Cross Me Off Your List

Happy Easter, glam fans.

As if the world needs one more list, www.rateyourmusic.com has just posted the 5000 worst albums of all time.

Insert eye roll here.

Agreed, there are some really bad albums on the list, but there's also some really good stuff as well. Tons of glam is considered the worst music of all time. Apparently "fans" vote, therefore creating an album rank.

Let's take a look at the list:

Coming in at #5000 is Sports by Huey Lewis and the News. Close behind is RATT's Invasion of Your Privacy at #4990. Great White Sail Away is number #4695 and Cinderella's Night Songs is #4958.

And this is the good news of the list!

Further on down, we find L.A. Guns Cocked and Loaded at #4722 and at #4605 Motley Crue's Live Entertainment or Death.

As I click page by page trolling for glam, I can't help but notice some really great non-glam albums are on the list like Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor and  Pantera Reinventing the Steel.

But back to the glam.  At #4580, Jon Bovi's Destination Anywhere  is followed closely by Bon Jovi's Keep the Faith at #4517.  A little later Whipped! by Faster Pussycat makes the list at #4477. The recently released Quiet Riot Rehab comes in at #4469.  Not far behind is Slaughter with Eternal Life  at #4466. Stryper's Against the Law hits the list at #4408 and glam revivalists Hardcore Superstar make the list at #4398 with Thank You (For Letting us be Ourself).

Continually clicking through the list, I come across Danger Danger Screw It at #4052 and Lita's Ford Lita at #4010. Voters think In Rock We Trust by Y&T deserves to be at #3999 and W.A.S.P. The Neon God Part 2 comes in at #3991. Bulletboys Za Za ranks #3913 and later Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation at #3443. Even Helix made the list with Walkin' the Razor's Edge at #3308.

Motley Crue's Supersonic and Demonic Relics is listed at #337. Give me a break. It's an album full of B-sides, outtakes and previously unreleased tracks. A disc like this is not intended for anyone but a die-hard fan, so I'm surprised so many people would cast negative votes for this album.

There's tons more on the list, but I'll jump ahead. KISS Hot in the Shade comes in at #97 and Animalize is #87. The  KISS solo albums didn't fare too well, either. Gene Simmons self-titled release comes in at #80 and Peter Criss' self-titled effort at #17. Van Halen III comes in at #10, making this Gary Cherone-fronted released the worst glam album on the list. In case you're wondering, Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits by Crazy Frog is considered the worst album ever released.

I suppose it could be worse. When I first heard about the list, I assumed it would be all Metal releases, but there seems to be an equal distribution of pop, rock and Metal. The voters seem to hate Britney Spears and her ex-husband Kevin Federline. Bob Dylan was panned as was the Wallflowers.

I think there's some criminal errors on the list, and in no world is Night Songs a horrible album. Then again neither is Invasion of Your Privacy or Permanent Vacation.

View the entire list at http://rateyourmusic.com/charts/bottom/album/all-time/

La Vie Boheme

A few days ago, Heather won two tickets to the touring production of RENT. Since Wednesday's show, I've been looking for a way to work the production into the blog...and now I've found it, thanks to some inventive high school music teachers.

See, I don't really like musical theatre and I never have. I believe theatre is theatre and music is music. Still, I must admit the song "Season's of Love" is basically awesome. Many people consider RENT the rock opera because of the controversial themes of AIDS,  drug addiction and multi-racial relationships, not to mention that the characters are all basically starving artists including a musician. The RENT Orchestra does employ a whole lot of electric guitars, but that's about as Metal as things get.

Enter Craig High School of Janesville, Wisconsin.

Apparently, someone affiliated with the show choir is a little bit glam because the students recently performed Def Leppard's "Rock Brigade." This isn't a well known Lep song, so I assume the choral director must be a big fan. Watch the video at YouTube.

Of course we all know Tommy is the first rock opera, but what about a Metal opera? The music of Queensryche and Dream Theater could easily be adapted to the stage, but would the public pay money to see such an event?

I think someone needs to write a Metal opera based on glam bands of the 80s. There's plenty of material to work with, and if we want to base the opera on a love triangle (is there any other option?) we can use songs like Cinderella's "Nobody's Fool" and Def Leppard's "Women" leading up to the climax . The song "November Rain" can easily serve as the dénouement. For the falling action, something fun (but still West Side Story-esque)  like Motley Crue's "Wild Side."

Just think of the box office sales.

Run a Mile for the Cause

April is National Autism Awareness month. According to recent statistics, nearly 1 in 150 children will be diagnosed with the potentially debilitating disease. Now VH1 Classic is joining in the fight, airing a special public service announcements.

The 30 second spot features Tommy Lee and Vince Neil (Motley Crue), Roger Daltrey (The Who), Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley (KISS), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Joe Perry and Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), and Ronnie James Dio (Dio & Black Sabbath) speaking about the disease. Watch the PSA at 
 http://www.vh1.com/partners/vh1classic_rock_autism/

VH1 Classic will also hold several fund raisers, including a "Pay to Play" event where viewers can go online to www.vh1.com  and make a donation to see their favorite video. Proceeds will benefit The Cure Autism Now Foundation.

This isn't the first time rock stars have used celebrity for worthy causes. In 1985, some of the world's largest rock stars convened for Hear n' Aid, a heavier version of Band Aid for famine relief in Africa. Ronnie James Dio, Vivian Campbell (Whitesnake and Def Leppard), and Jimmy Bain (Rainbow & Dio) formed Hear n' Aid for a special one-off recording. Hear n' Aid released the single "Stars" featuring members of Dio, Quiet Riot, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Queensryche, Blue Oyster Cult, Dokken, Night Ranger, Judas Priest, W.A.S.P., Journey, Y &T, Vanilla Fudge and Spinal Tap.

The project raised more than a million dollars and VH1 Classic considers the project the most metal moment in rock history!

Of course, several rock starts participated in "America - A Tribute to Heroes," benefiting victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Bon Jovi performed "Livin' on a Prayer" and U2 performed "Walk On."

Just today, officials announced that Aerosmith will lend their support to the Bulgarian "I Don't Drive Drunk" road safety campaign. Elton John, Rod Stewart and R.E.M. are also joining the campaign. Check out www.sofiaecho.com for more information.

Do you have a favorite rock celebrity charity moment?

Heaven's on Fire

Sad news to report, glam fans. Former KISS guitarist Mark St. John died today from a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 51.

St. John didn't have a long stint with KISS, but he did play on Animalize, which is my favorite album by the band.

He appears in the video from "Heaven' s On Fire," my favorite KISS song.

After leaving KISS St. John formed the band White Tiger. That band released one album in 1986.

Here's the video of "Heaven's on Fire" from the 1984 Mercury Records release Animalize.

Good to be Bad

Clicking around YouTube last night, I came across a Badlands video. What a great and grossly underrated band.

Guitarist Jake E. Lee formed Badlands in 1988, after leaving the Ozzy Osbourne band. Lee teamed up with singer Ray Gillen and drummer Eric Singer both of Black Sabbath. The line-up was set when bassist Greg Chaisson joined the group. Badlands earned some critical acclaim, but sales were never huge (according to Wikipedia, the album reached number 57 on the Billboard charts). The band made some music videos in support of their first effort, including support for the single "Winter's Call."

After a tour, Badlands entered the studio to record Voodoo Highway. It was during this time that Eric Singer was replaced by Jeff Martin. Unfortunately, this album didn't fare as well as the debut, and Badlands launched a quick fall into obscurity, thanks in part to weak support from Atlantic Records.

Singer Ray Gillen died of AIDS related complications at the end of 1993. Five years later, the remaining members of Badlands released Dusk.

Today, it's very hard to find the self-titled Badlands debut. The album is out of print, and eBay stores list the disc for upwards of 30 bucks! The price alone illustrates the musical chemistry the boys in Badlands enjoyed. Voodoo Highway and Dusk are also out of print, and also sell for a mint.

It's criminal that great albums go out of print but complete trash stays stocked on store shelves for perpetuity. Today, you can't even purchase a Bandlands single on iTunes.

I should have bought the debut disc back in 1989 when I had the chance. The lessons we learn.

Dangerous (But Worth the Risk)

Even though I reported this week's ago, www.billboard.com has confirmed the rumour: a Poison/RATT summer tour is a sure thing. While both glam powerhouses have yet to finalize all the tour stops many dates are set, including about 35 shed stops. From Billboard:

"The tour, which brings Poison and Ratt onstage together for the first time since 1999, will visit amphitheaters, festivals and fairs in such cities as Boston, Detroit, New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles, says Troy Blakely, who books Poison with the Agency for the Performing Arts."

Yesterday, press agents for Poison announced a June 5th release for the new Capitol album POISON'D. The disc includes covers of Poison's favorite bands like "Little Willy" (Sweet), "I Never Cry" (Alice Cooper), "Rock n' Roll All Nite" (KISS) and "What I Like About You" (The Romantics).

To celebrate this "finalized" tour news, we'll take a look back at the roots of RATT.

Stephen Pearcy formed Mickey Ratt in San Diego in 1978. Pearcy teamed up with guitarist Chris Hager, bassist Matt Thor and drummer John Turner. The band re-located to Los Angeles at the dawn of the eighties, adding guitarist Jake E. Lee to the line-up. Mickey Ratt released the single Dr. Rock /Drivin' on E as a means of self-promotion.

Things get interesting when Mickey Ratt changed its name and all the members left, save for Pearcy. Out of the ashes of Mickey Ratt came both RATT and Rough Cutt. Pearcy created the historic RATT line-up with guitarists Robbin Crosby and Warren DiMartini, bassist Juan Croucier and drummer Bobby Blotzer.

Now, it still took some time for RATT to get a major label deal, especially considering their musical ability as a unit. We all know Out of the Cellar contained the single "Round and Round" forever cementing the band's musical credo.

Of course, all good things must come to an end...or at least evolve. Pearcy left RATT around 1992 and formed the band Arcade (please see "Arcade Fire"). In 1997, a new RATT hit the streets, featuring bassist Robbie Crane who also worked with Vince Neil. A few years, a few more changes, and suddenly John Corabi (!) and Jizzy Pearl find themselves among RATT alumni.

Now, many lifetimes later...the almost original RATT is set to hit the road once again, ready to rock with Poison. At this time, it's not clear if Juan Croucier will join the tour (and guitarist Robbin Crosby died in 2002). It's speculated that John Corabi (!) will replace Crosby on the RATT/Poison tour.
Here's a video for You Think You're Tough from their 1983 self-titled EP.

Wild Boys

While Los Angeles will always be the fertile crescent of glam metal,  Sweden is quickly becoming a breeding ground for hot, new artists.

Today, part three of our roots series, focusing on the goodness that is Hardcore Superstar. The band was formed back in 1997 in Gotenburg, Sweden. They've enjoyed chart success and a major label album deal.

If you're not familiar with Hardcore Superstar, the band members are:

Joakim Berg - vocals
Thomas Silver - guitar
Martin Sandvick - bass
Magnus Andreasson - drums

The band's first album It's Only Rock n Roll, was released in 1997. Since that time, the sleazy boys have released four more albums, including the most recent Hardcore Superstar.

Critics have described Hardcore Superstar like Hanoi Rocks, Faster Pussycat, Motley Crue (!)  and the New York Dolls. The boys have also toured both America and Europe, in support of their 2003 release No Regrets. You can check out their sound at www.hardcoresuperstar.com  or www.myspace.com/hcssgbg.

In true glam fashion, these boys are very attractive as evidenced in this video for "We Don't Celebrate Sundays." Check it out...if your heart is strong enough!