Heart Shaped Box
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 at 08:26AM 
It’s Valentine’s Day, glam fans.
A time for true love. A warm embrace. A great power ballad.
What would the holiday of amore be without a great power ballad? After all, we have glam bands to thank for the melodic music of love and loss.
Even if they didn’t really invent the genre, Motley Crue is credited for popularizing the power ballad with “Home Sweet Home,” off Theatre of Pain.
Of course, the Crue were met with a lot of flack for their very popular, chart topping tune and die hard metal heads said Theatre of Pain was a little too slick for their liking.
According to VH1 Classic, the number one power ballad of all time is Journey’s Open Arms. I don’t agree with this because I think the honor needs to go to a band more akin to the glam scene.
For me, two songs tie for the best power ballad of all time:
“Love Bites” by Def Leppard and “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison. (Both hits come in at number 8 and 7, respectively on the aforementioned VH1 Classic list).
Is it a coincidence that the power ballad was typically a band’s most successful song and the tune that more people identify with, however so unfair?
My two picks for the best power ballad of all time are each band’s only number 1 hit.
In fact, “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” written by Diane Warren and performed by the bad boys from Boston is the only Aerosmith song to ever reach the top spot on the Billboard chart. The single is also the first and only song by a rock band to debut in the pole position.
In the documentary Heavy: The Story of Metal, the success of the power ballad is lampooned by the very artists that profited from their massive popularity. As the story goes, an 80s album had to include a power ballad to ensure a hit. A band would release a heavy track first, followed by the mellow power ballad. Groups like Warrant and Winger had the power ballad rule down cold. Speaking of Warrant, Jani Lane wrote some of the best lyrics of all time, and his song “Heaven” really is miles above the rest. Nearly two decades after its initial release, the track still has transcendental powers allowing the listener to really understand the emotion behind the song. The lyrics are simple, clean and the accompaniment just as pure.
For this reason, "Heaven" is our official Valentine song obsession of the week. For those of you celebrating an anti-Valentine of sorts, www.myspace.com/bringbackglam is featuring “Sick Love Song” by Motley Crue. Nikki Sixx knows a few things about bad relationships!
Reader Comments (10)
Damn near every hard rock act in the 80's had one. One of my favorites is Fly to the Angels by Slaughter. ( I think that counts doesn't it?)
BTW...I noticed on your MySpace page that you were in Dayton. Too cool. I'm about 60 miles south of you. LOL!
by Poison, from the Album "Swallow this live".
anyone who reads this should go download it NOW!
it makes me cry when i hear it.. and i dedicate it to my crush Amanda Damron...i love you amanda!
i hope we can be together someday..i promise i'll treat you good and always be there for you :)
i love that song
long live the 80's!
-landon
how the hell did you find this??
wow!
apparently SOME PEOPLE are just immature.