent moody ballad. I got to see JoLT live when he opened for Pat Benatar a year later, thought it was funny his tour shirts stressed JoLT with a lightning bolt because there was a caffeine heavy soda at the same time with a similar logo. Ah, that soda got me through many a college final.

Huey Lewis and the News - The Power of Love

Maybe a little too bar band to be true Arena Rock, nonetheless Huey Lewis and the News made a dent in the Pop Rock scene. This song gave Michael J Fox the power to skateboard his heart out in Back to the Future.

Mr. Mister - Broken Wings

Singer / Bassist / Songwriter Martin Page turned down a shot at replacing Peter Cetera in Chicago because he had faith in his own band. For one year he was right, Mr. Mister hit the top of the charts twice. Then after that it looked like he totally made the wrong choice as Mr. Mister decended into oblivion.

Eric Clapton - She's Waiting

Slowhand's hook up with Phil Collins produced some of his biggest AOR moments, "She's Waiting" was one of his best of Clap's 80's phase. Though I've always had a soft spot for that Miller beer remake of "After Midnight".

Michael McDonald - No Lookin' Back

Yes, there were occasional moments where Mikey McD would sing lead instead of background vocals. "No Lookin' Back" was McD's attempt to get out of R&B pop purgatory, an attempt that failed but still gave us a nice piece of soulful AOR.

Loverboy - Lovin Every Minute Of It

Written by Mutt Lange, it looks like Def Leppard, sounds like Def Leppard, but it's not. It's not Def Lep, it's Canada's Loverboy droppin' the New Wave to take their shot at full on Arena Rock.

The Power Station - Some Like It Hot

Driven by what I consider to be the single greatest drum performance of the Reagan Presidency, the late Tony Thompson gave the renegade Duran Durannies (John and Andy Taylor) something to dance about. And the cool sophistication of Robert Palmer didn't hurt either.

Heart - Never

This delicious chunk of wiry Arena Rock (Neevverrr! Never Run away...) was a huge smash not just for its catchiness. Nancy Wilson bouncing, writhing and kicking throughout the vid clip in tight spandex was a key selling point for millions.

Mike and the Mechanics - Silent Running

Okay, I never did figure out if this song went to a movie or not. The video made it seem like it belonged to a movie about aliens or something. Either way, Paul Carrack backed by Genesis' Mike Rutherford made a sleek proposition for high tech mystery.

Rush - The Big Money

The egghead hard rockers railed against THE MAN with this textured swipe at Corporate greed.

Y&T - Summertime Girls

Same old story: Long running Bay Area hard rock outfit sells out to pure cheese for MTV airplay. "Mean Streak" this is not. And yet I cannot resist it's sub-Hagar charm.

King Kobra - Iron Eagle (Never Say Die)

Damn right you never say die, this is America!

The Cars - Tonight She Comes

Little did we know at the time that this would be the last Cars hit to have any real impact. Ric Ocasek's offhand delivery distinguishes this synth heavy hit.

And Cut! That's a wrap people, see you in 1986.

Journey to the Shoreline Amphitheatre? Crappy. Journey at the Shoreline Amphitheatre? Priceless.

Neal Schon takes his You Tube favorite selection a bit literally. We are so lucky he didn't get Rickrolled .

Last night I went to Mountain View, CA to see the Arena Rock triple header of Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey. It's the first time we've been to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in a while and encountered the worst ever traffic to that venue in all the times we've been there. It took us 90 minutes to travel to Mountain View. After getting to the city, it took another hour to get to a place we could park. It looked like a sell out show with standing room only on the lawn. Because of the massive delay, we didn't get to see Cheap Trick. We did get to hear half of the set.

Cheap Trick's set that we heard while walking through the dusty back lot parking area: The Flame / Surrender / Goodbye Now / Dream Police (encore).

What we heard sounded great, Robin Zander's vocals held up well and the band had the same manic energy and freewheeling fun spirit as on record. I caught a glimpse of the video screen when we entered the facility during "Dream Police". After getting settled in, we found we had the best seats I've ever sat in (it was about 11th row) which was great. So we waited for Heart to start their set.

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Heart's set: Wild Child / Magic Man / Never / Straight On / These Dreams / Alone / Love Reign O'er Me / Barracuda / Going to California (encore) / Silver Wheels (encore) / Crazy on You (encore).

Keyboardist Debbie Shair started things off with a pleasant, slightly Yessy synth intro before the band joined her on stage. Once in position, Heart surprised (and they would a few more times) with a roaring version of "Wild Child" from the Brigade album. From there the band slid into "Magic Man" where lead guitarist Craig Bartock showed he had both the reserved demeanor and pinched note playing style of classic Heart sidemen Howard Leese and Roger Fisher. It seems many of the band's 80's songs have been recast to be more acoustic and organic starting with "Never". After the big synth heavy intro supported by the excellent drumming of Ben Smith, Nancy Wilson played both acoustic guitar and towards the end harmonica to soften the steely sound. The pumping "Straight On" proved how tight this band was as they got mildly funky. Nancy Wilson dedicated "These Dreams" to the memory of Bill Graham as that song was remade to feature Wilson's mandolin and Ric Markmann's stick bass. Then it was just the Wilson sisters and keyboardist Shair for "Alone".

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On recent tv programs it sounded like Ann Wilson's voice was getting a touch weaker, yet live that was entirely not the case. Wilson belted everything with the same power heard on early recordings of the band and on "Alone" she gave a bravura performance. Ann Wilson showed power and emotion to a series of applause's while Shair's keyboards and the harmony vocals supported the vocal moment of the night.

In a night of surprises, Heart tackled the Who classic "Love Reign O'er Me" much to the delight of Nancy Wilson who skipped and leaped like when Snoopy was happy in the Peanuts comic (Arnel Pineda would also do this dance later). Ann Wilson belted out the famous "Looovveeee...reign on me!" just as well as Eddie Vedder or Roger Daltry. Then they jumped straight into "Barracuda" as Rock Star inspired light effects flew all over the stage.

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With the 80's over, Nancy Wilson displays more of a youthful kid like style with her spins and jumps than when I saw them in '85. The band was clearly having fun as Nancy Wilson gave a Captain's salute to Bartock during his guitar fill on "Barracuda". After leaving and returning for an encore, Heart surprised again with a brilliant cover of my wife's favorite Led Zep song "Going to California." Nancy Wilson took center stage for a great acoustic guitar solo to lead into the final song.

"Crazy on You" was delivered with full force even with an extended bridge section that slows down to allow Ann Wilson to wail a bit more. After a big finish, Heart left to allow the stage to be reset.

Journey set list: Never Walk Away / Only The Young / Star Spangled Banner / Stone In Love / Ask The Lonely / Keep On Runnin' / After All These Years / When You Love A Woman / Change For The Better / Separate Ways / Faith In The Heartland / Jon Cain solo / Open Arms / Don't Stop Believin' / Faithfully / Wheel In The Sky / Escape / Any Way You Want It / Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' (encore).

With the Revelation CD there was a DVD included that had Pineda's first American date as lead singer. I thought the DVD prepped me for what to expect. It really didn't.

From the get go, Journey came across as a full band again. The group interplay was visible and all members seemed to like the new guy. And in terms of energy, Pineda may be the strongest yet as he ran, jumped from a standing position, flew off the drum riser, spun all over and flipped his mic around like a baton. Even towards the end of the show, Pineda was pulling off Diamond Dave worthy leaps. And he did it with a big grin as he fist bumped and high fived anyone in range (my wife and I even got high fives).

The combination of a revitalized band playing in their home (the Bay Area) and performing in one of the heaviest populated Filipino communities in the country (again the Bay Area) meant this show was beyond sold out. I've never seen the Shoreline this full for any event. Not for Van Halen, not for Fleetwood Mac...nobody.

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Entering the stage to the strains of AC/DC's "Back in Black", the group kicked into "Never Walk Away" from the new album. Immediately Pineda established his presence despite his small stature (there seemed to be a monitor speaker placed dead center at the lip of the stage to allow him to stand and be more visible) and the group segued into a sparkling Only The Young". Neal Schon then reserved some space for himself with his guitar solo "The Star Spangled Banner". Very different from Hendrix's famed version, Schon's smooth blazing style was extremely patriotic as bassist Ross Valory held his hand over his heart and video screens showed stars and stripes.

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One of my personal faves "Ask The Lonely" came next as Pineda showed no signs of pacing himself, leaning back with his eyes closed to unleash one bracing high note after another. This made me both disappointed and relieved when he got a break as drummer Deen Castronovo took over lead vocals for the charged "Keep on Runnin". I still have a problem with two singers working the same territory (Steve Perry style wails) but since it was a fast song I didn't mind as much. Except in singing lead at a fast pace Castronovo didn't have too many drum fills to add.

Regretfully, nature called so I heard but couldn't see "After All These Years" and "When You Love A Woman". I came back midway thru the song I liked the most from the new album, "Change For The Better". Again Pineda was gettin' big air on his jumps, whether it was straight up to punctuate a cymbal crash or flying off the drum riser like Michael Jordan going for a slam dunk. The athleticism was really impressive.

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The crowd was behind the band as they launched into "Separate Ways". "Faith In The Heartland" came across well and seeing Pineda sing standing between Schon and Valory recalled the Journey of old. Seeing the audience took a seat during "Heartland", Pineda encouraged everyone to stand up for "our song", "Lights". A sea of lit cell phones swayed like a colony of fireflies in the night as Pineda sang about the "city by the Bay". Jon Cain then laid out an impressive piano solo leading into "Open Arms". Standing next to Cain, Pineda showed he had the sensitivity needed to make the song work.

In case anyone had it in their mind to slow down, Journey continued to dip into the Escape songbook for "Don't Stop Believin". Their best known anthem roused the fans to renewed frenzy as the song ended with the video image of the name "Journey" written in Sopranos style red gun font. In a recent Rolling Stone magazine article that was downplayed by the band, Pineda said the hectic touring schedule was causing him a lot of difficulty with his personal life. Fittingly, "Don't Stop Believin" was followed by the life-on-the-road power ballad "Faithfully". Pineda seemed to get a little choked up during the first part of the song, particularly the line about "love and a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be". But he remained focused to the end of the song.

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The big finish was next as "Wheel in the Sky", "Escape" and "Any Way You Want It" were scorching hot. "Escape" was the point when Pineda made it to our side of the stage where Bunny and I were able to high five and see the man up close. And it was then that I was able to put my finger, so to speak, on what makes Pineda work as a frontman for the band (in addition to his voice). He comes across as a friendly, open, energetic and talented guy, someone who can work the crowd in a way that the other band members can't. The others can wow with their playing skills but Journey's music needs a relatible person at the forefront. Pineda fits that very well. That and Cain / Schon get a lead singer who isn't going to enforce his personal vision on them for better or worse. So he sings and performs like a man possessed and gets along with the rest of the group. Outwardly, the band appears unified for the first time in a long while.

We left as the encore "Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin" played.

Some final notes to wrap up - the venue was extremely difficult to access, really disappointed with Shoreline's crowd control. The sound where we stood was missing bass except for the kick drum which hit you with force on your body. This made the singers sound higher, Nancy Wilson in especially sounded a bit chirpy as a result. The crowd itself was generally good natured and drunk. At the vendor stand, the T Shirt seller was a jerk. But the performers and seating were fantastic. It was hell to get there, but great seats and two and a half awe inspiring performances made it worthwhile.

Mr Mike's Highschool Record Collection: Heart - Bad Animals (1987)

Almost Famous - Nancy Wilson inspires Vixen and a flood of young girls to sport the "rocker girl" look in the 80's.

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In the summer of 1987, I lived with my aunt in an amazing glass house overlooking the California coast outside of San Francisco. I spent that summer working for the company my aunt worked at and played certain tapes a lot - John Waite Rover's Return, Fleetwood Mac Tango In The Night, Expose Exposure, Def Leppard Hysteria and this gem, Heart's Bad Animals. Those albums often recall that summer living in that amazing house, the kind of house you usually see in those Lethal Weapon movies, working during the day and looking for stuff to do at night. Bad Animals accompanied me on many drives around the Pacific Coast Highway and visits to home.

For Heart, it was the big follow up album to their smash self titled 1984 release. The band was a hard rockin' unit in the 70's but by the early 80's they seemed tired and uninspired. They switched labels, switched clothes, got Ron Nevison to produce and an army of outside songwriters to drive them to a clutch of Top 10 hits and a big arena tour. Ann and Nancy Wilson were back on top of the rock heap along with guitarist Howard Leese, bassist Mark Andes and drummer Denny Carmassi. And like most successful ventures in the 80's, the next step was to do the same but bigger and louder.

1. Who Will You Run To

Did you know that Diane Warren once wrote a song that wasn't a ballad? Until I read the CD jacket, I didn't know that. I knew Heart didn't write it, but Diane Warren - I wouldn't have guessed. But I still get a good feeling from this Top 1o hit, the second single from the record. From the first snare hit, the song moves at a comfortable pace as Ann Wilson conveys the ups and downs of the relationship with a melody that does the same. I like how the glossy synth riff highlights the end of every other phrase. AOR Nirvana.

2. Alone


One of the greatest power ballads ever, the Wilsons took the Tom Kelly / Billy Steinberg ("Like a Virgin", "I Touch Myself") tune and transported it to another level. Ann Wilson's pensive verses lead to a spellbinding belting chorus displaying the power and authority in her voice. Meanwhile, Nancy Wilson sexes up the video with her trademark "rocker" moves. Love it when that piano blows up at the start of the clip. The lead single and #1 smash proved Heart's comeback wasn't a fluke and inspired a whole generation of would be singers on American Idol.

3. There's The Girl


Nancy Wilson surprised on the prior album when her lead vocal on "These Dreams" helped take the Taupin tune to #1. So she got two lead vocals this time out, the first being the this polished pop rock ditty that was the third single from the disc. Nancy Wilson doesn't have as strong a voice as her sister, but it does have a more fragile character which can be a positive except the Teflon coated production nearly swallows her up here. But Wilson toughs it out and comes through enough to sell the song. Songwriter Holly Knight ("Never", "The Warrior") teams up with Nancy Wilson relay the rush of bad girl crush with Reagan era precision.

4. I Want You So Bad

Back to the Kelly/Steinberg songbook! This swirling, slow stepping ballad was the fourth single from Bad Animals. Ann Wilson's voice has this processed production sound that hasn't aged well but the ache in her voice hits home. This song sounds great while watching the Ocean waves hit the beach at night.

5. Wait For An Answer

This was on rock radio quite a bit back then when I returned to school in Sacramento. Again, Ann Wilson commands the stage as she scales a mountain of cascading synthesizers and echoey drums as her heroic shouting waits. For an answer. I think she's waiting for a dude to call her. Dude! Call her! It was 1987, it only costed a quarter at that time.

6. Bad Animals

The song and album title I believe was based on a nickname the band gave themselves for the reaction they got in hotels. That summer, my aunt's roommate had her daughter and friends spend a few weeks at the glass house. They were L.A. rocker girls with the mile high hairsprayed coif, my friend Ron used to refer to their heads as "plane snaggers". The first song on the album to be written by the band, a slow moving rock jam with one of those circular synth parts running all over it.

7. You Ain't So Tough

Steve Kipner strikes! Kipner has this way of writing soft yet bouncy sad lyric but upbeat melody kind of songs (like "Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back" on the Two of a Kind soundtrack.). Adapted to Heart, the song is a determined little pop rocker with the most exciting guitar solo on the record (a little shred here and there) and one of those "I'm an army of people" group vocals on the chorus. How could I not like this jam?

8. Strangers of the Heart

Nancy Wilson's second lead vocal comes on this sequel to "These Dreams". It's a little less fake mystical than "Dreams" but amps up the soap opera cliche's to give a touch of dark romanticism. Not quite as good as the first (most sequels are that way), a bit of "high school talent night" feeling creeps into the song as it makes a run for the big finish. Nonetheless, it's a very pleasant song.

9. Easy Target

The last two songs were reserved for more of a "classic" Heart sound, meaning they wrote the pair and get a little more organic. As much as they could without it sounding like a different record. The rocking "Target" has some 70's rawk kick to it though in no way threatens their Little Queen era.

10. RSVP

A nice acoustic ballad to close the record out. It's a good tune, even if I hate RSVPing. Can't I just show up if I feel like it?

If the songs were meant to show where the band's heads were at, Heart came across mostly like love lorn victims that go off on people every now and then. Producer Ron Nevison had a knack for placing Ann Wilson's dramatic vocals into situations where she sounds backed into a corner. Intentional or not, combined with her video image of looking cross all the time it made Nancy Wilson's on screen bopping and grinding necessary to add some fluff (visually, not her musicianship). The dichotomy of the Wilson sister's images apparently created some tension and when combined with the "sell out" philosophy of their Capitol era, they tend to dismiss this fantastic period where they were slick AOR giants. That's too bad, because as much as I like 70's Heart I'm a bigger fan of their shoulder padded teased hair commercial peak.

One more 80's moment to go, the Seattle based band spent the decade prepping Generation X for their biggest addiction - coffee.

Heart - Coffee Achievers

Midnight Madness - Terminator the Sarah Connor Chronicles Edition

Kind of reminds me of that Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact.

The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has returned for a second season. I'm two episodes in and finding it just as big a kick as last year. It's well written and acted Sci Fi fun, a nice escape from reality. When combined with Terminator 3 and Terminator 4 it looks like the rampaging machine future gets more crowded by the second.

The Edge of the Blade - In an interview with Rolling Stone, new singer Arnel Pineda reveals he's homesick and a little worn out from Journey's punishing touring schedule. Maybe he'll be able to overcome these issues but ultimately it's up to him what makes the guy happy. If he leaves it will be a bummer, the band's recent disc Revelation is creeping up on Gold. The interview is here, Pineda says he has no intention of leaving yet. On the plus side, I've treated Rolling Stone reporting with a little skepticism ever since the hatchet job they did on Eddie Vedder in the mid-90's. There's always a chance the reporter got the whole thing wrong.

Blink 182 drummer - Travis Barker and DJ AM are in critical condition following a plane crash that killed four people. A sad, tragic event for all of the victims involved. Update: Barker and DJ AM are expected to recover, which is very good news.

Damage, Inc. - Metallica has scored their fifth #1 album with Death Magnetic proving there's still life in the career of the long running Metal band. The huge buzz has paid off for this excellent disc.

The End of the Line- Some fans are up in arms when a better sound mix for Death Magnetic showed up as part of the Guitar Hero game. What's funny for me is that I thought the monolithic mix was intentional because it reminded me of ...And Justice For All which had a dry, boxey recording itself. Oh well, if a new mix doesn't come out I'm not worried, I like it as is so if I hear a better version then bonus!

Motown Producer - Norman Whitfield who had co-written "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and produced the Temptations passed away. Another sad loss for music.

Idol Talk - Last season's Idol winner David Cook is set to politely rock out on November 18th when his disc drops. Meanwhile, David Archuleta and Kristie Lee Cook both have put fresh material in the marketplace. "And I am telling you" that Oscar winning singer Jennifer Hudson is engaged to an ex reality show contestant.

Super Sonic - I finally got to eat at a Sonic fast food restaurant this weekend, it was pretty good! The chocolate shake and tater tots were awesome. The burger was good, but it did fall short of In N Out burger standards. Overall, I do recommend it though. Mmmm...Sonic.

Hello There Ladies and Gentlemen: Next Sunday I'll get to see Journey with Heart and Cheap Trick. It will be my first chance to see the Tricksters and Journey with sad Arnie. Heart I saw once in 1985 and it was great so I'm looking forward to this show. I'll post a bit about these bands this week to get psyched up. As Joe on Family Guy would say, "Let's do this!!!"

Free Stuff - Two web sites have provided a bit of entertainment for me this week. The first is Fancast which allows free streaming Tv programs and movies. I've managed to catch up on my Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles through this site. Also, free streaming music that will create a playlist based on your favorite artists is at Pandora Radio . The website is definitely worthwhile for any music lover.

Mini DVD Reviews:

• Stranger Than Fiction - This movie came out in 2006, an ingenious fantasy about a blocked writer who happens to control the life of an IRS auditor with her writings. He hears her voice in his head as she narrates / dictates the events of his life. Will Farrell surprises as he dials down his childlike mania to give a mature performance. Good stuff.


• 10 Items of Less - Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega go faux indie on this flick where Freeman plays a movie star much like himself observing and meddling with the life of a grocery store clerk. The cute theme wears a bit thin yet the stars keep it watchable. Wouldn't go out of my way for this one


• The Condemned - My favorite wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin gets sent to an island with a bunch of killers to fight for his life as its broadcast on the internet. Austin has good presence and is as convincing on film as in the ring. Too bad the rest of the film is crap. And that's the bottom line, 'cause I said so!

New Song that Rules - The recent issue of Paste magazine included a song from the group The Bridges which is produced by Matthew Sweet and has been compared to Fleetwood Mac. That's right up my alley, the song Pieces is definitely worth an easy listening listen. But that's not all! AC freakin' DC. That says it all.

AC / DC "Rock and Roll Train"

Midnight Madness - Sledgehammer Edition

While looking this old tv show up, it turns out that Sledgehammer co-star Anne Marie Martin (right) married and divorced author Michael Crichton to the tune of 30 million plus. That's a big chunk o' change!

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Couldn't help but notice Sledgehammer actor David Rasche got a featured role in the new movie Burn After Reading, bringing back fond memories of the short lived tv show. The Clint Eastwood / Dirty Harry take off was a fun dose of exaggerated action movie and detective show cliche's. Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

More Drama? - Yes has announced they've gone the You Tube route to find a singer to fill in for the ailing Jon Anderson. It seems to be done with Anderson's consent and he's been replaced once before (by the immensely talented Trevor Horn), though with mixed results. But it really seems pointless for Yes to do this, since they have not been an active band for a few years and the reason for a 40th anniversary tour is to celebrate the existing group members being together. And while the new singer can copy Anderson's voice well, you just can't duplicate his space hippie Jesus juice persona that is key to a lot of Yes music. Singers in other bands can be replaced successfully if they're better known for a vocal style rather than a distinct personality. Anderson's random lyrics, trippy talk about other dimensions of existence and the ethereal nature of the songs need his mojo to function. Looks like this is a done deal, so I guess all I can say is good luck Yes.

Barracuda: The musical - A week after debunking the RNC for using "Barracuda", Heart hits the press again to announce intentions of recording a concept album. I hope they use this opportunity to expand on the story from the "What About Love" video. We can get to the bottom of why Nancy Wilson had to be poured out of a bronze mold and how come there's not fifty of her if you can do that? And why is Ann Wilson wearing a mask with a lit blowtorch when you're waiting for bronze to cool? And why are the rockers in Victorian garb while sweaty models work in dirty rags? I sense class warfare and alchemy at work. The answers to these questions that have plagued my mind can finally be brought to light!

Riddle me this, Batman - Johnny Depp is either confirmed or not confirmed but definitely heavily rumored to be the Riddler in the next Batman flick. You can always expect the unexpected with Depp so if its true it should be interesting.

WoOoOoOoOoOo! - Retired Wrestler Ric Flair got a black eye from a fight with his daughter and another person. The daughter was arrested for assaulting an officer arriving on the scene (she got tazed). Apparently, Flair's daughter didn't understand that the whole "To be the man, you've got to beat the man" wasn't meant for outside the ring. I find it interesting that this isn't considered elder abuse, Flair is 59 years old.

It's not women's figure skating - Movie critic Roger Ebert was intentionally hit in the leg by another movie critic during a film screening. Ebert had wanted the other critic to stop blocking his view of the screen by leaning out of the seat. Somewhere, Tonya Harding is saying "Good, Good! Let the hate flow through you."

Is there a guitar legend he won't work with? - http://www.melodicrock.com/ reports the band Chickenfoot is recording. Made up of Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony (Van Halen) and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) the group is said to have a Led Zep feel. Following the demise of Planet Us, this news has potential.

Speaking of guitar legends... - http://www.melodicrock.com/ also reports that Ywgnie Malmsteen has a new album coming out as well.

?Se Habla Espanol? - I find some humor in the song below called "One Semester of Spanish Love Song". A brief note, you may have to turn up the volume on the You Tube bar at the bottom of the menu because it starts off at zero volume for my computer. It may do the same on yours.

"One Semester of Spanish Love Song"