Sunday
Jul152012
Is Corey Hart Glam?
Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 12:02AM You remember Corey Hart, right? The Canadian who rose to fame in the 80s thanks to songs like "Never Surrender" and "Sunglasses at Night." I never really considered Hart Glam until yesterday when I was randomly listening to "Never Surrender" and it dawned on me that the song sounded a lot like Sleez Beez-era Glam. Now, "Never Surrender" came out in 1985, so maybe the song laid the groundwork for Sleez Beez? At any rate, I think "Never Surrender" is definitely Glam, even if the rest of Hart's work is not. And at the end of the day it doesn't matter because I love the music regardless!
Reader Comments (28)
But I'm afraid you need Metalboy! to crash you back to reality on this one... And if someone can explain this better please rescue me!
Corey Hart is 80's AOR!
Really more 80's West Coast AOR.
AOR stands for Album Oriented Rock. But it's really come to mean more than that. It's really more about being like something that belongs on Lite-FM Radio.
Where I think some of the confusion comes in is when, throughout 80's Hair Metal History (including many Glam Metal) there have been honest to goodness Hard Rock bands that resorted to co-opting elements of AOR in order to get air play and hits. Keyboards are a definite trademark of AOR.
Probably Van Halen's "Jump" is probably the first example of crossing the line into AOR and they were certainly chastised for it and will never totally be forgiven for it by most diehard Rockers.
If one listens to Sleez Beez, "This Time", for example, it's definitely very AORish but, there's something that sets it apart from the short haired AOR of Corey Hart... And that something is guitars!
Where Corey Hart goes for Bryan Adams style guitars, Sleez Beez goes for heavier power chords that pop from the mix no matter how hard the record company attempted to bury them in the mix.
My advice... Don't get detoured by the Corey Harts of the world, even if I have always thought somebody of our genre could do a mean cover of "Sunglasses At Night".
So, caution -- Avoid AOR at all costs or you will wind up donning a mullet and listening to Richard Marx while wearing a Members Only jacket, stonewashed jeans and Reebok hightops. And, Al, you better be careful too... Farrah Fawcett's hairdo, Jordache and Candie's await!
I honestly hate myself.
PS - I love John Waite's solo stuff..even seen him live. Same with Rick Springfield.. seen him live also (he is actually a really good guitar player). Nothing wrong with Brian Adams as I saw him show back it the day. There is nothing wrong with a little diversity every now and then.
I see all the references to John Waite here, now THERE is a great example of a glammy vocalist of that type! I was fortunate to see the original lineup of the Babys when they first came out & that was an excellent glam band. I've also see John lately & he STILL has one of the best voices in rock!
In fact, I saw him last summer, playing a tiny bar down by the beach, & not only did he pack the place, he rocked the dump! As always, I had my trusty mini-video camera with me. Here's John Waite opening with "CHANGE" 8/05/2011 at the Brixton Southbay, in Redondo Beach, California.
Great song, great singer. Now if only he'd get over his attitude & reunite w/ Michael Corby & the original Babys lineup for a reunion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLMaz_5-4Z4
Ace, Rock-It -- I'm with ya on John Waite. I even used to hire his former guitarist, John Curry. Waite's solo stuff and even some of the AOR crap he did with Neil Schon (another AORist -- Huh-uh-lo-oh, Journey) in their "supergroup", Bad English. But, as Ace points out, Waite really did a job on The Babys. What a brutal break up! If what Corby says is true, Waite is one helluvan as*shole. Still there's no denying his talent.
Ace -- you are probably aware of this but AOR staple, "Change" by John Waite, was originally written and performed by Holly Knight with her band at the time, SPIDER. check out he original on YouTube, too, though I will say I prefer Waite's. It really is a perfect example of AOR done right, unlike the UNROCK Corey Hart (I DO like the video of "Nev Surrender", however).
With ya on Rick Springfield, too, Rock-It. He put out a fair amount of decent L.A. Style Power Pop, "I've Done Everything For You", being one of the better gems he not only performs but wrote, as well. For a Glam Metalized version of that check out Trixie's version. It kinda sounds like Crüe doin' it, which of course, makes it WAY MORE COOLER tham the original!
And you guys can have Brian Adams. Though he is of similar ilk to Springfield, he's frickin' boring!
Hello, ROCK & ROLL!!!
And if that duzn't make you cry, just think about what could have been -- How huge The Baby's could have been had Waite's not f*cked it up. Grab the Kleenex and watch The Babys on The Merv Griffin Show including the extensive interview, if you can find it. Looks like they pulled it from YouTube, unfortunately.
What a waste this band was destroyed before it hit it's peak. Talk about wishing to Bring Back Glam!
Rick Springfield only covered I've Done Everything For You, which was actually written by Sammy Hagar. I found this out because I actually started listening to Rick's stuff over the last couple of years. I had no idea his library was that extensive and that he was actually that talented, having written tons and tons of music over the years. Was really surprised. 17 Top 40 hits too apparently. And I must say, pretty easy on the eyes to boot.
Not Glam but still pretty good when you're in the mood for something a little mellower.
Ace -- Yeah... Chapman! What a genius! I got 3 words for ya regarding his life after SWEET...
BLONDIE PARALLEL LINES
Debby's Harry talks about how meeting Chapman was the best thing that happened to her professionally -- driving her crazy with his ideas and drive for excellence. Of course, he screwed up a fair amount of stuff, too. But that album is an absolute PERFECT RECORD.
Though those days for me are long gone and I don't recommend anyone try this at home, let's just say, for all of it's Rock & Roll Glam Rock New Wave Power Pop Bubblegum Punk Attitude, that album is also a beautifully and subtly Psychedelic Masterpiece. It's Art! And much of it is owed to Chapman's encyclopedic life having been involved in pioneering so many of those Genres of Rock & Roll.
Rita! Holy Glam! I had no idea Springfield's "I've Done Everything For You" is a cover of Sammy Hagar! Wait 'til Hagar Superfan, Kari, reads this! But ya still gotta check out Trixie's Crüe like cover of the song. It really is better than Springfield's -- and I'm gonna bet, Hagar's. Thanks for setting the record straight, Rita. Also, one other thing, if you wouldn't mind setting the record straight on, if you would...
Are you married? Because I think I'm in love with you!
Scott! Very insightful. Yeah! Honeymoon Suite! LOVE their stuff. One of Canada's finest. They are among the Top of the Heap of AOR. Got all their stuff on CD and in my playlists. I would say their also on the softer side of Hair Metal, too, cuz of their whole "Powerballads n' Powerchords" approach mixed in with their sublime AOR keyboards. Plus the fact their on Hairnation would, I think, warrant that categorization.
Fave Honeymoon Suite songs:
1) "Feel It Again"
2) "New Girl Now"
In that order. With a big gap in between as "Feel It Again" is the standout!