In early April my wife purchased and downloaded the CD “Now That’s What I Call Classic Power Ballads”. There have been many “Now That’s What I Call Music” collections put out during the past 25 years or so such as “Now That’s what I Call Christmas”. I have been a fan of 80’s music since it was current and a fan of Hair Metal bands. A staple of both these general and specific genres was the power ballad. This collection contains 18 power ballads and a very wide variety of them. They’re not by all hair bands and not all from the 80’s either.
The collection begins with a staple power ballad: “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”. Poison was ranked the number one hair band on a show on VH1 many years ago. They’re known for songs about partying and excess and “Every Rose” reveals a softer, more soulful side. The next track is “Faithfully” by Journey, a band from the 70’s and 80’s, though not a hair band. When VH1 did its own ranking of power ballads, Journey’s “Open Arms” was ranked number one. But I’m glad the “Now” collection includes the relatively less popular and less cheesy “Faithfully” instead. It’s deeper, seems to tell a story, and is equally powerful. The next song is from the late 90’s by a perennially popular band: “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith from the movie Armageddon. I remember that the song wasn’t written by Aerosmith but by Diane Warren and it was also nominated for an Academy Award. Perennially popular bands continue with the Kiss song “Forever”. I believe this is from their non-makeup hair band and possibly Day-Glo phase.
The next song indicates that the power ballad and hair band are not exclusively American phenomena (though Journey does have non-American members). It’s a song that asks the appropriate power ballad question: “Is This Love” by Whitesnake. This English band is actually one of the hair band forerunners. The next song breaks another stereotype: that all power ballads are sung by men. “Never” by the Seattle band Heart is a fun-sounding power ballad. One of the top placers of the lip-sync contest at my middle school performed “Never”. The next track is a slower, emotional song from a group known for faster, more fun songs. It’s “The Flame” by Cheap Trick and a bit of a change from their songs “I Want You to Want Me” and “Surrender”. Unlike the latter, “The Flame” does not mention The Philippines. Bad English recorded the next song, the romantic “When I See You Smile”. I believe they could be classified as a “supergroup” with John Waite on vocals and at least one member or former member of Journey. I used to own their debut album that had classics such as “Possession”, “Forget Me Not”, and “Heaven is a Four Letter Word” but my tape died.
It’s back to power ballad staples with the next song, the powerful but overplayed (in its time) “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger. The song isn’t exactly a love song, nor is it Christian rock. In fact I never really knew what it was about until I saw the 80’s music musical “Rock of Ages”. Right before the female lead, Sherry Christian, moves from her small hometown to L.A. her parents sing “Sister Christian”. Later in the musical her boyfriend sings “Oh Sherry” to win her back, though this song isn’t in the “Now” power ballad collection. The next song is a soulful track from a group known for their soundtrack songs. “The Search is Over” by Survivor is a celebratory power ballad. Most of their big songs such as “Eye of the Tiger” area about triumph over adversity and “Seach” has that feel, though it’s more about triumph over naivete (my interpretation). I believe the next song was a one-hit-wonder but what a hit it was. “When I’m with You” by Sheriff is a powerful, grandiose song about “being with you”. It contains one of the longest sustained singing notes in a rock song.
The next song is another foreign act, this time from the European continent. It’s the edgy, rockin’ power ballad “Still Loving You” by the Scorpions from Germany. It’s back to American hair metal for the next song: the wailing “Fly to the Angels” by Slaughter. The next song was one of two early 90’s hits from the band “Extreme”, the slower, soulful, and acoustic “More then Words”. The “Now” CD has the regular version of the song and not one of the extended remixes. I remember there were at least two performances of this song at my high school talent show my senior year. What follows is the only song on the CD by a band named for a place. Known more for their rockin’ and thoroughly produced loud music, Boston mellowed a bit for the mid-eighties hit “Amanda”. It’s also the only song on the “Now” CD with someone’s name in the title. I hadn’t heard of the next song before, though I had heard of the band. I was “Lovesong” by Tesla, the only song on the “Now” CD by a band named for a physicist and a unit of measurement in physics. Another hair band follows. “Heaven” by Warrant was also one of the songs in the musical “Rock of Ages”. The last song was unexpected but still a true classic power ballad. When I was in high school Queensryche’s popularity was rising as the hair bands were fading. But that doesn’t make the slow reflective “Silent Lucidity” any less of a power ballad. This song was also performed at my high school talent show, though, more appropriately, only once.
Who knew there were so many and such a wide variety of classic power ballads. About the only commonality other than their cathartic power is that they were all recorded by groups. No track is credited to an individual person’s name for a recording. I can’t think of many others that they could have included. For me the CD wasn’t just a trip of cathartic power but a trip down memory lane.
The collection begins with a staple power ballad: “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”. Poison was ranked the number one hair band on a show on VH1 many years ago. They’re known for songs about partying and excess and “Every Rose” reveals a softer, more soulful side. The next track is “Faithfully” by Journey, a band from the 70’s and 80’s, though not a hair band. When VH1 did its own ranking of power ballads, Journey’s “Open Arms” was ranked number one. But I’m glad the “Now” collection includes the relatively less popular and less cheesy “Faithfully” instead. It’s deeper, seems to tell a story, and is equally powerful. The next song is from the late 90’s by a perennially popular band: “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith from the movie Armageddon. I remember that the song wasn’t written by Aerosmith but by Diane Warren and it was also nominated for an Academy Award. Perennially popular bands continue with the Kiss song “Forever”. I believe this is from their non-makeup hair band and possibly Day-Glo phase.
The next song indicates that the power ballad and hair band are not exclusively American phenomena (though Journey does have non-American members). It’s a song that asks the appropriate power ballad question: “Is This Love” by Whitesnake. This English band is actually one of the hair band forerunners. The next song breaks another stereotype: that all power ballads are sung by men. “Never” by the Seattle band Heart is a fun-sounding power ballad. One of the top placers of the lip-sync contest at my middle school performed “Never”. The next track is a slower, emotional song from a group known for faster, more fun songs. It’s “The Flame” by Cheap Trick and a bit of a change from their songs “I Want You to Want Me” and “Surrender”. Unlike the latter, “The Flame” does not mention The Philippines. Bad English recorded the next song, the romantic “When I See You Smile”. I believe they could be classified as a “supergroup” with John Waite on vocals and at least one member or former member of Journey. I used to own their debut album that had classics such as “Possession”, “Forget Me Not”, and “Heaven is a Four Letter Word” but my tape died.
It’s back to power ballad staples with the next song, the powerful but overplayed (in its time) “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger. The song isn’t exactly a love song, nor is it Christian rock. In fact I never really knew what it was about until I saw the 80’s music musical “Rock of Ages”. Right before the female lead, Sherry Christian, moves from her small hometown to L.A. her parents sing “Sister Christian”. Later in the musical her boyfriend sings “Oh Sherry” to win her back, though this song isn’t in the “Now” power ballad collection. The next song is a soulful track from a group known for their soundtrack songs. “The Search is Over” by Survivor is a celebratory power ballad. Most of their big songs such as “Eye of the Tiger” area about triumph over adversity and “Seach” has that feel, though it’s more about triumph over naivete (my interpretation). I believe the next song was a one-hit-wonder but what a hit it was. “When I’m with You” by Sheriff is a powerful, grandiose song about “being with you”. It contains one of the longest sustained singing notes in a rock song.
The next song is another foreign act, this time from the European continent. It’s the edgy, rockin’ power ballad “Still Loving You” by the Scorpions from Germany. It’s back to American hair metal for the next song: the wailing “Fly to the Angels” by Slaughter. The next song was one of two early 90’s hits from the band “Extreme”, the slower, soulful, and acoustic “More then Words”. The “Now” CD has the regular version of the song and not one of the extended remixes. I remember there were at least two performances of this song at my high school talent show my senior year. What follows is the only song on the CD by a band named for a place. Known more for their rockin’ and thoroughly produced loud music, Boston mellowed a bit for the mid-eighties hit “Amanda”. It’s also the only song on the “Now” CD with someone’s name in the title. I hadn’t heard of the next song before, though I had heard of the band. I was “Lovesong” by Tesla, the only song on the “Now” CD by a band named for a physicist and a unit of measurement in physics. Another hair band follows. “Heaven” by Warrant was also one of the songs in the musical “Rock of Ages”. The last song was unexpected but still a true classic power ballad. When I was in high school Queensryche’s popularity was rising as the hair bands were fading. But that doesn’t make the slow reflective “Silent Lucidity” any less of a power ballad. This song was also performed at my high school talent show, though, more appropriately, only once.
Who knew there were so many and such a wide variety of classic power ballads. About the only commonality other than their cathartic power is that they were all recorded by groups. No track is credited to an individual person’s name for a recording. I can’t think of many others that they could have included. For me the CD wasn’t just a trip of cathartic power but a trip down memory lane.
RSS Feed