Power ballad thread

[BUTT]

I love power ballads because I'm a huge pussy. BUTT rock connoisseur that I am, I always enjoy when a rock group can slow it down a bit, get a bit more melodic and really touch the hearts of their listeners. Unfortunately, the homogenization of every mainstream musical genre has pretty much degenerated the modern power ballad into a flaccid form of slow post-grunge. Of course, the old ballads from the hair metal era were pretty goddamn maudlin and sappy, but at least there was some life in them. Now what passes for a power ballad is shit like Daughtry's "Life After You" or Nickelback's "If Everyone Cared." Depressing white-bread turds that won't make your mom or grandma turn the dial. And the non-rockers aren't holding up their end of the deal, either. I remember a couple of years ago I saw a link where Perez Hilton was touting "Jordin Sparks brings back the power ballad!" No, I don't read Perez Hilton, but I was intrigued by this article title. It ended up being that stupid BATTLEFIELD, BATTLEFIELD, BATTLEFIELD song that sounds like every other cookie-cutter Ryan Tedder song on the radio. Compare that to Mariah Carey's "Hero" and it ain't even close.

But I'm not here to be a grumpy old man Brody. I want to start some discussion on this almost-dead genre that I love non-ironically. I'll be posting some of my favorite power ballads along with some selected thoughts (hopefully in all cases I'll write some words, but I can't promise that I'm above an embedded video-only post) and hopefully you'll do the same.

Skid Row - Wasted Time (music video) HD

Everyone knows "18 and Life" and "I Remember You" but I wanted to focus on this lesser-known single. Slave to the Grind was a lot harder than their self-titled debut and this album closer is my favorite track off of it. Not in any way a love song, it's about original GN'R drummer, massive fuckup and Ultimate Warrior friend Steven Adler. I like the guitar tone in the intro, the slow yet driving riff in the chorus, and the plaintive lyrics. It's one of Sebastian's best vocal performances. I especially like the part at the end, after the last chorus:

The sun will rise again/The earth will turn to sand/Creation's colors seem to fade to gray/And you´ll see the sickly hands of time/Will write your final rhyme/And end a memory

Yeah, that's pretty goddamn metal, isn't it. Those are some lyrics that would totally be at home on Master of Puppets. Anyway, listen to it and be sad about the fact that nobody involved in this song was involved in anything good ever again.

 

[BUTT]

Alice Cooper: Might As Well Be On Mars

Alice isn't really known for his ballads because his voice isn't really suited for them and his horror movie character isn't really conducive to love songs. You might know "Only Women Bleed," and this song was written with the same guy, Dick Wagner. Along with Desmond Child, a hacky schlockmeister (not to say I don't enjoy any of his work) who has written an absurd number of hit songs. Read this fucking list, it'll blow your mind. Anyway, this song really touches me because it's about a) wanting a girl you can't have, which every guy can relate to and since I'm not that good-looking, I can relate more than a lot of you studs, and b) stalking, which I don't do in real life but I'm pretty good at online. I especially like the little keyboard hits in the verses. It probably goes on a bit too long, but still, it's a favorite.

 

[BUTT]

Damn Yankees - High Enough (Video)

Yes, everyone knows this song, but when I first proposed this thread almost one year ago to the day, Czech said that if it has "High Enough," you can't go wrong. I know there's a Patton Oswalt bit where he recounts the events of this video without really adding in any jokes, but this is one of the most powerful choruses I've ever heard. When it reaches the last "can you take me high enough" and the strings get really prominent in the mix, I feel like doing a Jesus Christ pose, except I don't because I need at least one hand to drive and I don't want funny looks from other drivers at stop lights. Not to mention that this is the best thing The Nuge was ever involved in, and also Jack Blades too, not that that's any big accomplishment (I don't feel comfortable saying the same about Tommy Shaw because "Come Sail Away," was in the final scene of the Freaks and Geeks pilot and I can't link "High Enough" to any amazing TV moments). You can't listen to this and not feel good.

 

[Rendclaw]

Come Again was a better ballad musically, but High Enough is more popular.

One of my favorite ballads is Heaven Sent by Dokken.
Dokken - Heaven Sent [HQ]

I know that In My Dreams and Alone Again exists, but the production value of the songs let it down. Heaven Sent epitomizes the maturation of Dokken, lyrically and especially sound-wise.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Now this is my kind of thread!

Whitesnake - Is This Love (HQ music video)

Still one of the best tracks for me, I won't post more than one at a time because I don't want to Brocklock the thread and ruin the potential appreciation of each individual track. I guess that's a half-brocklock, because while he posts a lot even if it was in small doses you would never appreciate anything he said, but you know what I mean.

 

[The Coat Is My Father]

Kix - Don't Close Your Eyes (HQ music video)

"i remember being 5years old sitting in my dads new truck listening to this and singing dont close my eyedy eyes that is one memory i will never forget"

"we will never see this type of talent ever again"

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Warrant - I Saw Red
RIP, dude. This song is better than the way more popular Warrant power ballad "Heaven"

L.A. Guns - The Ballad Of Jayne

 

[Cheech]

A younger, more vulnerable Cheech used to get pretty damn emotional for Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" (and the kick-ass accompanying video).

Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue (Official Video)

 

[BUTT]

Journey - Why Can't This Night Go On Forever

You can't talk about power ballads without talking about Journey. This song is a total rewrite of "Faithfully" but I like it better because it has a real feeling of finality. An end of dance, end of concert kind of feel. And an end of band feel, since this was the last song they released before breaking up, and really, if they had never gotten back together, would we really be any worse off? Not that I have any problems with Journey currently existing in some form, but I think this would have been a nice song with which to cap off their careers. I like the tiny bits of electric piano throughout, complementing the real piano, and Steve's voice when he sings the really high parts like LOVER DON'T FADE AWAAAAAAAY and GOOOOO ON FOR-EEEEEEE-VER. Also notable is the video, where I think they wanted to do a live performance video but they didn't have any clips of them playing this song, so they just made it a hodgepodge of random backstage and tour footage. I've always been amused by videos where they show concert clips of the band actually playing a different song. I think Aerosmith's "Crazy" is guilty of this, and there's also an early Rush video that does the same. Anyway, this extremely formulaic song is nonetheless touching and is totally worthy of being highlighted.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

I legit wish this thread could go on forever, great song and great cap of a great career of sentimental dance-ending music.

Def Leppard - Hysteria

One of the greatest Maff moments of all time was when Alfie was trying to be a right clever twat by asking what sounds like shit and has nine arms and BUTT was all "YOU IF YOU GREW SEVEN MORE ARMS" One of the best ownages I've ever witnessed, including stuff that happened irl.

Def Leppard has so many ballads worth mentioning, but this one is great for the slow-building riff, the emotionally vulnerable bridge and the chorus that perfectly recites the desperate love (and lust) you've got for that special someone. FIVE STARS

 

[909]

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again

I'm not sure this actually fits but I'll be damned if I tell my story without posting something.

Unrelated

I think I've told this story before BUT IN CASE ANYONE MISSED IT

My dad had this Volkswagen that was painted like this

So my dad traded a bag of weed in the late 70's for this sick ass paint job. They were driving down the freeway to Costa Mesa when all of a sudden there was this dude honking his horn and shit at him. And pointing at my dad's car and then pointing at himself, and signaling for my dad to pull over. Like a fucking maniac. Well, my future parents were high as fuck, so it didn't exactly go through their heads that this was Steve Perry wanting them to pull over and take a picture with their car. Until, like, they went to the record store a few hours later.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Def Leppard - Bringin' On The Heartbreak
When it comes to Def Leppard power ballads, this is the creme la creme IMHO. I just bought their first four albums on cassette at a sweet ass record store in Boston. They were really a sweet ass pop metal band for their first three albums and Hysteria has a lot of songs I like to listen to when I'm drunk. I'm looking forward to blasting them on that big ass ghetto blaster I bought at a pawn shop for like $5 a couple months ago.
Faster Pussycat - House Of Pain (Video)
Fun Fact: Faster Pussycat is now a Marilyn Manson-esque
I Want to know what love is - Foreigner
Maybe the wimpiest band posted in this thread so far but I think this thread needs some god damn Foreigner.

 

[BUTT]

"Here I Go Again" is not a power ballad, especially not the version 909 posted. There was a special version for top 40 radio that might be closer to ballad status, even if it doesn't quote reach it.

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again (USA Radio Version)

Ironically, I've only heard the video version on radio. I kinda like this one better, though, except for the lack of "HERE I GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-OOOOOOh" scream.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

I think I've told this story before BUT IN CASE ANYONE MISSED IT

My dad had this Volkswagen that was painted like this

So my dad traded a bag of weed in the late 70's for this sick ass paint job. They were driving down the freeway to Costa Mesa when all of a sudden there was this dude honking his horn and shit at him. And pointing at my dad's car and then pointing at himself, and signaling for my dad to pull over. Like a fucking maniac. Well, my future parents were high as fuck, so it didn't exactly go through their heads that this was Steve Perry wanting them to pull over and take a picture with their car. Until, like, they went to the record store a few hours later.

That's awesome that that happened, but shitty that your folks didn't recognize. Real recognize real, guess your parents ain't real dawg, sorry

 

[909]

I know, I was just too lazy to search for one I liked because I was in the middle of writing up my story. You're making me feel like an a-hole atm

Scorpions - Still Loving You

That's awesome that that happened, but shitty that your folks didn't recognize. Real recognize real, guess your parents ain't real dawg, sorry

Real is being so high your brain don't function until you eat a shitload of pizza. Real is trading a bag of weed for a paint job lol

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Kiss - Reason To Live
I feel obligated to post some '80s KISS in this thread for some reason and I don't feel like promoting Michael Bolton by posting the clip for "Forever"
Boston - Amanda (subtitulado)

 

[Mickey Massuco]

For me nothing better represents earnest lovin' than this song:

I'm Burnin' For You-Lyrics-Blue Oyster Cult

This is a power ballad right? I feel like it's southern comfort at it's finest. I fucking love this track.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Hmm, a quick google check reveals BOC is Long Island based. Funny, this song was always synonymous with the south for me, for some reason.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

This looks like a Long Island band circa 1975 to 1981 to me.

 

[BUTT]

What do Michael Bolton and Gene Simmons have in common besides "Forever?" They have both written songs with Bob Dylan. Suck on that, critics.

"Amanda" isn't even my favorite song from Third Stage named after a girl. That would be the little-known "Hollyann."

Boston - Hollyann.

Fun fact: Even though this album took eight years to make, Tom Scholz couldn't write enough melodies for an entire album so he reused a few of them. There's a reprise of "Amanda" calledm "My Destination<" and "Hollyann"'s chorus reuses some elements from the previous track, "Can'tcha Say (You Believe in Me)/Still in Love." And then there's this song, which is not a power ballad exactly but I figure I'll never get another chance to mention it again so why not.

Boston- We're Ready

This song was actually a top 10 hit, which astounds me because it isn't catchy at all! There are a lot of songs that I think are awful that have become hits, and I can at least understand why people like them, but I have no idea how this song, which I don't think is bad so much as it's nondescript, charted so high. I can't quite articulate my feelings on this song but it simply doesn't sound like a hit.

As for "Burnin' For You," it's a good song but I think it's too fast to be considered a power ballad.

 

[BUTT]

Bad 4 Good - Nothin' Great About A Heartache (very rare).avi

Yes, this is Budnick from Salute Your Shorts singing. This band was supposed to be a vehicle for the talents of some preteen guitarist Steve Vai discovered. I don't know who the target audience for this band was, because you'd think they would be marketed to kids familiar with the singer's Nickelodeon role, but there's at least one f-bomb on the album so I don't know. But I like this song because it's about the perils of young love and sort of a counter-argument to any who would tell you that it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Budnick doesn't view the end of his relationship as a learning experience, because it just HURTS SO BAD that he DOES wish he'd never loved at all. I feel you, man.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

KISS - I Still Love You HQ
This is prob the best KISS power ballad by default. "Forever" is OK but I don't want to glorify Michael Bolton too much.

Aerosmith - What It Takes
It took this long for someone to post some Aerosmith? In a thread created by BUTT!?

 

[BUTT]

To get away from the distant past for a moment, I'd like to highlight the good power ballads released in the 2000s. All three of them.

Andrew W.K. - Never let down + lyrics [HD]

I Get Wet in my favorite album of this century, so I had high hopes for the followup. In June of '03, I was very excited that AWK was releasing two songs from the upcoming Blow Your Bone (later retitled The Wolf) as a CD single. On release day, I picked up that CD, listened to "Tear It Up" and "Your Rules" and thought, "wow, those both kinda sucked." So I was pretty disappointed that Andrew was going to be a one-album wonder. Until August when I learned that he had another new song out called "Never Let Down." It was one of the first things I downloaded from Soulseek, which I had just learned about, and at first as I heard the thunderous Steinmanesque intro I didn't know what to make of this sound but as the drums and guitars came in I was shocked to realize that "holy shit, Andrew did a power ballad." When this inspirational anthem was done I was a lot more confident in The Wolf, and I ended up liking it a whole lot.

DragonForce - Trail Of Broken Hearts

I don't care a tremendous amount about Dragonforce but back when I was doing my college internship this song came up on Pandora and I was really impressed with how well they approximated the sound of the 80s metal ballad, even with a little bit of electric piano in the intro. It's not a great song, but it's a loving tribute to the power ballads of olden days and I know these guys intended no irony.

Guns N' Roses - Street Of Dreams

Yes, it's from Chinese Democracy, and if you can't handle that, you're not welcome in my thread! This most-maligned album ever isn't really meant to be taken as serious art, despite what a lot of critics and detractors want to believe, but it's pretty good as a hard rock album, and if you like the Use Your Illusions, you'll probably like at least half of it. Anyway, I heard this song for the first time right after Bush took office, and the album came out right after Obama was elected, which is pretty cool. It's about halfway between "November Rain" and "Estranged" but only half as long. I really like Robin Finck's guitar solo, as he does a pretty nice Slash imitation (too bad he was pretty bad at playing Slash's solos live), and Axl's vocal performance near the end is top notch. I especially like that "oh, oh, oh, what'd I tell ya, oh, oh, oh, THAT'S WHATI'DTELLYA" which is a part he never sang in any of the live versions I heard so when I heard that in the studio version I was like at his ability to hit such notes. I think I like to hear a live version of a song before the studio version. Too often, you hear the live version and it's like, well, this isn't as good as on record. But if you hear it live and THEN on record it's like seeing the sketch first, then the whole painting. Unless you're into Phish or bands like that, then it's all about the live experience, MAAAAAAAAN.

I hope the 2010s bring at least three good ballads. They probably won't.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Didn't that ironic fake hair metal band release a good ballad at some point? The Darkness?

 

[Incandenza]

If I ever knew Kreese's take on the Darkness, I forgot it. Hot? Not? Too much of a put-on?

 

[BUTT]

They weren't bad. I got tired of "I Believe In A Thing Called Love," but "Growing On Me" was a good song. They had two ballads on their first album, "Love Is Only A Feeling," which was a single and which was just OK, and then this one, which I liked more:

The Darkness- Holding My Own

I never heard their second album, even though I think I have it downloaded.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Journey - Lights
REO Speedwagon - Keep on loving you (1980) HQ
Two of the finest power ballads ever recorded IMHO.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

For those that care, Kidz Bop has released a Monster Ballads cd.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Fuck no I don't care.

Acoustic so maybe it's not a 'power' balllad, per se, but I think it's one of the most memorable songs of the hair metal genre in general.

☻Extreme-More Than Words With Lyrics☻

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

One of my favorite 80s hair metal bands, Cinderella, had a few good ballads, here's a couple of them.

Cinderella - Nobody's Fool

Cinderella - Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)