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New Prince Album Reveals the Creative Process; Slash Just Rocks the Joint on His Return
In the world of music, there is nothing that is more interesting than the creative process. Hell, with ANY artistic endeavor, the most interesting thing is the process of bringing disparate parts together into a cohesive and entertaining form. The late Prince Rogers Nelson were arguably one of those people that had a tremendous artistic process, something that he often kept in secret for simply privacy's sake. With his new CD, Piano and a Microphone 1983, we see the artist just before his big explosion on the musical scene, working out the kinks on some compositions that would go on to be huge for his career and some that have never seen the light of day. On the other side of the dial, Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash is continuing on without Axl Rose (again) and his new collaboration, his third time teaming with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, just flat out rocks.
In 2016, the music world lost one of its greatest voices and one of its greatest creative musicians when Prince passed away from an opiate overdose. But back in 1983, Prince wasn't the icon he had become by 2016; Prince was still a man looking to make his mark in the music world. Coming off a highly successful double album in 1999, the man known as the Purple One was considering his next step. One night, with only a microphone and a piano as accompaniment, Prince put some of those ideas onto a simple cassette tape.
The result of the recording session was the latest release from "The Vault," the treasure trove of Prince material that was locked up for decades in his Paisley Park home. Entitled Piano and a Microphone 1983, the nine-song CD clocks in at less than 40 minutes (37, if you'd like the exact number). But what Piano and a Microphone 1983 shows is the artist in the midst of the creative process as well as some of the genius behind that process.
Leading off the album is "17 Days," one of your typical Prince-type songs that one would expect but, stripped down to just the piano, is riveting. The fact that it is a "Prince-type song" isn't surprising as Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin, who were part of The Revolution, helped in the writing of the song (along with Revolution keyboardist Matthew "Doctor" Fink). From there, Prince goes into a little noodling of what would become "Purple Rain," but the version found on this album is melancholier then you might expect. Other songs that Prince would become known for – "International Lover" from 1999 and "Strange Relationship," which would show up on 1987's Sign O' the Times, also make their experimental debuts here.
It is when Prince delves into new material that the CD takes on a life of its own. Prince performs a cover of the African-American spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep," with a blues styling for the song bringing out so much emotion you can actually feel what Prince is trying to say. The song was used in director Spike Lee's latest film BlacKKKlansman because Lee felt it was perfect for the film. After unveiling the emotions for "Mary Don't You Weep," Prince then goes back into his "funky era" with a song called "Cold Coffee & Cocaine," complete with James Brown-esque yelps and howls. He wraps up the compilation with a beautiful song called "Why the Butterflies," an amazing coda to a short practice session.
Even though it is fascinating to listen to the creative process that Prince is going through with the creation of this music, I'm still a little bit disappointed. It is obvious that Prince never meant for these tapes to be released; at certain points in the recording, he clears his throat, speaks directly to the technician in the studio recording this session (surprisingly, Prince tells him to turn the tape over, as if he knew how long he had been playing) or clears his throat with a cough. For Prince's family to release these songs from "The Vault" as the first posthumous music from Prince, I feel it takes a little bit away from not only the man himself and his tremendous process in creating such wonderful music but also cheapens what should have been a grandiose occasion.
Even with this criticism, Piano and a Microphone 1983 is a priceless piece of music from what was one of America's greatest artist. Prince may not be with us anymore, but "The Vault" should provide us with decades of music to come. Just imagine what jewels await us from Prince? Piano and a Microphone 1983 is simply the first chip off the diamond that Prince and his music was.
Somebody who may be as prolific as Prince in the musical output department is Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. While Axl Rose was sitting around for the decade or so after Guns N' Roses' last release in 1993, Slash would go on to do his own music with a dizzying array of talent backing him up. Counting the five albums he did with the Gunners, Slash has also put up two albums with Velvet Revolver, two with Slash's Snakepit, and one straight solo album, not to mention guesting on several songs by such artists as the late Michael Jackson, Lenny Kravitz, Bad Company's Paul Rogers and Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies, Alice Cooper and Rhianna. Slash's latest album is Living the Dream (technically his 13th studio release) and it features some of that talent in vocalist Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge and an array of talented musicians called The Conspirators, who are joining Slash for their third album together.
Although his time in Guns N' Roses has made him a hard rock and metal icon, Slash goes into his own style when he picks up with Kennedy and The Conspirators, a simply hard driving, blues-based rock and roll approach that you really don't hear much of anymore. From the start with the song "The Call of the Wild," Slash and Kennedy groove together instantly, with Kennedy's soaring vocals only outdone by Slash's crunching guitars. This continues on through such songs as "My Antidote" and "Mind Your Manners," but there are two songs in particular that deserve mention from this record.
First song of note from Living the Dream is "Lost Inside the Girl," a very good up-tempo rocker that is a love song about a lady that has entranced Kennedy. The song that is really the piece de resistance on the album is its first release, "Driving Rain." It is a typical trope for rock musicians – a song about being out on the road and having to come through a whole lot of pain and torture to get to the one that you love – but it displays both Kennedy and Slash at the top of their game. Both of these tunes are well worth the price of admission for Living the Dream.
Whether you're looking for the remembrance of a great artist that has passed far too soon or you're looking for something from a rocker who is still cranking it out at 53 years old, you can't go wrong with these two releases. Piano and a Microphone 1983 from Prince and Living the Dream from Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, while offering greatly diverse material, will give you plenty of enjoyment if you're willing to take the ride.
Leave a comment Posted in Entertainment, Music Tagged 1999, Alice Cooper, Alter Bridge, Axl Rose, Bad Company, Band of Gypsies, BlacKKKlansman, Guns N' Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, Lisa Coleman, Living the Dream, Matthew "Doctor" Fink, Michael Jackson, Myles Kennedy, Paisley Park, Paul Rogers, Piano and a Microphone 1983, Prince, Rhianna, Slash, Slash's Snakepit, Spike Lee, The Conspirators, Velvet Revolver, Wendy Melvoin
100 Essential Albums of All Time – Metallica, …And Justice for All (1988)
The 1980s were arguably the greatest time in the history of hard rock/heavy metal. A genre that spans back to the late 1960s, hard rock/heavy metal's onslaught in the 80s was mainly highlighted by the sub-genre known as "hair metal," or bands that brought the flashy look of glam rock (think David Bowie and T. Rex) to the "leather and chains" look of metal (Judas Priest). While bands such as Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and others seemingly claimed the crown of hard rock/heavy metal, there was another more diverse and deeper group of bands that were under-recognized for their work.
Behind the "hair metal" bands were a quartet of hardcore bands that delivered raw, aggressive and powerful hard rock/metal for their devoted fans. Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth formed three quarters of that foursome, with Metallica rounding out the group. The San Francisco-based band was in a bit of flux come 1987, however, with several issues facing the band and their future.
In 1987, the band was coming off the untimely death of their bassist, Cliff Burton, who was killed in a bus crash while the band toured Europe in 1986. Burton's replacement, Jason Newstead, was unproven – he had only played on The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited recordings and wasn't considered a "member" of the band – and singer/guitarist James Hetfield was recovering from an arm injury from a skateboarding accident. Toss into the mix that the group was looking for a new record company and it seemed that Metallica's next move was going to be one of the most important of their careers.
At the start of 1988, Metallica headed to the studios to record the new album and were once again beset with problems. Early mixes of the records weren't up to their satisfaction, resulting in two different producers being used for the album. Hetfield, the lyricist for much of Metallica's work, was also writing the words while the album was being recorded. Finally, Newstead wasn't happy with the lack of "presence" of his bass riffs on the record; depending on who is to be believed, that error fell on the shoulders of the sound mixer or drummer Lars Ulrich, who was also involved in the mixing process.
When the album was released in August 1988, …And Justice for All was recognized as a masterful change in the band, one for the good in many ways. First, the band eschewed the blitzkrieg pace of "speed metal" that had become the hallmark of their earlier work (such as Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets). Instead, they opted to crafting longer and more complex works. Metallica also worked in many tempo and mood changes, making their compositions more nuanced.
Then there were the lyrics, the words that Hetfield put to these new compositions. The stories told on …And Justice for All weren't "happy go lucky" ones, delving into such subjects as political malfeasance, legal injustice and other wrongs through such human activities as war and censorship. By far the simmering track "One" became THE song of the album and it has etched its place into rock, metal and Metallica history.
The song itself is a masterpiece, starting off with the sounds of war before quietly moving into the chords of lead guitarist's Kirk Hammett's notes of dread to introduce the song. The song slowly builds in intensity, with Hetfield's snarl commanding attention from the start, while Ulrich and Newstead provide the solid foundation for the song. By the time the double-bass kickers of Ulrich drive the end of the song, Hetfield and Hammett are releasing the hounds of their guitars and Newstead drives the bass line home, the listener is left in awe of the entirety of the song.
The subject of "One" – the return of a soldier, crippled and disposed of by the military and, seemingly, the nation – was one that hammered into many minds (and served as a callback to Vietnam and a precursor to Iraq). At over seven minutes, it was one of Metallica's longer songs and, at the same time, most poignant and powerful. It, along with the video, was what drove …And Justice for All and Metallica into the stratosphere.
The video for "One" was arguably just as big as the song. Splicing together snippets of the film Johnny Got His Gun (about a soldier who is basically a prisoner of his body after being injured in battle) along with a video-staple band "performance" shot, the video was one of the most popular videos in the history of MTV (you know, back when they actually DID play videos). But with all this critical success the band, the album and the song were dismissed by those who SHOULD have known what they were talking about.
In 1989, Metallica was nominated for a Grammy in the inaugural year of a new category, Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental. Along with Jane's Addiction, AC/DC and Iggy Pop, the members of Metallica (who had performed "One" just prior to rockers Lita Ford and Alice Cooper awarding the first Grammy in the category) stood in disbelief as Jethro Tull was awarded the statue for their album Crest of a Knave. It is widely considered one of the biggest blunders in the history of the Grammy Awards (even bigger than the Milli Vanilli fiasco) and demonstrated just how "out of touch" Grammy voters were when it came to a genre that many had no clue about (in 1990, Metallica was nominated for "One" in the newly created category of Best Metal Performance).
Through it all, Metallica and …And Justice for All has weathered the standards of time. In time for the 30th anniversary of the album (and if that doesn't make you feel old, nothing will), the band is remastering the album, with some mentioning that they will be fixing the Newstead bass lines so that they are more prominent (and including some gems to make the reissue worth getting). If you missed the record the first time around, you'd be well advised to grab the reissue and relive the era when hard rock/heavy metal was a vibrant part of the music industry.
Leave a comment Posted in Entertainment, Music, Politics Tagged AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Anthrax, Bon Jovi, Cliff Burton, Crest of a Knave, David Bowie, Def Leppard, Grammy Awards, Iggy Pop, James Hetfield, Jane's Addiction, Jason Newstead, Jethro Tull, Johnny Got His Gun, Judas Priest, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, Lita Ford, Master of Puppets, Megadeth, Metallica, Milli Vanilli, Ride the Lightning, Slayer, T. Rex, The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited
The Top Ten Underrated Hard Rock Songs, Part One
As a method of getting away from the madness that is the 2016 General Election, I've been pondering other issues. Of course, I've been keeping up with Timeless (which, if you haven't checked it out yet, you're missing some good television) and I've been trying to finish reading a book that a friend of mine wrote long ago (and, with him in failing health, I'd like to tell him that I read it and enjoyed it, despite some early problems with his usage of an occurrence in our line of work). Then there's always something going on in sports that can be talked about, whether it is Carolina Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton whining to the commissioner of the NFL, Roger Goodell, that he's being hit too often (there are times he has a point, but not every time), the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" (ZZZZZZZZZZZ!) or baseball's World Series (and congrats to the Chicago Cubs for winning this year and ensuring that Hell is freezing over; even as a New York Yankees fan, it's great to see a team win it that hasn't done it in 108 years).
But one thing we can always discuss (and something that I do like thinking about) is music. In the 20+ years I spent in the radio industry, I was always looking to pick the "next big song" to get on the air. I remember one time when I was the Music Director for a station where we debated whether to put the band Faith No More and the song "Epic" on the air. "It's rap, it isn't rock," our Program Director stated. "No, it is a hybrid," I replied. "You'll start seeing more of this in the future – the melding of genres to reach as big an audience as possible (something I was proven correct on – for good or for ill)." After the debate, the PD finally added it as the song became one of the biggest tunes of 1989 and has since gone on to be called one of the greatest metal songs of all-time (#30 on VH1's list) and one of the biggest one-hit wonders of all time (#67, once again by VH1), a bit of an insult to a band that had a great influence on many others.
Along this line, I found myself recently reflecting on what were some of the most underrated hard rock songs in history. To be honest, some of these bands were quite popular, even without these listed songs having a great of success, but it could have been so much better for them if these songs had touched on their audience better than they did. Look through the list and enjoy the songs, then be sure to let me know whether I've got it right, I'm completely fucking nuts and/or the songs that you think deserve to be on the list!
Motörhead, Ice-T and Whitford Crane (Ugly Kid Joe), "Born to Raise Hell"
Separately these performers had some success. Motörhead, led by the late Lemmy Kilmister, was always at the forefront of the heavy metal scene from the late 70s to this decade. Ice-T, through his rapping, was quite well known, but T had a desire to do hard rock (to the point of forming Body Count, which barely missed this list with "There Goes the Neighborhood"). Crane was, at this point in time, the one well known by the listening public as, with his band Ugly Kid Joe, Crane had several hits by this point in 1994 ("Everything About You," "Neighbor" and a remake of balladeer Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle").
This was a chance for everyone involved to get together and have a bit of fun doing a song for the soundtrack to the movie Airheads (a highly underrated movie, lots of fun and entertaining). Taking an old Motörhead song that Lemmy had written for another band, they blasted the tune that became the theme song for the film. Unfortunately for everyone, it didn't go as far as they thought it might; the film has become a cult classic but didn't do well at the time of its release and the soundtrack album even less so. As such, it finds its place on this list.
Extreme, "Decadence Dance"
This was a band that should have gotten more attention in their time than they did. With vocals from Gary Cherone (who would go on to join Van Halen after the departure of Sammy Hagar) and guitar work from Nuno Bettencourt (a classically-trained virtuoso if ever there was one), Extreme did have a big hit with the power ballad "More Than Words" (history lesson here, young ones – hard rock and metal bands and artists could play as hard as they wanted if they included one ballad on their albums…that was what drew in the ladies). Their perceived magnum opus, Three Sides to Every Story, didn't hold a candle to their 1990 effort Pornograffitti, from which this song came.
Along with "Get the Funk Out" (also found on this album and a gem in its own right), Extreme could meld hard rock, funky horns and the classical guitar work of Bettencourt into a sound that was quite intriguing to fans of the genre. Unfortunately, it didn't ensure a long career for the band. Once Cherone left for Van Halen in 1996, the band broke up. They've since reformed (as most bands do) and are releasing a new album that is set to drop in 2017. Perhaps they wouldn't have lost Cherone if this and other tracks had been more than moderately successful.
Faster Pussycat, "You're So Vain"
The first of our two remakes on this list, Faster Pussycat was a part of the L. A. club scene of the 80s that produced such acts as Mötley Crüe, L. A. Guns and Guns N' Roses, among others. Named after the Russ Meyer film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, the band earned some kudos for their power ballad (sensing the trend here?) "The Ballad of Jayne," but this remake of the Carly Simon classic should have propelled them to higher points. Perhaps it was because of where it was released; the 1990 double album Rubaiyat: Elektra's 40th Anniversary saw artists as diverse as The Cure, Tracy Chapman, Metallica, the Georgia Satellites and others joining Faster Pussycat in doing songs made famous by past Elektra artists. The sheer number of outstanding performances led to difficulty in only picking one great remake.
What I liked about this song was that they took what was a kind ballad (despite its lyrical bite, courtesy of Simon) and put the edge to it that Simon had in writing the song. The guitar work of Brent Muscat and Greg Steele alongside the sneering vocals of Taime Downe worked perfectly with the material they had to use. We could have gone perhaps with "Bathroom Wall" (one of their earlier works), but this one was one of their last chances at success before…well, we'll get to that in Part Two.
Damn Yankees, "Piledriver"
It is tough for some to accept that Damn Yankees were underrated in anything. With Jack Blades (formerly of Night Ranger), Tommy Shaw (of Styx) and the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent, handing the musicianship, they had some Top 40 success with this supergroup. But while Blades had his "Night Ranger"-esque songs ("Coming of Age" and "High Enough") and Shaw had his Styxian tunes ("Come Again"), it was Uncle Ted who was left without a display of his talents.
You've got to dive deep on their eponymous debut album to find "Piledriver," a Nugent-esque tour de force that reaches out and grabs you from the beginning. The jingling doodling from Nuge suddenly explodes in a blitzkrieg of guitar that never again lets up on the listener. "Piledriver" is also the only song that Nugent sings for Damn Yankees, who normally utilized Ted just as a guitar god, harkening back to his pre-"Cat Scratch Fever" days when artists such as Meat Loaf were the vocalist on his solo albums.
Dangerous Toys, "Scared"
This Austin, TX band could have been so much bigger than they were in the 80s. Most often compared to Guns N' Roses, Dangerous Toys had a lot of the same stylings as the Axl Rose led outfit, but also incorporated plenty of blues licks and Southern rock attitude into their music. You just have to listen to "Teas'n, Pleas'n" to get this sound in your head.
"Scared" was the tune that was supposed to have carried them over the top into superstardom, but it only served as a place marker while the audience waited for their next effort. Their second album, Hellacious Acres, didn't do quite as well as expected and the tour that would have supported their effort, called "Operation Rock & Roll" (it was just after the start of the First Gulf War) with such acts as Motörhead, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper, was shut down only 10 weeks into the schedule. Dangerous Toys never again reached the levels of success that they did after their eponymous first release which, from front to back, is a classic.
There's plenty for you to listen to here, so we'll take a break. But Part Two will bring you more of those underrated gems of hard rock and the reason why the genre seemingly disappeared overnight.
2 Comments Posted in Entertainment, History, Music Tagged 2016 General Election, Airheads, Alice Cooper, Austin TX, Axl Rose, Body Count, Brent Muscat, Cam Newton, Carly Simon, Carolina Panthers, Cat Scratch Fever, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Chicago Cubs, Damn Yankees, Dangerous Toys, Epic, Extreme, Faith No More, Faster Pussycat, Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Gary Cherone, Georgia Satellites, Greg Steele, Guns N' Roses, Harry Chapin, Ice-T, Jack Blades, Judas Priest, L. A. Guns, Lemmy Kilmister, Meat Loaf, Metallica, Motley Crue, Motor City Madman, Motorhead, New York Yankees, Night Ranger, Nuno Bettencourt, Roger Goodell, Russ Meyer, Styx, Taime Downe, Ted Nugent, The Cure, Timeless, Tommy Shaw, Tracy Chapman, Ugly Kid Joe, VH1, Whitford Crane, World Series
If I Were the President of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame…
Next weekend, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will open up the doors of its enclave for the 31st time to induct new members into its midst. Holding their ceremonies at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, this Friday (April 8), this year's inductees are quite eclectic, with some of them well deserved and overdue – such as Chicago and Deep Purple – some riding a wave of popularity due to recent attention – the gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A. – and two choices that were a bit surprising – Cheap Trick and Steve Miller. As with many of the ceremonies past, there is a bit of drama as to the festivities.
When it comes to Deep Purple, which incarnation of the band will be inducted? Much of the attention has been given to the late 1960s/early 1970s incarnations – the Mark 1 through Mark 3 versions of the band that featured musicians such as Jon Lord on keyboards, Ian Gillian on vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Roger Glover on bass and Ian Paice on drums. Not so much attention has been given to the later renditions of the band that featured future Whitesnake vocalist David Coverdale, so we can pretty much count on the factor that the group of men who gave us milestone classics like "Space Truckin'," "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star" are the ones that the Hall will be inducting.
The second story is will the entirety of Cheap Trick reunite for the show? In 2010, drummer Bun E. Carlos had a rather acrimonious split with singer Robin Zander, guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson, one that actually ended up in a courtroom (apparently the three men tried to cut Carlos out of his rightful piece of royalties from the band's work…the trio lost the case). Since then, the men haven't spoken, but they will apparently put aside the animosity and play for one night only. According to Nielsen, Carlos "is going to play the inductions because they're inducting the people who made the records…he deserves it."
I always get a little reflective when the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies come up, mostly because I think there are several people there that shouldn't be inside the walls without a ticket. Over the 31 years that the voters have put people into this hallowed sanctum, they have besmirched the walls with some who haven't earned the right to be there. If, for one day, I were the President of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I would remove these five members forever, correcting the wrongs of the past:
The Beach Boys (1988)
Probably one of the most overrated acts ever in the annals of U. S. music history, all the Beach Boys were is a doo-wop group who moved off the street corner and onto the beach. Their sound had already been created (unless you forgot Dick Dale, another erroneous non-entry into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and they very rarely deviated from a set pattern: beach, surf, multiple girls (you might throw a car in there on a rare occasion). Lather, rinse, repeat. There was nothing that was groundbreaking about them at all; even their supposed masterpiece, Pet Sounds, was Brian Wilson looking to duplicate what producer Phil Spector had done with his "Wall of Sound."
By far the most egregious error in the voting annals of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame committee. That Madonna got in the Hall before such people as Alice Cooper, Dr. John, The Crickets (Buddy Holly's backing band), Heart, Rush and Albert King (just to name a few) is a miscarriage of justice beyond measure. Furthermore, there is no way that you can tell me with a straight face that Madonna had ANY impact on the development of rock music – if the category was POP music, then yes, Madonna's fingerprints are all over it (hello there, Lady Gaga!). But this is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and, last I checked, nobody is naming her as a significant influence.
Donovan (2012), Bill Withers (2015) and Steve Miller (2016)
Unfortunately, all of these men fall into the same category: they all are pretty good at what they did. The problem is we are not electing people into the "Hall of Pretty Good." This is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, people!
I know this might sound sacrilegious, but while Withers' works were memorable ("Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean on Me" and "Just the Two of Us" are all outstanding songs), he just didn't have enough of them. This also could be said for Donovan; name me another song he did outside of "Sunshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow?" You might be able to sway my thoughts on Miller, but I believe that he's getting more of a vote on his pedigree (studying at the feet of the legendary Les Paul and Mary Ford as a child will get you those types of votes) than on any outstanding works he wrote or performed. These three men just don't meet the criteria for what I would call "Hall of Fame material."
Now that five places in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have opened up, who should be inducted into those slots? I'm glad you asked. As the President of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, these five artists/bands will be the ones who will take over their rightful places. I'm completely blown away that they aren't there already, to be honest:
The Runaways
Although Joan Jett is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame along with her band The Blackhearts, they needed to go back a bit further to actually encapsulate the first band that broke Jett onto the rock scene. The Runaways were the first female hard rock band to enter the scene, led by vocalist Cherie Currie and the dual guitar attack of Lita Ford and Jett (little known fact is that Mikki Steele, who was a member of The Bangles, was originally the bassist for the group). Svengali Kim Fowley pushed the group as a "teenage jailbait" band, but their music was actually pretty damn good. Most known for their hit "Cherry Bomb," The Runaways were huge stars in Japan and did pretty well in Europe. In the United States, they were before their time, but their members would go on to bigger success as solo artists.
Are you fucking kidding me? One of the most successful female rock artists of all-time, definitely one of the Top 50 artists of the 1980s, isn't in the Hall of Fame yet?
Pat Benatar (who, to the best of my knowledge, has NEVER EVEN BEEN NOMINATED) followed up on the heels of The Runaways, carrying the banner for women in rock with an unapologetic, no-nonsense approach to the genre. Where Benatar took it a step further was she was the one in charge of her career – she didn't bow to the dictates of a manager and she definitely didn't kowtow to the record companies. On her VH1 "Behind the Music," the story is famously told about the record executives that Benatar famously took down because they tried to sexualize her style early in her career. Perhaps that is why she hasn't gotten the kudos she's due…the record industry is still holding a grudge against her. And name me another hard rock singer who has a four-octave range and is classically trained?
Warren Zevon and Jimmy Buffett
You might be saying, "What makes these two guys different than those three you threw out above?" There's plenty that makes them different!
In the case of Buffett, he literally created a genre of music that didn't exist before he came along – tropical rock, or "trop rock," a fusion of so many musical stylings that it is literally impossible to list them all (if you haven't listened to a Buffett album or been to a Buffett concert and heard at least six musical styles, you must expand your musical knowledge) – and still is at the top of his game more than 40 years after hitting the road. He has a catalog of music that has inspired a host of entertainers today, such as Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band and others from the U. S. and around the world. Finally, he's a shrewd businessman, turning his biggest song – "Margaritaville" – into a mega-empire that includes restaurants, casinos, a clothing line and a Sirius XM radio station. That "empire" is now a private company that is thought to make hundreds of millions of dollars per year – that's a nice nest egg to sit back on!
Zevon, who unfortunately passed away in 2003, probably did more for others' careers than he did his own. He wrote songs that were hits for Linda Ronstadt and worked closely with Jackson Browne and The Eagles before finding some acclaim on his own. Always more of a critical darling, Zevon's album Excitable Boy (his most commercial effort) brought Zevon's biggest hit, "Werewolves of London," while the remainder of his works on the album (including "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Lawyers, Guns and Money") showed his eclectic side. The remainder of his catalog presented an extremely diverse and talented artist who entertained and challenged his audience. Overall, he is highly respected in the music industry for his artistry, his passion and his individuality, things that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is supposed to honor.
With both Chicago and Deep Purple going in this year and with KISS entering in 2014, you might think that there wouldn't be any more "fan outrage" over artists not being in the Hall. That would be inaccurate, however, until the omission of Judas Priest is corrected.
Judas Priest has, for almost 40 years, been at the forefront of the hard rock/heavy metal genre, carrying the baton from the Led Zeppelin/Deep Purple/Jimi Hendrix/Black Sabbath early days of the game. With singer Rob Halford (or without, as the days of Tim "Ripper" Owens didn't slow them down any) and the dual guitar attack of Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing, the definitive style of Judas Priest is recognizable anywhere. They also have been heavily influential in the genre, with such bands as Pantera, Metallica and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWBHM) of the 80s citing them as heroes.
There's a whole litany of artists and groups I could get into that deserve a place in the pantheon of rock, but my day as President of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is done. I'll be watching the induction ceremonies on Friday night (or whenever the hell they'll be on – thanks HBO!) and celebrating the music of the inductees for 2016. Then it will be time to consider who will be inducted for 2017 and the madness will begin again.
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