80's Rock Songs That Deserved Better: Journey, Faster Pussycat, LA Guns, Twisted Sister

"STONE IN LOVE"     JOURNEY

"Those crazy nights I do remember in my youth, those were the best times".  When you think of Journey, the Escape album and their three massive hits, Don't Stop Believin', Open Arms, and Who's Crying Now, are probably the first songs that come to your mind.   Escape (actually titled E5C4P3) sold close to 10 million copies, heck, they even made an Atari video game based on the album.    The fourth single was "Still They Ride", a song that didn't fare as well.   For me, I would have released "Stone In Love", one of my favorite tracks on the album.  Never released as a single although mainstream rock radio stations would often play it, Neil Schon's guitar solo and Steve Perry really shined here.

"YOU'RE SO VAIN"    FASTER PUSSYCAT

One of the more creative but fitting cover songs of the 80's, Carly Simon's #1 classic from the 1972 gets roughed up by Faster Pussycat.  You can just feel the grime of the Sunset Strip  and the sleaze of the Whiskey A Go Go with this glammed up cover.   Faster Pussycat are best known for their power ballad "House Of Pain" and their sexual romp, "Bathroom Wall".   "You're So Vain" was released on a tribute to Elektra Records compilation disc called Rubaiyat (The Cure covers the Doors on it too) and the band followed up by re-releasing the song on an EP.  "You're So Vain" never became a hit, another lost opportunity for an underrated 80's glam band.  Marilyn Manson and Johnny Depp took a stab at the Carly Simon tune, you may also want to check it out on my site.

"CRYSTAL EYES"       L.A. GUNS

Oh what could have been!   Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and Slash got their start with L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose, when disagreements over the band's direction and in-fighting among the guys took over, a breakup was inevitable.   Most of the guys formed Guns N Roses, perhaps the greatest glam band of all-time, while Tracii Guns reformed L.A. Guns, a group that always seemed like a little brother on the scene.   "Never Enough" and "The Ballad of Jayne" hit big before Tracii changed up the band's lineup again.   In 1991, Seattle grunge bands were taking over and 80's hair bands lost their appeal.   During this time, a new version of the L.A. Guns released Hollywood Vampire, a great album released at the wrong time.  Crystal Eyes was chosen as the second single, it crashed and burned, yet remains one of the best unknown power ballads of all-time. 

"THE PRICE"      TWISTED SISTER

Back when I first started my website, I added my choice as the greatest 80's rock song to never make the charts.  Dee Snider and the boys lost the makeup, discarded any gimmicks, and showed the world that they had substance.   Check out my earlier post.

Classic MTV Goth: Cinderella, Peter Murphy, Pepper, Sweet

"CUTS SO DEEP"                  PETER MURPHY

Classic MTV here, Peter Murphy "Cuts So Deep" is a gothic masterpiece.    I remember first hearing his vocals with Bauhaus and "Bela Lugosi's Dead", it was definitely different from the type of music I grew up listening to but I liked the darker feel to the New Wave sound popular at the time.    Electronic 80's music has such a cute retro charm compared to the over-the-top electronica drum machines overpowering today's dance music.    "Cuts You Up" is haunting, yet catchy, and a great memory of the 80's.

"NOBODY'S FOOL"                         CINDERELLA

Hair spray, check.    Hot women in tight dresses, check.    Flashy cars in Miami Vice-like colors, check.   Drummer doing fancy drumstick tricks, guitarist flinging his guitar, lead singer making pouty lips for the camera, check.    The perfect recipe for a cheesy hair band video!    Cinderella is actually an amazing live band.  Saw them open for Poison in 2008 and they did an entire 5 song blues set, sitting on chairs with acoustic guitars, reinventing many of their classic songs.   It was an incredible experience especially coming from a band well past their heyday. 

"B.O.O.T."                                         PEPPER

Often compared to Sublime, Pepper are a surfer rock, ska band that makes great beach music with a heavy reggae influence and a propulsive drum beat.    This raw video of them in the club really captures Pepper's energy.    B.O.O.T. features their famous digs at Metallica's hair cutting drama and a great line about Creed :)

"FOX ON THE RUN"                         SWEET

Sweet was a guilty pleasure of the 70's glam rock era.  "Ballroom Blitz", "Love Is Like Oxygen", "Fox On The Run", "Little Willy" nothing but FUN music to crank up the volume and sing along.   There is no big message here.  I remember hearing these songs on my little transistor radio.  

Vampire Version Of INXS Classic : Halestorm, Twisted Sister, Kazy

"I GET OFF"                        HALESTORM

A seductive, sexy, hard-driving song with an amazing female singer named Lizzy Hale.  Halestorm's debut CD in 2009 kicked off with this single.   This Pennsylvania band led by Lizzy and her brother opened for Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace in Tampa last year.   Another great track is a killer duet version of "Breaking Inside" with Shinedown where Lizzy added vocals.

"NEED YOU TONIGHT"                       KAZY

Here is a song just waiting to get put into a vampire film and I'm not talking one where the emo vampires sparkle.     This is obviously a cover of INXS but here the tempo is slowed, the vocals are creepy, and the seductive pauses build up the passion.      The feedback over "I'm lonely" really works well!

"THE PRICE"                                TWISTED SISTER

Dee Snider's hair metal band is famous for their rockers, "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" but this power ballad from 1984's Stay Hungry is a forgotten treasure.    MTV loved the over the top videos and the make-up but this gem features Twisted Sister without makeup (a much better look in my opinion) and it's my all-time favorite song by the band.