Top 20 Essential 80's Hard Rock Albums. (20 to 11)
There's so many great albums and music that came out of the 80's and as a kid at the time I loved how much of it there was, I never had enough money to buy the amount of albums I wanted to, and I bought more than most it seems. These days I have them all on Vinyl, CD and on my ipod for quick access , but nothing will beat the anticipation of the train ride home from the record store waiting to play the vinyl for the first time!
So here's my list of what I consider to be essential "Hard Rock" albums from the 80's, this includes some Melodic Metal and some AOR.
20. Night Ranger - Midnight Madness (1983)
The first album I'd ever heard from Night Ranger way back in the mid 80's and still my favorite to this day, filled with great edgy melodic and catchy songs that typifies American 80's Hard Rock like"Rumours In The Air, "Passion Play" and the awesome "When You Close Your Eyes" !!
19. FM - Indiscreet (1985)
The very smooth UK Aorsters FM first came to my attention through a high school friends older brother, they seemed more interesting to me than anything my friend was listening to at the time (probably Motley Crue or Poison). A really great album with a great mid 80's teen-movie soundtrack type vibe, sadly under appreciatated outside of the UK.
18. Dio - Sacred Heart (1985)
R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio, in my opinion, the greatest singer of all time. I love all the 80's Dio albums, but this is an underrated champion in my eyes, probably the most melodic and commercial with songs like "Rock & Roll Children" and "Hungry For Heaven" and as a result not a favorite of fans of Dio's heavier work, but highly recommended for those wanting to hear the great man's voice on some more 80's style melodic rockers!
17. Quiet Riot - QRIII (1986)
I remember buying this one the week it came out back in 86, the backlash on this record was harsh! They had gone from Super stardom with 80's Metal anthems "Metal Health' and "Mama we're All Crazy Now" to a sound saturated in Synths and Keyboards, clearly chasing the formula that had made Van Halen huge with their smash hit "Jump" in 84. While everyone around me was offended by QR's change in style, I was elated!!! I couldn't believe my ears, this was AOR /Melodic Rock glory!! and from Quiet Riot of all bands!
I liked Quiet riots previous two albums that had established them, but found they only had a handful of songs across both albums that I enjoyed, where as QRIII was giving me a whole album for the most part that I loved. A special note should be given to vocalist Kevin Dubrow (R.I.P.) as his vocals on this record truly show his ability and allow him to sing in far more styles than what the previous albums allowed. Great Album!
Warrant were pretty much the Sunset Strip band that had it all, they looked great, had catchy songs, a great singer and frontman and were signed to Columbia Records , the biggest label in the world at the time. So it's not really a surprise they rose to super stardom at the time. The great thing about this debut is there's not a bad song on here, while some shine more than others, there's no duds. This is pretty much a perfect "Hair Metal" album. Sadly this is the third album in the Top 20 with a singer that has passed away. RIP Jani lane, an exceptional singer, songwriter and frontman. 15. Treat - Organized Crime (1989)
I found Swedish band Treat's debut album "Scratch & Bite" (85) at a K-Mart in the record department when I was 12 years old, they looked cool on the cover and so I bought it with my paper round money (such would be the situation for many albums), I really liked the album, but I didnt love it. I followed the band through their next two albums "Pleasure Principle" and "Dreamhunter" which showed a massive improvement, in fact I loved "Dreamhunter" so much it was a close call as to which Treat album would make the top 20! However it's with "Organised Crime" that I think Treat is at their finest, an album of brilliant melodic "Scandi" hard rock, truly essential.
14. Lizzy Borden - Love You To Pieces (1985)
Lizzy Borden are the best live band I've ever seen, and I've seen every band on this list except for 3.
Amazing vocals, great songs and what to me, is the epitome of 80's "American Metal", alongside bands like Queensryche, Crimson Glory, Leatherwolf, Fifth Angel and Armoured Saint. In this style Lizzy Borden are at the top of the heap, Lizzy's vocal's on the title track are incredible and the excellent "Save Me" reminds me of what I love about this music in the first place! Just awesome.
13. House Of Lords - House Of Lords (1988)
After two great, but not chart topping albums, Keyboard Maestro Greg Giuffria decide to modify his line up and at the persuasion of Gene Simmons (Kiss) changed the name of his band from Giuffria to House Of Lords and signed a new record deal with Simmons Records. Much in teh style of the two Giuffria albums, House Of Lords followed the same Pomp Rock/AOR path of over the top keyboards and brilliant harmonies and melodies, but with new voclilst James Christian, who in my opinion is no better or worse than Giuffria's orginal singer David Glen Eisley, they are different from each other , but both suit the music.
The debut by House Of Lords in my opinion would be their best album, and while not quite as great as Giuffria's debut album, it's a very great album in it's own right. The production is excellent and better than either of the Giuffria albums and this album features some incredible songs with "Edge Of Your Life" and "Jealous Heart" being AOR masterpieces.
12. Rick Springfield - Living In Oz (1983)
Criminally labeled in his native Australia as a "one hit wonder" for his song "Jesse's Girl", Rick Springfield enjoyed years of continued Platinum album success in the USA well after his first smash hit song. One of those albums was his 1983 opus "Living In Oz", a slick blend of commercial rock and AOR anthems, tracks such as "Souls", "Motel Eyes" and "Affair Of The Heart" are some of the best melodic rock you will ever hear. To die for.
11. Aviator - Aviator (1985)
The one and only album from New Jersey's Aviator is considered by many to be an "AOR Classic" or Melodic Rock Masterpiece", and I have to agree with those sweeping statements, this album is just one of those albums that takes you away in a time machine in the best possible way. Great production from Neil Kernon, fantastic songs in the style of Bon Jovi's debut and second album 7800. An absolute must have.
No comments:
Post a Comment