70s and 80s Bands

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

It seems a lot of bands and artists that were cool in the 70s, lost their edge in the 80s. REO Speedwagon, ZZ Top, Aerosmith. Even guys like Elton John and Billy Joel. KISS in a way, but they sold out long before that, and were always known to be about the almighty dollar, and never tried to hide it. 

 

They went from making meaningful, hard music music, to a much more generic pop like sound. Just a random observation. 

[Gugny]

Gotta pay the beels.

 

It even happens in the metal scene.  Metallica re-did Turn the Page, for Christ's Sakes.  Bring Me the Horizon (I only know them because of my son) - their early stuff was HEAVY .. all screaming (but great music); their last album is full of auto-tune.  Even Slipknot got soft.

 

KISS went soft early, but still made good records (in the 70s).  Beth, Hard Luck Woman, Great Expectations .... all cheesy ballads on otherwise rocking albums.  Their problem is that their music went to absolute poop in 1979 and just got worse.

 

Hell ... look at Zep's last studio album, In Through the Out Door.  All that cheesy 80s keyboard crap and "All My Love."  Yuck.

 

Van Halen's 1984 gave us I'll Wait and Jump ... but still managed to make an awesome album with rockin' tracks like Drop Dead Legs (one of their all time best tunes).  With Hagar, their first 3 albums were a fantastic mix of cheese ($$$) and good ol' fashioned VH rock.

 

Artists and bands have always "evolved."  Elvis did whatever he had to to sell records, including gospel.

 

A lot of them just threw a few radio friendly, pop, tunes in there to make money - but still managed to make great records.

 

Best example I can think of is the Police's last album, Synchronicity.  Every Breath You Take has to be one of the worst songs ever recorded and BY FAR the worst Police song (I know them all).  But people ate that crap up and it had them playing Shea Stadium and retiring on top.  Wrapped Around Your Finger, King of Pain ... pure crap.  But there were also some definite hardcore real deal Police tunes on that album, too.  They did it right, as many bands do.

[The Poojer]

MTV happened, it became style over substance on that fateful day that video killed the radio star

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

39 minutes ago, Gugny said:

Elvis did whatever he had to to sell records, including gospel.

From what I read, Elvis wanted to get back into rock music after the '68 Comeback Special. And make modern (for the time) rock albums. But Col. Tom Parker had such bad gambling debts that he basically offered Elvis to the casinos to pay off his debts, and stifled any of those plans. 

 

While some of it was money, I've always suspected that a lot of them discovered the synth. And while some artists found cool and innovative ways to use it (RUSH for example), a lot of artists took what could have been good songs, and over synthisized them for no good reason other than keeping up with the times. I just called to say I love you from Stevie Wonder could have been a much better song if he stuck with a piano and real band.

[T&C]

This will always be cool..

 

 

[Greybeard]

14 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

Artists and bands have always "evolved."  Elvis did whatever he had to to sell records, including gospel.

 

 

            While I like a lot of what Elvis did, I would not call myself a fan.  I always thought of him as just some guy singing who became popular.  However, the more things I see about his career, I find he was quite innovative.    He crossed over music genre's more because he wanted to, than just to sell records.  Many times he was at odds with what the higher ups thought he should be doing.

            Maybe you meant more from your statement than I read into it.

[Gugny]

1 minute ago, Greybeard said:

            While I like a lot of what Elvis did, I would not call myself a fan.  I always thought of him as just some guy singing who became popular.  However, the more things I see about his career, I find he was quite innovative.    He crossed over music genre's more because he wanted to, than just to sell records.  Many times he was at odds with what the higher ups thought he should be doing.

            Maybe you meant more from your statement than I read into it.

 

I meant it more from the standpoint of crossing genres to expand his fanbase, really - not so much for money.  But expanding one's fanbase does = more money if done properly.

 

Sometimes people fail at it.  Steven Tyler made a country album that about 7 people worldwide cared to purchase.

[row_33]

14 hours ago, The Poojer said:

MTV happened, it became style over substance on that fateful day that video killed the radio star

 

things were very downhill for meeting the demands of male teen aggression and rebellion WAY before videos started.

 

 

15 hours ago, Gugny said:

 Elvis did whatever he had to to sell records, including gospel.

 

 

 

Elvis was forced into the Army to curb his influence, then his top songwriting team ditched him for lack of pay with "Good Luck Charm" being their last handover to him, it nosedived without them.

 

then he made bad movies and got fat

 

when you aren't a creative element of song or lyric (or both sometimes!!!!) it limits y'all

 

 

[WhoTom]

Most great bands - even those that have survived for 50 years or more - had about ten, maybe fifteen, years of solid creativity. They might release a new album now and then, but their tours tend to fall back on the old stuff. At some point, people just run out of fresh ideas.

 

 

[Lurker]

17 hours ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

It seems a lot of bands and artists that were cool in the 70s, lost their edge in the 80s. REO Speedwagon, ZZ Top, Aerosmith. Even guys like Elton John and Billy Joel. KISS in a way, but they sold out long before that, and were always known to be about the almighty dollar, and never tried to hide it. 

 

They went from making meaningful, hard music music, to a much more generic pop like sound. Just a random observation. 

 

What changed was people's tastes.    The 80s were about dance/new wave.  A repudiation of the 70s rock, which meant the bands you listed were not selling like they had previously.    Some tried to change with the times, some didn't.

 

The return in popularity for 60s and 70s "classic rock" is as much a nostalgia / aging baby boomer thing as anything.   The same thing will happen (in fact, is happening) with 80s music now...

[row_33]

1 hour ago, Greybeard said:

            While I like a lot of what Elvis did, I would not call myself a fan.  I always thought of him as just some guy singing who became popular.  However, the more things I see about his career, I find he was quite innovative.    He crossed over music genre's more because he wanted to, than just to sell records.  Many times he was at odds with what the higher ups thought he should be doing.

            Maybe you meant more from your statement than I read into it.

 

 

on occasion i give a listen to a few of his greatest hits from the early days, and am floored at how he had one of the greatest voices and deliveries in pop music history....

 

 

[row_33]

he captures the whole package in tone and emotions and subject matter in this shuffling c&w styled hit, geez...... 

 

 

 

 

 

time to give this a two dozen loop playback...

 

 

[Seasons1992]

The Doobies WITH Michael McDonald are coming back around next summer!

[The Poojer]

57 minutes ago, Seasons1992 said:

The Doobies WITH Michael McDonald are coming back around next summer!

 

 

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

1 hour ago, Seasons1992 said:

The Doobies WITH Michael McDonald are coming back around next summer!

The worst period of Doobie Brother's music TBH. 

[row_33]

36 minutes ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

The worst period of Doobie Brother's music TBH. 

 

Is Tom Johnston functional (or alive??)

 

 

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

1 minute ago, row_33 said:

 

Is Tom Johnston functional (or alive??)

 

 

Yeah. I actually just saw them about a week ago and they sounded fantastic. 

[row_33]

1 minute ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

Yeah. I actually just saw them about a week ago and they sounded fantastic. 

 

good to hear!!!

 

 

[Seasons1992]

1 hour ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

The worst period of Doobie Brother's music TBH. 

 

 

[snafu]

On 11/19/2019 at 6:19 PM, Gugny said:

Best example I can think of is the Police's last album, Synchronicity.  Every Breath You Take has to be one of the worst songs ever recorded and BY FAR the worst Police song (I know them all).  But people ate that crap up and it had them playing Shea Stadium and retiring on top.  Wrapped Around Your Finger, King of Pain ... pure crap.  But there were also some definite hardcore real deal Police tunes on that album, too.  They did it right, as many bands do.

 

This album is a good example of the fact that what was overplayed on the radio in the mid-80's was the least offensive option.

There had to be some coordination regarding what songs were released and pushed out for air time.  The question is WHY people ate up the crap.

 

Look at the top 100 songs from 1984. 

 

 

 

 

 

[row_33]

19 minutes ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

 

 

sorry, the Tom years were better than MM's....

 

 

[Gugny]

31 minutes ago, snafu said:

 

This album is a good example of the fact that what was overplayed on the radio in the mid-80's was the least offensive option.

There had to be some coordination regarding what songs were released and pushed out for air time.  The question is WHY people ate up the crap.

 

Look at the top 100 songs from 1984. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, man.  The 80s actually pumped out some great music, but the pop/radio scene was atrocious.  

 

The Police (Sting, really) were really smart the way the went about it.  Starting with Zenyatta Mondatta (3rd album), their hunger for radio play was apparent.  Don't Stand So Close to Me is actually a quality tune, but was very radio friendly.  And - as Pooj stated - they had a great video to back it up.  De Do Do Do ... was pure cheese.  The rest of the album was absolute GOLD (probably my favorite Police record).  

 

Then came along Ghost in the Machine, which was a total separation from their previous three albums.  Fantastic record.  But Sting wisely wrote Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.  Great tune, but it tugged at the girls' heart strings.  By then, they were pop stars and even Spirits in the Material World took off as a single.  That song would have gone nowhere 2 years prior, but Zenyatta built them some star power and some radio play "cred."

 

By the time Synchronicity came out in '83, they had a healthy mix of fans who loved the old stuff AND the new stuff (because it still had quality tunes outside of the pop crap) AND fans who only loved the cheese.  Result - selling out Shea Stadium (and everywhere else they played).

 

That's how it's done.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

23 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

Yeah, man.  The 80s actually pumped out some great music, but the pop/radio scene was atrocious.  

 

The Police (Sting, really) were really smart the way the went about it.  Starting with Zenyatta Mondatta (3rd album), their hunger for radio play was apparent.  Don't Stand So Close to Me is actually a quality tune, but was very radio friendly.  And - as Pooj stated - they had a great video to back it up.  De Do Do Do ... was pure cheese.  The rest of the album was absolute GOLD (probably my favorite Police record).  

 

Then came along Ghost in the Machine, which was a total separation from their previous three albums.  Fantastic record.  But Sting wisely wrote Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.  Great tune, but it tugged at the girls' heart strings.  By then, they were pop stars and even Spirits in the Material World took off as a single.  That song would have gone nowhere 2 years prior, but Zenyatta built them some star power and some radio play "cred."

 

By the time Synchronicity came out in '83, they had a healthy mix of fans who loved the old stuff AND the new stuff (because it still had quality tunes outside of the pop crap) AND fans who only loved the cheese.  Result - selling out Shea Stadium (and everywhere else they played).

 

That's how it's done.

 

The best 80s bands never had a song on the radio. Or one at the most.

[Gugny]

3 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

The best 80s bands never had a song on the radio. Or one at the most.

 

Perhaps the bands with the most integrity, but certainly not the best.  The Police, in my opinion, are one of the greatest bands of all time.  They created their own genre and have never even come close to being duplicated.  Plenty of radio hits.  But no more than a few songs in any album.  The rest of their catalog is phenomenal.

 

And those radio hits made them all multi-millionaires.  I can't knock them for that.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

9 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

Perhaps the bands with the most integrity, but certainly not the best.  The Police, in my opinion, are one of the greatest bands of all time.  They created their own genre and have never even come close to being duplicated.  Plenty of radio hits.  But no more than a few songs in any album.  The rest of their catalog is phenomenal.

 

And those radio hits made them all multi-millionaires.  I can't knock them for that.

 

I'd argue that the Smiths were the best band of the 1980s, and weren't a huge radio presence.  Meat is murder is from start to finish one of the best albums I've ever heard.

[Gugny]

11 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

I'd argue that the Smiths were the best band of the 1980s, and weren't a huge radio presence.  Meat is murder is from start to finish one of the best albums I've ever heard.

 

Yeah, the Smiths were certainly not mainstream, but definitely excellent.  It's really about who wanted to make some coin.  Some completely sold out (U2) and some just did a little (Police).   But the Smiths, I'm sure, made significantly less money by staying true to their sound.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

22 minutes ago, Gugny said:

 

Yeah, the Smiths were certainly not mainstream, but definitely excellent.  It's really about who wanted to make some coin.  Some completely sold out (U2) and some just did a little (Police).   But the Smiths, I'm sure, made significantly less money by staying true to their sound.

 

Morrissey did well for himself, I'm pretty sure lol

 

Rest of the band not so much.

 

I like the police in small doses. So lonely is a good song.

[SinceThe70s]

On 11/19/2019 at 5:01 PM, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

It seems a lot of bands and artists that were cool in the 70s, lost their edge in the 80s. REO Speedwagon, ZZ Top, Aerosmith. Even guys like Elton John and Billy Joel. KISS in a way, but they sold out long before that, and were always known to be about the almighty dollar, and never tried to hide it. 

 

They went from making meaningful, hard music music, to a much more generic pop like sound. Just a random observation. 

 

It's a natural progression for up and coming bands to evolve into something else. Usually it's something softer and/or something that the early adopters don't approve of.   

 

Maybe they're chasing the dollar - I have no problem with that. Go make your millions, given the chance I would too. As a consumer, I just might not spend my money on it.

 

Maybe they get older and get sick of playing the same sh!t they played when they were younger. Bands are damned if they do, damned if they don't. If they never change they're just churning out the same old sh!t. If they do change, it's a bunch of crap that doesn't live up to the early stuff.

 

 

A great example for me is the Goo Goo Dolls. Unless I'm wrong, Buffalo origins. First I heard was Flattop from A boy Named Goo. Thought it was a great alt/pop song and really liked the album. Dug deeper and found their earlier albums sounded like the Ramones, which although I liked, sounded unoriginal. After that they went super-pop which I couldn't stand. I'm fine with liking their middle ground without condemning what surrounded it.

 

My overall point? Like what you like for whatever reason you like it, but expect bands to change. 

Edited November 21, 2019 by SinceThe70s

[Pete]

Aerosmith first couple albums were decent, then they sold out, and were expotentially worse album by album.  I ***** hate the last 3-4 Aerosmith albums.  Absolute crap!

Edited November 21, 2019 by Pete

[BritBill]

14 hours ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

Morrissey did well for himself, I'm pretty sure lol

 

Rest of the band not so much.

 

 

 

Let's not pretend The Smiths were just Morrissey. Johnny Marr was a more talented musician.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

10 minutes ago, BritBill said:

 

Let's not pretend The Smiths were just Morrissey. Johnny Marr was a more talented musician.

I never said they were.

 

I only said morrissey fared a lot better than the rest, long term.

 

[row_33]

15 hours ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

I'd argue that the Smiths were the best band of the 1980s, and weren't a huge radio presence.  Meat is murder is from start to finish one of the best albums I've ever heard.

 

during their run they were a great remedy for those of us who had a 3 digit IQ and read and thought a little bit about life

 

Louder Than Bombs is an amazing B-side and EP collection, at least the first album of the two...

 

 

 

56 minutes ago, BritBill said:

 

Let's not pretend The Smiths were just Morrissey. Johnny Marr was a more talented musician.

 

a great band, Mozza had done some great work on his own as well

 

and he's enough of a nut to keep things interesting in the press every few months

 

 

 

[BritBill]

3 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

 

 

 

 

a great band, Mozza had done some great work on his own as well

 

and he's enough of a nut to keep things interesting in the press every few months

 

 

 

 

His recent political allegiances have caused some hysterical uproar. Almost beautifully done. 

[row_33]

1 hour ago, BritBill said:

 

His recent political allegiances have caused some hysterical uproar. Almost beautifully done. 

 

he always did, he was labelled a skinhead at the start of The Smiths run....

 

certainly a sensitive one, if he was, and he wasn't

 

 

 

so how were you keep abreast of The Smiths work and news?

 

CFNY in Toronto played them continuously and we got all the UK music mags to trade around

 

 

sorry Bill, i meant the question for our American Smiths fan, you would have no trouble on Smiths news during the day... 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2019 by row_33

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 hour ago, BritBill said:

 

His recent political allegiances have caused some hysterical uproar. Almost beautifully done. 

 

I love his thoughts on the topic.

[BritBill]

2 hours ago, row_33 said:

 

 

 

sorry Bill, i meant the question for our American Smiths fan, you would have no trouble on Smiths news during the day... 

 

 

 

No worries. I only became a Smiths admirer after the fact. They were at their peak just before I became an age to get really interested in music.

 

I got to The Smiths via later bands like The Stone Roses, The Charlatans and Oasis. All bands from the Manchester area who were influenced by The Smiths.

 

Noel Gallagher idolises Johnny Marr. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

3 hours ago, row_33 said:

 

he always did, he was labelled a skinhead at the start of The Smiths run....

 

certainly a sensitive one, if he was, and he wasn't

 

 

 

so how were you keep abreast of The Smiths work and news?

 

CFNY in Toronto played them continuously and we got all the UK music mags to trade around

 

 

sorry Bill, i meant the question for our American Smiths fan, you would have no trouble on Smiths news during the day... 

 

 

 

I was a record store junkie as a teenager, always in one buying cassettes/records and later CDs.

 

 

[row_33]

7 minutes ago, BritBill said:

 

No worries. I only became a Smiths admirer after the fact. They were at their peak just before I became an age to get really interested in music.

 

I got to The Smiths via later bands like The Stone Roses, The Charlatans and Oasis. All bands from the Manchester area who were influenced by The Smiths.

 

Noel Gallagher idolises Johnny Marr. 

 

still not a big fan of their albums until TQID, to me more of a 12" single and EP band, back when it was a cool thing to import the Rough Trade label output , instead of the North American Sire

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

I was a record store junkie as a teenager, always in one buying cassettes/records and later CDs.

 

 

 

don't you miss the withering stares and comments from the d-bags behind the counter at these stores?

 

[bbb]

19 hours ago, Gugny said:

By the time Synchronicity came out in '83, they had a healthy mix of fans who loved the old stuff AND the new stuff (because it still had quality tunes outside of the pop crap) AND fans who only loved the cheese.  Result - selling out Shea Stadium (and everywhere else they played).

 

Synchronicity II is the best Police song ever, by far 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 minute ago, row_33 said:

 

still not a big fan of their albums until TQID, to me more of a 12" single and EP band, back when it was a cool thing to import the Rough Trade label output , instead of the North American Sire

 

 

 

 

don't you miss the withering stares and comments from the d-bags behind the counter at these stores?

 

 

 

Not really, but I *DO* miss the pure joy of coming across something in the stacks really interesting or rare, or both.