I Think I Need a Sedative...

I spend a lot of time during the day thinking about future posts: bands I should interview, CDs that need reviewed, personal reflections. Somewhere between work and the glorious place I call my couch, I decided I would write about Iron Maiden today. More specifically, I was going to make the the case that Iron Maiden is probably the greatest Metal band of all time.

Then I saw Metal Sludge.

Somehow, perhaps on purpose, I missed a recent Yahoo! list of the day. Wouldn't you know our friend Rob O'Connor is back at it and just rated the top 25 Heavy Metal bands of all time. Here's the list:


01) Black Sabbath
02) Led Zeppelin
03) AC/DC
04) Van Halen
05) Jimi Hendrix Experience
06) Metallica
07) Judas Priest
08) Aerosmith
09) Motorhead
10) Iron Maiden
11) Slayer
12) Deep Purple
13) Spinal Tap
14) Rush
15) Robin Trower
16) Dio
17) KISS
18) Guns N' Roses
19) Kyuss
20) Thin Lizzy
21) Pantera
22) Uriah Heep
23) Alice in Chains
24) Mercyful Fate
25) Meshuggah

 
Ok, I seriously might need a sedative because I'm pretty sure I'm having a stroke. Seriously? Some of these choices make me shake my head. Aerosmith are my favorite band, but they are not Heavy Metal. Neither is Thin Lizzy, KISS, Rush, Robin Trower, Spinal Tap, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix or Van Halen.  Music historians have referred to Led Zeppelin as the "first Heavy Metal band" but I'd say that is deeply debatable. Yes, they had a very unique sound for their time, but I'm not so sure they were heavy.

I don't know a lot about Meshuggah or Kyuss, so I'll give O'Connor the benefit of the doubt here. I am absolutely amazed at the band placement - let alone selection. How, on Glam's green earth does Iron Maiden land in the tenth spot? Seriously? Like I said, I was about to make a case for them being the best Metal band of all time -- and here they are, tenth. I'll even spot O'Connor for putting Black Sabbath as number one. They truly did invent Metal music in its purest form...but come on. Van Halen's debut is a masterpiece - but I still think it's hard rock.

Now, to the other reason I need a sedative: I actually agree with O'Connor about Alice in Chains. Awhile back I posted an article examining the Glam roots of AIC. I said the band was Metal then and I stand by that now. Alice in Chains are not grunge, they are Metal.

Back to the basics. KISS are not Metal, but they are certainly Glam. AC/DC are awesome, but they are not Metal either. Nope, they are straight-up, working class hard rock. Thin Lizzy? Yes, "The Boys Are Back In Town" is a great song - but not Heavy Metal. In fact, I'd argue it's about as Heavy as anything Jennifer Lopez ever released.

So who is missing? Accept and Megadeth for starters, but there are a lot more. Maybe I'm way off base here, but something tells me there are serious issues with this list. Sure, such lists are opinion - so everyone is going to argue about the choices to an extent - but it just seems like O'Connor thought up some band names, scrambled them, and created his latest top 25. 

I wish I wrote for Yahoo! music.  

Kelly Keagy: The Bring Back Glam! Interview

Night Ranger are back and ready to release their first studio album in a decade. Hole in the Sun promises classic Night Ranger writing with a twist of modern guitar work. Drummer and vocalist Kelly Keagy recently spoke with Bring Back Glam! about Hole in the Sun, playing Rocklahoma with Triumph and about not being a "hair band." Transcription follows.  

Bring Back Glam!: Tell me about Night Ranger’s new album Hole in the Sun.

Kelly Keagy: About 2 years ago, we got a message from the Japanese record company King Records that they wanted us to do another Night Ranger record…we hadn’t done anything in ten years. We were just trying to settle in playing live. It’s really time consuming to make a record. A lot of times we’d shy away from it... You know, we always wanted to make another studio album and when this opportunity came up, we decided we’d take it on. We started during tour season, so it kind of took us awhile. We’d tour, then go back and work on it – we recorded in spurts. We kept getting excited. The songs were starting to come out. Everyone was writing; everyone contributed songs. This made the album go in a lot of different directions and that makes it more listenable I think. Not just one song after another that’s hard rock. We really got into it.

BBG!: Some of the reviews of Hole in the Sun say the album has a very modern sound. Were you mindful of that while recording?

KK: It just happened. You’ll hear the classic Night Ranger and you’ll also hear a more modern sound from the guitars. After 25 years of being a band, we’re going to be influenced of what is going on around us such as sounds and studio techniques. There were songs that we wanted to have a certain “sound” so we tuned down or layered the guitars. We kind of followed our instincts.

BBG!: Do you listen to a lot of modern bands?

KK: Not really. I don’t have a lot of new bands in my collection. I might have All American Rejects or The Killers…but I just felt like, you know, we started doing that about 10 years ago with Neverland in 1996 and in 1998, we did another record. Each time, we try to move toward what is going on, sound-wise.

BBG!: Night Ranger has never been image chasers. It seems like you ignored Motley Crue and Poison.

KK: We just made it up as we went along. I remember we just didn’t try to find a trend and copy them. It’s not like we set any trends, but we just followed our hearts. You know, we went with
“this feels right.” I feel we were a little ahead time-wise. We were already kind of doing our own thing. Later we got lumped in with the whole hair band thing which I think is funny. Our music is not hair band. There’s a certain style, musically, that was “hair band” style.

BBG!: Does the term hair band bother you?

KK: No, not at all. I know them all and we’re good friends. Guys like Mark Slaughter and we recently ran into the (Motley) Crue guys. I saw Vince (Neil) not long ago. I don’t think they’re a hair band. I just think everyone truly had big hair! I think everybody really had their own styles. A few copied each other, but I think bands were trying their best to be original.

BBG!: Rocklahoma is next month and Night Ranger is playing. Tell me about the set list.

KK: We’re playing with Triumph – our good old buddies! We played with Triumph back in the day…I think our first tour, we played a stadium show with them in Oregon. It’s going to be great.

BBG!: Did you know Triumph was on the bill when you signed your contract?

KK: We actually didn’t. They (Catch the Fever Festivals) kind of fill the gaps as they go. It was kind of like that. We’d call and check every week when they asked us to [play] six months ago or whatever.

BBG!: So, back to the Rocklahoma set list.

KK: Yeah, we have an hour. That’s hard to get in any new material, but we are going to play a new one. A song you’ll hear from me is a single we’ll release soon. Of course we’ll do all of our old radio hits, “When You Close Your Eyes,” “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” “(You Can Still) Rock in America” and some other AOR tracks like “Rumours in the Air.” Some older rock tracks like “Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight” and that’s the set list and of course, “Sister Christian.”

BBG!: Night Ranger is so unique because you have multiple singers. How does that work?

KK: We’re (Kelly and band mate Jack Blades) kind of influenced by similar styles. I have a rougher, harder voice so that works when it comes down to…I think the reason why it works is because it makes the albums less boring. It was an idea we had way back when was to have different vocal focuses. We experimented, and sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn’t. We listened back to see how it flowed from part to part with different singers. Jack’s (Blades, bass and vocals) been really gracious with songs that were big hits. He would just say “I think you might be good to sing this song.” I would put myself in the song and it would take me awhile to relate. We work at it. Sometimes it’s tough, like with “Goodbye.” Jack wrote that about his brother’s passing. He never got a chance to say goodbye and he wanted to sing it himself. At the same time, when he heard me sing it, it moved him to go “this is good enough.” He felt I could relay the message as good as him and that was really nice of him to let that happen. I was ready to go either way with that song; I knew it meant a lot to him.

BBG!: You’ve had some recent lineup changes, but it seems like Night Ranger is a tight-knit group.

KK: Jack and myself are the two singers and writers and Brad (Gillis, guitar) is becoming a great writer as well. He wrote some of the biggest hits with Jack. To keep the three of us together is the most important thing. When you lose a singer, you’ve lost the focus. I think the new players fit so well with us. Joel Hoekstra (guitar) is an old friend of mine as well as Christian Cullen (keyboard). I just knew these two guys were really special. They were able to cover songs really well. They are great people. The band has been playing – with this lineup- since the end of last year. I feel like we’ve come up a notch, with these players and with us and a new record. We’ve got new energy and we’re so excited to have a new record. It feels like it’s all fresh and new, even though we’ve been together 25 years.

BBG!: Do you think that excitement comes through during your stage show?

KK: I absolutely believe that. People say we seem to be three feet above the stage. At the shows, we’re having a great time. We’re all smiling, there’s interplay. Sometimes you can make it work and sometimes you can’t when the lineup isn’t original. I think we’ve been blessed and we’re lucky this is working.

Photo credit: Kelly Keagy via Myspace. 

In the Hot Seat

It's human nature to think "I can do that job better than..."

Admit it: you've thought you could do a better interview, write a better review or break a story sooner than me. That's O.K. I get it. I look at magazines, newspapers, television shows all the time and think "This is how this story would be better and I know I can produce X, Y, Z with more pizzazz..."

I was clicking around radio stations yesterday when the same thought entered my head. I try not to be that way, but I swear, five bad songs in a row and I'm thinking "I can do this better!"

So, let's say you suddenly find yourself with the enviable job as program director for your local rock station. Yes, you have to abide by FCC laws regarding profanity. Program your first hour - for ease, let's say you need to pick 10 songs.

My picks for the first ten songs under the new regime of Allyson:

01. Motley Crue - Chicks = Trouble
02. Avenged Sevenfold - I Won't See You Tonight (Pt. 1)
03. AC/DC - Back in Black
04. Metallica - Master of Puppets
05. Aerosmith - Kings and Queens
06. Kix - Cold Shower
07. Girl - Hollywood Tease
08. Lynam - Losing Venus
09. Y&T - Summertime Girls
10. Arcade - Cry No More

I'm pretty proud of my selections. I think this is a nice cross-section of the different genres of rock and also has a couple deep cuts as well.

So, what is your first hour of programming? Remember to pick a nice, diverse list of rock tunes -- not just your personal favorites.

Livin' It Up

Sometimes you inadvertently find really cool things at the library. I had to return some books on my lunch break yesterday and I stopped to glance at the CD rack. I like to check out CDs to see if I want to buy them. (I'm sure you understand the importance of a test drive in this economy). Anyway, I found the Sammy Hagar disc Livin' It Up (Rhino/Cabo Wabo Music) and I grabbed it for a listen.

The 2006 album features 11 tracks, all (naturally) dealing with the carefree island life. Livin' It Up is a great summer vacation disc. Here are the songs:

"Sam I Am"
"Living on a Coastline"
"Mexico"
"The Way We Live"
"I Love This Bar"
"One Sip"
"Rainy Day Women" #12/#35
"Halfway to Memphis"
"Sailin'"
"Let Me Take You There"
"Someday"

It didn't take long for me to find favorites on this effort. I really like "Sam I Am," "Living on a Coastline," and "The Way We Live." I get sick of established rockers doing cover tunes, but Sammy's version of "Let Me Take You There" is pretty darn good, too.

Remember: this is beach music, rock style and that's how I like it, but I suppose some prefer the Beach Boys or Jimmy Buffett. I would be lying if I said I didn't look up a vacation to Cabo San Lucas after listening to this disc. In fact, I haven't booked my Jamaican holiday yet, so I might just switch and go to Cabo. I've always wanted to visit the Cabo Wabo Cantina anyway - I hear there is live music there every night. 

I think "The Way We Live" is probably the most rocking song on Livin' It Up. The lyrics are fun and true-to-life:

"I work hard for my money/
Wish I didn't have to work at all/
Sacrifice some things/
Can't live without another/
But we're going to Cabo in the fall."

Story of my life right there. I give up a fancy car for vacations and my Glam. I mean, you can't have everything and you've got to pick and choose in life.  I firmly believe that Sammy Hagar at Rocklahoma would have made great sense - he's a party host for summer after all! I guess it just wasn't meant to be...

Perhaps I'll bump into Sammy while vacationing in Cabo and give him a Bring Back Glam! hello!

Here's the video for "Sam I Am." Enjoy!

Are Box Sets Outdated?

Do you own box sets? I don't really have many. In fact, I think the only two I own are Aerosmith's Pandora's Box and Led Zeppelin's self titled 1990 set.

I was at a mall music store over the weekend and I wandered over to the box set section. There was nothing new and only one row of choices. When I was in high school, it seemed like box sets were very much in style.  Now...not so much and I guess this is because of file sharing and iTunes. Let's not forget that box sets are also a major luxury, collector's items...and truly expensive.

When Aerosmith released Box of Fire in 1994, I was mesmerized. My glam goodness, I wanted this so bad. I didn't get it and I still don't own Box of Fire and now it's out of print.  The set contains 13 discs and - at the time - was the definitive look at Aerosmith's career.

Perhaps that's another reason why the box set is failing: a hundred bucks and a few years later, the set is probably out of date. Still, box sets can provide a fan with a special experience, often containing rare or unreleased tracks, familiar hits and cool "memorabilia" like buttons, patches and replica posters or concert tickets.

So many music companies are looking for any way possible to make money these days and box sets are expensive to produce and tough to market. It's hard to get fans to drop a hundred bucks on some greatest hits plus a concert ticket and a T-shirt. Still, I hope we haven't seen the end of box sets. I always thought when I earned a little more money I'd begin collecting used box sets. For whatever reason time got in the way and I just haven't started my collection. I would hate for digital music to usurp the joy of unwrapping a CD or investigating a new box set for the first time.

Do you collect box sets?

Update on Monday, June 16, 2008 at 11:33AM by Allyson B. Crawford

UPDATE: I just bought Hollywood Rocks. Dropping $50 bucks on it about killed me, but I figured all of you have it...so it must be great!

Glam Dads

Happy Father's Day to the many Glam dads out there.

A lot of our favorite Glam heroes have kids - some have been honest about not being the best fathers while others are truly devoted to their kids. When I was trying to think of a song to talk about today, I had a really hard time coming up with anything positive... let alone Glam. In fact, I failed miserably.

There are all sorts of negative Glam songs about dads, especially Ugly Kid Joe's remake of "Cat's in the Cradle." That song is downright harsh. Do you think the negative tones are reminiscent of poor childhoods or just musicians blaming angst on their dads? Perhaps it's a masculine issue, too. There are so many positive songs about mothers...I feel there should be just as many about fathers. Someone - anyone - help me think of a positive Glam tune about dads. Please, don't suggest "Butterfly Kisses" though because 1) the song makes me twitch and 2) it ain't Glam.

In the meantime, here's my favorite musical dads - Aerosmith - performing "Love In An Elevator."

For a Change...Pretty Maids

Yesterday was truly mentally draining for about a million different reasons. Sometimes it takes some music I haven't listened to in awhile to bring me out of a funk. What was the cure? Pretty Maids.

Oh man, I'd forgotten how much I like this band! Pretty Maids formed in the early 1980s...with many lineup changes over the past 20+ years. I would say this band would make a nice replacement for Cinderella at Rocklahoma, but I know time is ticking and it's really hard to book a European band on such short notice.

I don't think Pretty Maids are necessarily 100% Glam -- they are more AOR, but still definitely in the vein of true 80s rock we all love.

I've never seen Pretty Maids live, but I know they've played with some huge names like Alice Cooper.

Let's watch Pretty Maid videos! Here's "Please Don't Leave Me."

Here's "Future World."

What do you think of Pretty Maids?

Check out more songs on the official Pretty Maids Myspace.