Growing (Pleasures and) Pains: Bands We Loved & Bands We Grew To Enjoy
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 12:01AM
Today's post is from our friend HIM! Let's welcome him back to us.
While Allyson is nursing her hand back to health, I figured I would pick up the cyber-quill and ask the loyal BBG! readers a question that has been rattling around in my brain for some time. Actually, it is a two-parter: Which bands that you loved back in the day no longer ‘do it’ for you? Which bands that you used to turn your nose up at now sound better with age (yours, not theirs necessarily)? To be clear, I am not asking if you have completely dropped a band from your rotation, nor am I suggesting you are now a die-hard fanboy of some older band. No, I am being a bit more in the middle about all of it (given that I am a bit more middle-aged nowadays). But I am talking about bands from the 70s-90s.
For me, personally, it was startling when I started pondering those questions. And mulling both questions over was partially a consequence of listening to SiriusXM’s Hair Nation so often, what with its repeats and omissions that make it so much like terrestrial radio of old.
Question One: The obvious one for me is the Scorpions. Back in the day, I really loved Crazy World and Savage Amusement. Now I can barely listen to those albums without cringing. What was I thinking?!?! And I basically checked out when Face the Heat was released in ’93. If I want to listen to the Scorps these days, I have to retreat to the glory of “I’m Leaving You” from Love at First Sting (1984), or go even further back into their catalog (though not so far back that I am wearing bell-bottoms and grooving to Lonesome Crow [1971]).
Question Two: The obvious ones for me are Winger and Warrant. Back then, I would barely acknowledge them. Too pretty. Too poppy. Too . . . whatever. But as time has gone on, I admire and enjoy them both. I will admit, I am not a deep diver with either band. I enjoy the hits I scoffed at when I was younger. But I now recognize that both bands contributed some mighty fine songs to the canon. I also tap my toe to the funky beats of Trixter and Firehouse on occasion. Yes. I admitted that. Sue me.
Non-asked-question: Are there bands, which to this day, I both love and loathe (and that is probably the wrong word)? Sure. I still need my daily fix of Cinderella. I still rock out to Ratt and Dokken. I am still partial to Maiden. I still get a kick out of W.A.S.P. (the first three especially). And I still shrug when people mention anchovy, I mean, Bon Jovi (but will gladly support “In and Out of Love” off of 7800° Fahrenheit (1985), an album that Jon is less than pleased with). I am also reluctant to raise my lighter (no, I don’t use my pocket robot to do that!) when it comes to Poison. Sure, I like “Ride the Wind” and “Fallen Angel.” But the rest of it just doesn’t do it for me.
Don’t misunderstand me. I recognize all of these bands as important. I am also not wading into the water regarding any of these bands and their more recent output. Me not liking them has absolutely no importance when it comes to what other people liked, loved, like, or love. But I think you get my point. We grow into, and out of, love with a host of things: people, places, foods, and bands.
Now I am putting my cyber-quill aside. To paraphrase Perry, let the posters do the talking!
Reader Comments (12)
1) The Scorpions and to a lesser extent, Bon Jovi jump to the top of this list for me. I was huge fans of both back in the day, but am not interested in either any more. I still like songs by both (and I could never not like New Jersey), but their sound no longer does it for me. What I used to find amazing about them, I now find cheesy and even a bit bland.
2) Journey. I didn't pay any attention to them in the 70's & 80's, and found them to be too old fashioned compared to the harder rock & metal that I preferred. But a friend of mine re-introduced them to me a few years back and I was blown away at just how great their songs are. Stone In Love is now one of the most frequently played songs in my collection, and their first few albums are just filled with gems.
3) Bands I love to this day include Motley, Cinderella, Skid Row & Poison, each of whom I still play regularly. I can't think of many bands that I loathe, but there are definitely a few that I was just never able to get into, including Dokken, Queensryche and Ratt. Again, I like a few songs by all 3, but I've never been able to stomach more than a couple of their songs in a row.
2) Bands I've appreciated more as time went on and upped their rotation: LA Guns, Kix, and Love/Hate. I loved all their first albums I had (Cocked/Loaded, Blow My Fuse, Blackout Redroom), but I think it's just more of an appreciation of being a touch different than some of that generic glam/hair/metal sound of the time.
1. Bands that don’t do it for me (as much) any more:
- Motley Crue to an extent. Beyond the first two albums, I can only listen to a couple of songs from their next three.
- Poison. Can still listen, but only a handful of songs.
- Janet Jackson. I used to be a huge fan. But like a lot of heavily electronic music from the 80s, a lot of it has dated badly.
2. Bands that never used to do it for me:
- Scorpions. I never gave them any attention and now I have them on heavy rotation, particularly the Uli Roth years.
- Phil Collins-era Genesis. Hated it back in the day, but now I love most of Duke, Abacab, self-titled, and parts of Invisible Touch and even We Can’t Dance.
- Toto. Yes, I like Toto. Sue me. Few if any top-to-bottom great albums but so many hidden gems in their catalogue. I’ve learned to appreciate the art of song composition and instrumental excellence even when the underlying music is pop.
- The Police. Too poppy for me when it came out. See Toto comment above.
- Warrant. Image was a huge was a huge turn off, but what a song writer Jani was. I have Mr. Rainmaker, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Sad Theresa, Down Boys on heavy rotation.
- Anything by George Lynch. I used to strongly dislike the guy, and wasn’t a huge fan of Dokken, but now I seek his stuff out. Not all of it is great and the period after the second Lynch Mob album and the return of Oni Logan with Smoke and Mirrors was pretty bad, but now I find a lot of what he is putting out is high quality. Lynch Mob (first two albums, then skip to Smoke and Mirrors, Sun Red Sun, The Brotherhood), KXM (all three albums), and the recent End
Machine album (which was a sort of Dokken-Lynch Mob hybrid), and of course his Dokken work all stand out for me.
1). Bon Jovi. Especially since Richie is gone and the last few albums have literally nothing in common with the band I used to love. Honorable mention: Scorpions, Metallica and Def Leppard.
2) a lot of bands I have grown to love now more than “then”: White Lion (just love the solos), Kix, Journey, RATT.
3) All others! Poison, Crue, Whitesnake, Cinderella, VH, GNR, Warrant, Firehouse, Trixter, Europe, the list goes on and on! Long live glam rock!
2. Whitesnake. Listened to them from time to time in the 80's and 90's, but now not a week goes by without Mr. Coverdale singing (yet another) song about love in my ears. Saints & Sinners and Come an' Get It are flawless albums and there's plenty of cool tunes on later records such as Good to Be Bad and Forevermore.
@Steverox. Vito from White Lion is top 3 in this old guitar players list of most melodically talented (yet flashy) players. Could listen to him 24/7. Lol
@Him. Glad to see my partner in snark is still out there. I'm not around as much here either anymore. 70 hour work weeks tend to grind ya down at my " enhanced age" 😂😂😂😂
I have to agree, Toto are a guilty pleasure. Jeff Porcaro amazes me. I give the Live At Montreux 1991 album a spin every other week (and especially enjoy his outro solo at the end of "Africa"). White Lion should be on my "still love" list, though I can understand others not liking them. There is just something about the combo of Tramp and Bratta (even if I am occasionally tempted to skip "Don't Give Up"!). Wish I had to a chance to see both band back in the day. I could go on. But my point was to post and listen (well, read). So I hope others chime in as well.
And . . . nice to hear from you, Gary. Different things pull us in different directions. Nice that BBG! can be a place where we can all connect every now and again.
answer: one song I never got into, nor will I, is My World by Guns 'n... whatever. It was dispicible. And to this day, I am way more offended by that song, than One in a Million. Any day all day everyday.
For me Whitesnake no longer does it for me. I also struggle with the Scorpions and Dokken.
Classic Rock Radio almost burnt me out totally on Zepplin, Skynyrd, and Boston ....
Bands I go back to GnR, Poison, Great White, Old Metallica (pre-black album) Old Motley Crue as with Bryon I got into Journey late and love a bunch of their songs.
Great Question and Great to see you here again!
Baby steps. Baby steps. I have faltered in recent weeks. But I think I got this. I just have to avoid giving in to bringing things down. If I am going to do this, I need to make sure I feel better after I click "create post." Thing is, some things that 'feel good' end up making me feel bad.
Hope you, and everyone, are doing well.