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

[Revering4Blue]

It's a deluxe Two-fer Tuesday edition of AOR radio songs of yesteryear that have all but disappeared from playlists.

Collective Soul - Heavy (1999)
Album - Dosage

Despite being chart-wise, the band's biggest AOR hit - spending an astonishing 15 weeks atop Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart - but still not the longest time a song by any artist has spent at the top - it's inexplicably not among the five or so tracks rock radio bothers to play from this band today.

Hello, McFly - anybody home?

Eve 6 - Inside Out (1998)
Album - Eve 6

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly seventeen years since this track - the band's signature, and one of a handful to make an impact on AOR radio - reached it's peak, as I remember it as it it were yesterday. The suits who basically control terrestrial rock radio playlists today apparently don't.





Blind Melon - Galaxie (1995)
Album - Soup

Best known for "No Rain," this was the last of three AOR hits from this band fronted by the late Shannon Hoon. Hoon's untimely death occurred right around the time that this track reached it's AOR airplay peak. The song title, BTW, is in reference to a Ford Galaxie automobile.

Robert Palmer - Hyperactive (1986)
Album - Riptide

In my opinion, the late Robert Palmer's name should be included in any best Rock vocalist of all-time discussion. I also feel that there are many current Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductees (Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Really?) whose resumes dwarf this man's, especially factoring in his work with The Power Station. Be that as it may, this single, sandwiched by "Addicted To Love" and "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" and my favorite from Palmer, fared much better on Rock radio than on Top 40 pop radio - This is the album version played by AOR stations - and serves as a fine example of a genre in which Palmer had few peers....Dance Rock.





UFO - The Writer (1982)
Album - Mechanix

This band, fronted by underrated vocalist, Phil Mogg, and for many years featuring renowned guitarist Michael Schenker, never duplicated their success in their native U.K here in the states. Nevertheless, they were mainstays on AOR radio, with "Too Hot To Handle" their signature track, from the late 70's to the early 80's. This former AOR hit is the one that resonated with me the most due to the great riff, which may be instantly recognizable to anyone who listened to AOR radio back in the day. This one deserves some high volume!

Toto - Afraid Of Love (1982)
Album - IV

This track, yet another AOR hit from an album featuring multiple AOR / Top 40 crossover hits, in my opinion, should have also been released as a single but never was. Multiple band members served as lead vocalists on the AOR / Pop radio tracks on this album: Bobby Kimball - who also sang lead on "Hold The Line," the band's signature track - on "Rosanna," keyboardist David Paich, alternating with Kimball, on "Africa," and guitarist Steve Lukather - who performed one of the guitar solos (Joe Walsh, the other) on Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" on this track.

RIP, Jeff Porcaro (Drums.)





As a head's up, given that, in my estimation, a track must be Ten years old to fully qualify for "lost" status, I will be working in some tracks from the aughts in future entries, as well.

Adieu from R4Blue.

[marcshoe]

Okay, I am perplexed. Your post made me search for a Robert Palmer video that brings back a lot of memories, 'Looking for Clues'. This played constantly on a bank of screens in the theatre I frequented in Sydney when it was out, and the effect of the multiple images was mesmerizing. So I went to YouTube, typed in the song, and found the wrong video! The one I remember featured Palmer dancing on over-sized props, as well as a memorable scene of a skeleton dancing on a xylophone. The one on Youtube has him dancing down a hall as people wearing animal heads emerge from doors on each side.

At any rate, 'Clues' was a great, as you say, dance-pop album with a bunch of nice tracks including 'Johnny and Mary', which dominated the charts in Europe.




Please excuse the mimes.

Here's a link to the 'Clues' video I remember. I didn't imagine it.




btw, as far as Joan Jett is concerned, if the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame felt they needed to induct a parodist, they should have gone with Weird Al.

[RichRed]

Haven't thought about Robert Palmer's Riptide album in years. I had the cassette way back when, and "Hyperactive" was easily my favorite song on there. Thanks for the reminder, Rev!

[Dom Heffner]

marcshoe, thank you for the memories. Both awesome....

[Eric from NC]

This is spot-on.

Commercial music radio in general is now a dying format. There are just too many options with talk radio, ipods, iphones etc. Most people I do believe want curated music, but the current FM options are just too bland and it's littered with commercials galore and repeated playlists. Not to mention, they've lost a lot of ratings. When I was growing up, listening to the radio was not only something you did in the car, but something you did in the house often. The vast majority of people today do not listen to the local radio stations in their homes as there are too many ways to spend one's time. Now, commercial music radio stations are lucky if they get people to tune in whilst in the car and most people don't. Advertisers are pulling out left and right and some FM stations are turning into talk radio stations. This trend will only continue.

I honestly don't think Sirius or XM will survive too much longer itself, but they may live a little longer because of Stern, their variety and other offerings.

Actually, I think sat. radio has helped to kill classic rock stations. Sat. radio is commerical free, and you have more ability to tailor your tastes. You can go with deep cuts to get less played songs off great albums, 70s music only ect. It does seem that the iphone apps have also dealt it a death blow with pandora, last fm, spotify ect.

[westofyou]

[Revering4Blue]

Good stuff, woy.

Heard "Screaming in the Night" the other day on, you guessed it, satellite radio. Haven't heard it on terrestrial radio in many,many years.

[Revering4Blue]

Before we begin this trip down AOR radio memory lane, I'd like to take a moment to address the frequency of entries.

With school and the demands of everyday life, I haven't been able to submit entries as often as I'd like, which has resulted in sporadic entries that, even though the entries contain several tracks at a time, IMO, disrupt the flow of the thread and are difficult to compile without rather lazily grouping together two tracks apiece by a particular artist. Given that, I've come up with a reasonable compromise that I feel I can work in on a regular basis.....Three tracks / bi-weekly. By doing so, it won't be as taxing on me -- it is all in fun, anyway -- and the thread will not run out of momentum. Anywho....

On with the show.

Eric Gales Band - Sign Of The Storm (1991)
Album - The Eric Gales Band

This once heavily-played track, IMO, represents/represented a bridge between "traditional" sounding rock and grunge, which arrived on the mainstream rock radio scene months later. It really rocks and sounded like nothing else on rock radio at the time or, for that matter, today. The group would go on to gain moderate AOR airplay with one more track two years later.



Seven Mary Three - Wait (2001)
Album - The Economy of Sound

Judging from terrestrial rock radio playlists today, one would be inclined to believe that the band's signature track - "Cumbersome" - was the band's only AOR hit, but that is not the case. This track was the last of five from Seven Mary Three to have peaked inside the top twenty on Billboard Top Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. This one clocked in at #7, so there is at least a reasonable chance that it is remembered by Redzoners.



Steely Dan - Any Major Dude Will Tell You (1974)
Album - Pretzel Logic

The band, of course, requires no introduction. However, as we all know, even an enshrined Rock And Roll Hall of Fame act, such as this one, far too often, features within their catalog regularly played for decades FM rock radio staples that, somehow, do not make the cut for today's suit-controlled, cookie-cutter terrestrial rock radio playlists, such as the case here...One of my favorites from their catalog.

In case you missed it, If you are a fan of Steely Dan, I featured a lost AOR hit in post #253 (page 17) of this thread - "Don't Let Me In" by Sneaker - that is a cover of a Steely Dan track that was never before released by Steely Dan until a recent compilation of early previously unreleased Steely Dan tracks was released to the public. Well worth checking out.



Adieu from R4Blue.

[Assembly Hall]

After seeing woy's Krokus mention........I need to find my Sweet album!

[marcshoe]

I added Any Major Dude to my current playlist a couple of weeks ago after hearing it somewhere in passing. I used to have a Steely Dan Greatest Hits 8-track (!) with all kinds of forgotten tracks on it. I'll have to dig it up and play it in my car. The old one that I junked thirty years ago.

Here's the track list:


1. Do It Again
2. Reeling In The Years
3. My Old School
4. Bodhisattva
5. Show Biz Kids
6. East St. Louis Toodle-oo
7. Rikki Don't Lose That Number
8. Pretzel Logic
9. Any Major Dude
10. Here At The Western World
11. Black Friday
12. Bad Sneakers
13. Doctor Wu
14. Haitian Divorce
15. Kid Charlemagne
16. The Fez
17. Peg
18. Josie

[bucksfan2]

Seven Mary Three's "American Standard" album is one of my favorites. I know many consider them a one hit wonder, but that album is great.

[Revering4Blue]

Seven Mary Three's "American Standard" album is one of my favorites. I know many consider them a one hit wonder, but that album is great.

It really is.

As to why they are considered a one hit wonder by many, IMO, it has as much to do with the fact that terrestrial Mainstream Rock radio largely ignores the other seven tracks from the band - spanning four albums - that were in regular AOR radio rotations back in the day(s) as it does the fact that "Cumbersome" was the only track from the band to at least moderately cross over onto Top 40 Pop radio. Heck, from the "American Standard" album alone, "Water's Edge" and "My My" were also in regular rock radio rotation, granted, not to the extent of "Cumbersome."

Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I heard a Seven Mary Three track other than "Cumbersome" on terrestrial rock radio.

[Revering4Blue]

Del Amitri - Always The Last To Know (1992)
Album - Change Everything

Here's another lost AOR radio track - translation: it isn't considered "classic" enough for today's terrestrial classic rock or mainstream rock radio - that few seem to recall, even though, much like the band's other hits -"Kiss This Thing Goodbye" and "Roll To Me" - it also experienced gained quite a bit of Pop radio airplay. As an aside, I don't recall "Roll To Me" gaining Rock radio airplay at all, only Pop. Not surprisingly, that's my least favorite of the three.

Anyway, this is the only track of the three that really resonated with me. The major twist in the storyline at the end of the song was/is memorable and sounds, at least to my ears, as if it could have been a Gin Blossoms song.



This entry will continue tomorrow.

[Revering4Blue]

Jet - Rollover DJ (2004)
Album - Get Born

Did this band fade from view quickly, or what? Two albums later continuing with moderate success on rock radio, they broke up.

This track was the third of four tracks from the album to receive major nationwide AOR airplay - no need to list the first two as they are still on Mainstream Rock playlists today - this one, somehow, didn't make the cut.



Red Rider - Human Race (1983)
Album - Neruda

Have you heard anything from Tom Cochrane and company other than "Lunatic Fringe" and "Life Is A Highway" lately on terrestrial rock radio? Me either.

This track - a great driving song, IMO - is as fine of an example of a lost AOR hit from the band as any...and, believe it or not, they had several.



Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground (1973)
Album - Innervisions

It may come as a surprise to some Generation Y'rs out there that Stevie Wonder was a factor for many years on AOR radio - "Superstition" and "You Haven't Done Nothing" and, of course, this track come to mind. Many remember the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering this track. Here's the original.



Adieu from R4Blue.

[Revering4Blue]

Since I haven't gotten around around to another lost AOR radio hits entry in quite awhile, this entry will be twice the size and paired-up, once again, in double shots of in-common tracks.

The Hazies - Skin & Bones (1996)
Album - Vinnie Smokin' In The Big Room

The first - and biggest - of two AOR hits for this band. Unfortunately, the band's record label closed up as the band was touring to support this album, which killed any chance for sustained commercial success for the band. Judging from this track alone, they certainly deserved a better fate.

Matthew Sweet - Sick Of Myself (1995)
Album - 100% Fun

Sweet is best known for "Girlfriend" his signature hit from '92, which, in itself, is considered a lost AOR radio hit from the standpoint of mainstream terrestrial rock radio today, though it still garners airplay on AAA (Adult Album Alternative) radio today. This forgotten track - in rock radio heavy rotation - is his second biggest AOR hit, peaking at #13 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. By comparison, "Girlfriend" peaked at # 10. This track was released as a single, but failed to hit the Top 40 (Pop Radio) - surprisingly, "Girlfriend" never charted as a single. Go figure.





Brother Cane - That Don't Satisfy Me (1993)
Album - Brother Cane

This band, based in Birmingham, Alabama, burst on to the scene in '93 and enjoyed a successful run of 8 AOR radio hits and three albums within five years. And just like that....gone, having inexplicably disbanded during a period in which their final album, and AOR hits from that album, were both at their peak. Though this track was a big AOR radio hit, the band produced other more well-known AOR hits than this one, but I will save them for future entries in this series.

Brian May - Driven By You (1993)
Album - Back To The Light

The lone solo AOR hit for Queen guitarist Brian May, and it's a damn good one. In fact, May had been composing material for quite some time before Freddie Mercury's death, and Mercury, as his last wish to May, urged him to record the material. May did just that, thank goodness.





The Outfield - Say It Isn't So (1985)
Album - Play Deep

I loved this band. Loved them. This track, which surprisingly was never released as a single, was the first to receive heavy National radio airplay in any format, placing the band on the map. But, compared with the band's crossover hits, such as "Your Love" and "Voices Of Babylon", is largely forgotten, though I'm certain that other Redzoners remember it, as well.

RIP, John Spinks.

Thompson Twins - Lay Your Hands On Me (1985)
Album - Here's To Future Days

Though this band doesn't exactly scream "Rock", at least by today's standards, and success was fleeting for them, they did manage a string of Pop/Rock crossover hits during the early to mid '80's. This track, IMO, is their best. While it isn't close to a straight ahead rocker by any means, it has more of a "Rock" feel to it - at least to my ears - compared with the band's other hits, which also performed well in the AOR radio format.





Adieu from R4Blue.