Album Oriented Rock (AOR)--A dying radio format.

[Revering4Blue]

"Love Touch" is about as bad a song as anyone's done. Just awful, really.

FTFY.

[Dom Heffner]

FTFY.

Right up there with Jackson Browne's "Lawyers in Love."

[Revering4Blue]

As a plate warmer to Revering's next post, here's Patty on Letterman back in 1987 performing the Danny Wilde song.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qOhA5wo34Rw

Notice how little she is- looks about 90 lbs wet.

Patty did a nice job with the track, but I still much prefer the Danny Wilde version. Patty's big AOR hit --mostly forgotten, I'm sure -- was "Never Enough".

BTW, as a heads-up, the next entry will be three from the 90's, followed two weeks later with three from the 80's, then I'll mix it up while working in some early aughts tracks, as well.

[Revering4Blue]

Right up there with Jackson Browne's "Lawyers in Love."

Not his finest moment for sure, but it brings back memories of hanging out in Arcades playing "Satan's Hollow", "Sinistar" and "Popeye" among others. Once home, who needed a Playstation when we had Colecovision and the Atari 5200 Supersystem --the first with a pause button.

Those were the days.

[Revering4Blue]

As promised, here are three lost Rock Radio hits from the decade which seemed to, IMO, fly by too fast: The '90's.

Black Lab - Wash It Away (1998)
Album: Your Body Above Me

This easily recognizable track received heavy AOR airplay in early '98 before virtually disappearing from playlists everywhere. But, other than the fact they were/are from Berkeley and they had a minor follow-up Rock hit titled "Time Ago", I honestly don't know too much about this band.



Social Distortion - I Was Wrong (1996)
Album: White Light, White Heat, White Trash

While this LA-based band has proven popular with Modern/Alternative radio audiences since their inception, they've rarely crossed over onto Mainstream Rock radio, and actually, they are most likely better known to Mainstream Rock radio listeners for two tracks off of their latest ('11 release) Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes: "Machine Gun Blues" and "California (Hustle And Flow)".

That stated, the track that I am about to post gained heavy Mainstream/AOR airplay during the Fall of '96 and remains one of my '90's faves. Alas -- All together now! -- has all but vanished from Mainstream/Classic rock radio today.




Georgia Satellites - All Over But The Cryin' (1990)
Album: In The Land Of Salvation And Sin

We are going back to the beginning of the decade for what proved to be the final AOR hit for a band that is best known for -- and in the case of many, unfortunately, only known for -- "Keep Your Hands To Yourself". This track, a ballad that, IMO, is the standout of all 8 -- yes, they had that many -- Georgia Satellites AOR hits...And that's not counting the two AOR hits lead singer/guitarist Dan Baird produced in the early 90's off of his solo album -- love this album title -- Love Songs For The Hearing Impaired.

Supposedly, this track was directly influenced by Baird's real life experience, which explains his convincing performance here in a track that I still find some 24 years later -- where did the time go? -- unforgettable.

I only wish that today's terrestrial Rock radio programmers felt the same way.



Adieu from R4Blue.

[marcshoe]

A lot of people were sort of introduced to Social Distortion in, I think, 2006 when Chris Daughtry did their version of 'Ring of Fire' on American idol. For those who haven't heard it, it's quite good.



They're a band that mainstream rock fans should like, imho.

[Revering4Blue]

A lot of people were sort of introduced to Social Distortion in, I think, 2006 when Chris Daughtry did their version of 'Ring of Fire' on American idol. For those who haven't heard it, it's quite good.

They're a band that mainstream rock fans should like, imho.

Yep.

Remember it well. Thanks for posting it, BTW. True, they've fallen between the cracks of Alternative and Mainstream Rock radio airplay, but they appear to actually be gaining ground in the Mainstream Rock -- Active Rock or otherwise -- category, largely, thanks to the two aforementioned tracks from a few years ago. We'll see what transpires with their new album, scheduled for release this year.

Speaking of Daughtry, I would have liked for him to have continued down the path of, if it makes any sense, Rock material with Pop crossover potential instead of the opposite. He's gone the way of Lifehouse. But, sadly, with all of the sub formats relating to rock radio today, it's most likely much easier to reach a large audience with music perceived firstly as pop-oriented, rather than rock-based material. Pop/Rock crossover music is virtually nonexistent today with the obvious exception of AAA radio.

[Revering4Blue]

Kelly Holland, lead voice of Cry of Love's early '90s glory days, passes away

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/02/...ce-of-cry.html

Sad news.

As I stated previously in post # 221, where I also posted "Peace Pipe" -- the band's signature track -- I was living in the Raleigh area at the time, so this is big news to me, but I'm sure that some of you were/are familiar with the band, so I decided to post this.

[Revering4Blue]

Since all of you have been good and eaten your meat and vegetables, you get dessert.

The last two AOR hits by a band that is more-than-deserving of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction.

Cheap Trick - Woke Up With A Monster (1994)
Album: Woke Up With A Monster

Cheap Trick - Say Goodbye (1997)
Album: Cheap Trick






Enjoy, and I'll be back in two weeks with an all 80's entry.

[Rojo]

Looove Cheap Trick. AC/DC seems to be every hipster's token Arena Rock band. It should be Cheap Trick.

[Falls City Beer]

Looove Cheap Trick. AC/DC seems to be every hipster's token Arena Rock band. It should be Cheap Trick.

Love em both. As any sensible lad should. I do wish Cheap Trick had been good longer. They lost me at the George Martin "train" album cover album.

[Revering4Blue]

Love em both. As any sensible lad should. I do wish Cheap Trick had been good longer. They lost me at the George Martin "train" album cover album.

IMO, the band's AOR hit "Everything Works If You Let It" from the Roadie Soundtrack should have been included on All Shook Up, as it was`much better anything on the aforementioned album.

FWIW, 1985's Standing On The Edge gets my vote as the band's most underrated album.

[Rojo]

Love em both. As any sensible lad should. I do wish Cheap Trick had been good longer. They lost me at the George Martin "train" album cover album.

I love Cheap Trick, like AC/DC. Maybe I even love them but I've heard them so dang much. And it was kind of irritating the AC/DC was every college radio type's favorite heavy rock indulgence.

[Revering4Blue]

I love Cheap Trick, like AC/DC. Maybe I even love them but I've heard them so dang much. And it was kind of irritating the AC/DC was every college radio type's favorite heavy rock indulgence.

One major difference from the airplay standpoint between the two bands, at least to me: I can list several Cheap Trick AOR hits from the past that rarely, if ever, gain airplay today. Granted, some AC/DC rock radio hits are played much more often than others -- I'm quite content to never hear "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" again -- It's a much tougher task to list AC/DC rock radio hits that fall under the same category, though I did post one earlier (Post #257, to be exact).

[RichRed]

Who else remembers the band Jellyfish out of San Francisco? They released two excellent albums in the '90s, "Bellybutton" and "Spilt Milk", then went their separate ways. We had a station here called 93.7 The Coast that used to play all kinds of great stuff, and that's where I first heard these guys.

And speaking of Cheap Trick, Roger Manning, Jr. and Jason Falkner of Jellyfish are credited on CT's 2009 album, "The Latest," and Manning has played with them on tour.

Here are a few of my Jellyfish favorites: