Freak369's Full Review: Guitar Rock: Power Ballads
Power ballads were always something that I tried to avoid. It wasn’t that I didn’t like them but that I hated the fact that every group felt the need to add one of them to their albums. That eventually led to my friends acting like complete morons, crying their eyes out over some guy or waiting by the phone for them to call. The other downside was that I had a lot of guy friends that would ask me for advice about girls – why they chose me is still a mystery. The scene usually played out like this – the girl would ask the guy to pick a song – the perfect song to sum up their two week relationship that she saw as love and he saw as the possibility of getting to third base on the livingroom couch.
Thankfully I managed to break away from the softer side of rock as well as my friends that embraced this genre. As the years dragged on, the simple sappy love song that groups created to sell records, appeal to females and fill up empty spots on release grew into a massive industry wide epidemic. Groups that were once hallmarked as ‘metal’ and rock’ icons were pumping out cheesy ballads that lacked depth, talent or appeal. While I might sound like I completely abhor power ballads, there is a part of me that likes them – but only the true tracks – not the ones that were contrived and created to pluck at heartstrings and whose sole intent was to sell records.
This two CD set covers a lot of ground and takes little excerpts from the pop and rock community over the past twenty or so years. You get some of the old school classic rock from Peter Frampton, Styx and Nazareth to rock’s “bad boys” like Whitesnake, The Scorpions and Europe. It’s a little top heavy with male groups and artists but you’ll catch a tune from Benetar, Starship and Quarterflash if you don’t fall asleep from some of the crusty tracks. I’d recommend this for anyone that is looking for a well-rounded selection of love songs / power ballads from the 80’s and 90’s. You won’t have any of the hits from the past few years – which can be considered a blessing – from the pop and rock groups so if that’s what you are after – look elsewhere.
Part I
Sister ChristianNight Ranger Is This LoveWhitesnake HeavenWarrant AmandaBoston Missing YouJohn Waite Love Of A LifetimeFirehouse More Than WordsExtreme When I See You SmileBad English Every Rose Has Its ThornPoison Don't Know What You GotCinderella BabeStyx Love HurtsNazareth
One of the most popular songs off the fist disc has to be Sister Christian by Night Ranger followed up by More Than Words by Extreme. Both of these were mega hits for the groups and showed their softer side, sadly they were also the downfall since neither managed to come out with anything to top them. I was a little ticked that More Than Words was trimmed by about 30 seconds – and while I’m complaining – it would have been nice to get the acapella version instead of the usual studio version. Even so, getting these two on one release made me pretty happy. Whitesnake’s Is This Love was a pretty weak choice considering the amount of other material they have to choose from and the same can be said for Poison’s Ever Rose Has Its Thorn - it’s almost as if they looked at a few other power ballad compilations and stole the line up. No anthology of power ballads would be complete without the token John Waite track Missing You, a some that I have on no less than ten ‘greatest hits’ or ‘best of’ releases.
The hard driving, yet sot in spots Don't Know What You Got helps to reinforce the ‘bad guys with big hearts’ stigmata that eventually rolls around on every similar grouping of songs. This one has the heart, lyrics and vocals to make you want to weep but the hard rock side that makes you proud to own that collection of black band t-shirts. Dated? Yes. Out of style? Never. Warrant snags a spot with their track Heaven - another of the ‘rock power ballad’ selections in its truest form. Building on the ‘we come from different sides of the track and no matter what anyone says, were are gonna make it babe’ principal of songwriting, Heaven is best left undissected unless you want to troll over lines like “I don't need to be a superman … as long as you will always be my biggest fan”.
I am a firm believer that the older songs have more emotion and were at a completely different level than anything put out in the past ten years. Look at Love Hurts by Nazareth. Ask twenty people to name give songs from the group and I can almost guarantee that this one will be on every list. Lyrically the song isn’t much to brag about but there are some gems … “Love is like a flame … It burns you when it's hot”. Styx, a group that rarely gets any exposure on compilations, strikes a real chord with Babe. Just like Motley Crue and Bon Jovi – writing about leaving on a tour or leaving a city after a one night stand seems to be something that each group needs to cover at least once in their career. Granted, Styx didn’t go into all the mind numbing details – but they did cover the basics. What sets this apart from others in this sub genre is that it packs so much emotion into the lyrics, vocals and music that you can’t help but sit up and take notice of it. It might seem a little shallow musically when compared to some of their other hits, but it comes from the heart.
Part II
We BelongPat Benatar Take Me Home TonightEddie Money Because The NightPatti Smith Harden My HeartQuarterflash Don't Forget MeGlass Tiger CarrieEurope I'd Do Anything For LoveMeat Loaf More Than Words Can SayAlias Still Loving YouScorpions When I'm With YouSheriff Show Me The WayPeter Frampton Nothing's Gonna Stop Us NowStarship
The second installment of this 2 CD set is rather disorganized and skips around quite a bit from pop to rock. The classic Frampton track Show Me The Way stands out as one of the best with Still Loving You by The Scorpions being one of my all time favorite songs. There’s something about the haunting guitar work and emotional vocals that gets to me every time I hear it and after all these years it still makes me choke up a bit. No one can deny that Peter Frampton was ahead of his time and his contribution truly stands out from the rest. Take Me Home Tonight seems a little out of place with its ultra pop feel, but its Eddie Money – cut him some slack. As much as I like the song, it really has no place being on this release. The title is Guitar Rock Power Ballads lest we forget …
Some could say that Glass Tigers kick into the pot isn’t slow enough but if you ask me - Don’t Forget Me is one of their best tracks. It takes all of their talent and best work and crams it into one powerful and rather upbeat song. If there’s one song that I just can’t listen to – it’s Meatloaf’s I'd Do Anything For Love. It’s not that I dislike Meatloaf but this version of the song is so over dramatic it makes it hard to actually appreciate the lyrics. Sorry Mr. Loaf, I’ll have to pass and opt for a vegetarian meal. The last thing the rock world needs is another song that has a chick’s name in the title. How many times do you see female vocalists balling off about some guy that left her? Well, I don’t know the exact number – but I bet there aren’t many. Carrie had the potential to be a great track but it succumbed to peer pressure and tried to sound like every other “I need my space but please don’t hate me, maybe when the tour is over we can hook up again” type of song. The music isn’t half bad but the vocals are sappy and the lyrics are just moronic.
Don’t forget the ladies – Starships Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now is a poor example of what the group was capable of before or after Detox and Grace Slick should have protested having this song dredged up and re-released. The track is candy coated and lacks any of the depth that the group was known for in the past. They went from Jefferson Airplane to Jefferson Starship to Starship to washed up has been rockers desperately trying to cash in on their name / names. Nothin’s gonna stop us … - except a few more tracks like this. Thankfully Pat Benatar comes to save the day with her powerful and commanding We Belong that always reminds me of her hit Invincible from the Legend of Billie Jean soundtrack. The song never got the respect that it deserved and while it saw some media exposure, it was often overlooked due to the “darker tone” – those are the words of music critics – not mine. I hear your voice inside me
I see your face everywhere. Quarterflash takes it back to the old school days when female rockers weren’t taken seriously – but didn’t really care what anyone had to say about their abilities. Harden My Heart was one of their biggest hits and with Rindy Ross’ unique voice, the song just screams cheesy power ballad – but there’s nothing wrong with that.
The Bottom Line
This is a good collection, but certainly not the best ever compiled. I picked this up on clearance and don’t regret the purchase – I only wish that some of the songs could be permanently erased so I don’t have to accidentally come across them when scanning the disc. For the most part there aren’t a tremendous number of songs that flat out suck, but just like most power ballad or monster ballad releases, it leaves a little to be desired for hard rock fans that want more than Poison, John Waite and Night Ranger on every single freakin’ compilation.
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