1) Say Goodbye- Triumph The video on MTV had the band on a three-pronged spaceship (!), singing these lyrics which basically sound like a cross between Bread and Peter, Paul & Mary. Rik Emmett (that's RIK, mind you, not Rick ;) ) at full blast on guitar, drums high in the mix. Prime moments: vocal harmonies the first time the chorus kicks in, jangly twelve-string middle
2) Don't Cry- Asia Another great video, hot Egyptian-queen babe kissing...Steve Howe?! Priceless. The song is a McCartney number at its most primitive. Prime moment: Howe's steel guitar during the opening and middle is heavenly.
3) Leave a Light on for Me- Belinda Carlisle Totally banal, of course (just like every other song on this list), but..I dunno...it still works for me. Prime Moment: Opening of first verse.
4) All Night Long- Rainbow "Don't know about your brains, but you look all right." This is the Graham Bonnett (vocalist before Joe Lynn Turner) album. I was always fascinated by this guy. He sounded like any other overwrought hair metal vocalist, but looked like he might've fit in as an extra in Miami Vice. Prime Moment: Excellent opening riff; luscious Blackmore.
5) Find Your Way Back- Jefferson Starship They had two guys who would double on bass and keyboards (and in this video, one of them plays lead guitar), and this configuration lasted several albums without the band realising how superfluous it was. I admire that. Prime Moment: Extended, "Find yooooour waaaay baaaaack" echo at the end of the song.
6) Foreplay/Long Time- Boston Foreplay used to scare me when I was a little kid listening to it. Long Time rawks. Prime Moment: "and leave it all behind me!" going on to fadeout.
7) Just Between You and Me- April Wine What was this? Canadian AOR-ified country rock? Oh well, it worked fine enough. Prime Moment: Subtle, slightly-left-of-center E-flat chord in each verse.
8) Goodbye- Night Ranger Sappy, end-of-summer lurv ballad by the Sister Christian people. You love it and you know it. Prime Moment: Angsty line about "hard living life on this merry-go-round, always up, always down, spinning round and round and round." Whoa man, that's deep.
9) When the Heart Rules the Mind- GTR Screw the Topographic Oceans, show me da money! Prime Moment: Part right before they hit the chorus. The Goth middle is pretty cool, too.
10) Carry on My Wayward Son- Kansas "All the fantasy of loons on the oceans, tossed about unlike the ship of emotions, I said 'Of course, the Windsor fortune!', but I hear the voices say:" Well, whatever... Prime moment: Lynyrd Skynyrd-esque blues freak out at the end.
― Joe, Monday, 7 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Sean, Monday, 7 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Graham, Monday, 7 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― geoff, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dave225, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― monstatruk, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― dave q, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
i) Journey - "Don't Stop Believin'"
ii)Boston - "More Than a Feeling"
iii) Kansas - "Dust In the Wind"
iv) Def Leppard - "Photograph"
v) Led Zeppelin - "All Of My Love" (WLL doesn't count as AOR, of course it doesn't.)
vi) Cheap Trick - "Surrender"
vii) Bryan Adams - "Summer of '69"
viii) Rush - "Limelight"
ix) Smashing Pumpkins - "Hummer"
x) The Offspring - "Gone Away"
― sundar subramanian, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Tina Turner, "We Don't Need Another Hero"
Heart, "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You"
George Michael, "Praying For Time"
The first two for taking the art of the emotionally manipulative chord sequence to new heights, the latter for some pretty accurate comments on the 80s, believe it or not.
― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
And probably "Farewell to Kings" or "Closer to the Heart" or "Fly By Night" should replace "Limelight."
― dleone, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I've always had a major soft spot for Bad Company's "Shooting Star", although that's more Soft Rock than AOR.
Wot no Randy Newman?
― electric sound of jim, Tuesday, 8 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I was talking about AOR more in a stylistic sense. Sundar got it pretty much down with his list as to what I was talking about, though personally, the only Bryan Adams song I've ever liked was "This Time". Therefore, I wouldn't go for "Easy Lover" or "Valerie" on the ballot, they seem way more on the pop than 'rawk' end of the spectrum. Maybe if Stevie Winwood was wielding a Flying-V guitar in the video. :)
Robin, Re: "All I Want to Do Is Make Love To You" You evil evil man! :) If you're going to go that dark route, then surely "What About Love," "These Dreams" or "Alone"?
― Joe, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 9 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― helenfordsdale, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Kansas "Carry on Wayward Son"
Kansas "Song for America"
Asia "Soul Survivor"
Foreigner "More Than a Feeling"
Though thee above all r0x0r, I can't actually think of anything else in this genre I can stand to listen to. Sorry!
― Norman Phay, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
That was from 'Quadrophenia' actually.
What about 'Eye Of The Tiger' by Survivor - one of my most hated.
― David Inglesfield, Thursday, 10 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― the pinefox, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Bruce Hornsby...does he count as AOR? He has the middle-of-the-road- rocker cred down (maybe because Don Henley's done his stuff), but it still sounds too radio-lite.
― Joe, Friday, 11 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Joe, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Martin Skidmore, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― J, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dan Perry, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
How about "Affair of the Heart" by Rick Springfield?
My friend and I were singing Winger's "Seventeen" a couple nights ago. As if they didn't get arrested. Was there even any controversy? I don't remember. I don't remember "Say Goodbye". "Magic Power" has a pretty classic melody in the verses. I think "Midsummer's Daydream" was a lot of people's introduction to playing harmonics on the guitar. Guitar teachers used to play it all the time. I remember years back when there was a CBC Radio series on Hendrix co-hosted by Rik Emmett. He revealed his longtime dream of being asked to play "O Canada" at a Blue Jays game and wowing the crowd with a Hendrix-does-"Star Spangled Banner"-style noise spree.
― sundar subramanian, Friday, 5 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 17 April 2003 14:50 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 17 April 2003 14:54 (twenty-one years ago) link
― sundar subramanian (sundar), Thursday, 17 April 2003 15:45 (twenty-one years ago) link
― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Thursday, 17 April 2003 16:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ian Johnson (orion), Thursday, 17 April 2003 16:50 (twenty-one years ago) link
2:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyoTfRwtWw4
3:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qQxpTogxxE
4:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdXQwzi_XTw
5:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n6ukyw_cRY
6:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjgngFpExQQ
7:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR_NulU8eXs
8:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgENjvjM_Qk
9:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe4jkmYN_Kg
10:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB17uWuBrL0
― Joe (Joe), Thursday, 18 January 2007 19:14 (seventeen years ago) link
I think Toto - Africa is the only song mentioned here that I like. I'm a bit ashamed to say it but fuck it if I don't get excited and sing along whenever I overhear it somewhere.
― Moka, Saturday, 3 December 2016 00:21 (seven years ago) link
Adult Oriented Rock Vs Album Oriented Rock
― a but (brimstead), Saturday, 3 December 2016 01:31 (seven years ago) link