100.
It's Not You, It's Not Me -
KBC BandI was interested to see just what song would be
#100. I can't even really pinpoint what makes this a clear bottom 10. I think it just fails on every rock style they were going for. I originally had this at
#80, but the more I previewed it the more It felt like an epic fail. It even failed at its European vibe it was going for. Failed at Anthem Rock, failed at top 40 rock and even failed at movie soundtrack rock. Too many music ideas, and yet nothing clicked together. Not quite my #100, but certainly a tank dweller.
99.
Tobacco Road -
David Lee RothFor me to give this a bottom 50 rank means it just wasn't any good at all. The musical structure was a boiling mess. I gave it a
#69 because I figured getting 69 from a chick would be a nice consolation prize for David. His vocals still sound great so call it a pity rank if you must.
"Yankee Rose" would have been in my top 10.
98.
Change in the Weather -
John Fogerty"Headlines" would have been a good Fogerty song to rank. This song kinda over does it on that "this bud's for you" vibe. Just not my style at all.
97.
Winning Ugly - The Rolling StonesA very forgettable pile of dung is what I got with this first time listen. The lyrics felt like an add lib job that Mick decided to phone at the last minute while the band just hired some extras to record this craprific song. Seriously this didn't even sound like The Rolling Stones.
96.
Wrap It Up -
The Fabulous ThunderbirdsGave this one like 5 points for the eye candy music video, but the song felt like a bad Las Vegas show performance a retired rock band would put on.
95.
Lying -
Peter FramptonI gotta say I have a soft spot for
Peter Frampton because of the
Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band movie. The song itself felt like good old 80's Pop rock. The kind early
Sammy Hagar or
Rick Springfield could dish out with their hands tied.
94.
Touch and Go -
Emerson, Lake & PowellI wanted to like this more because of that medieval synth vibe in the intro. Unfortunately that is the only part of the song that I remembered. Felt a little like
Europe "The Final Countdown". Which wasn't bad, but I didn't like that fact that every line ended with a word that rhymed with
go. Rhyming is cool, but don't overdo it either.
93.
Eye of the Zombie - John Fogerty
This song had a lot more heartbeat. Going for the uptempo vibe with a much more catchy swamp boogie attempt, but It just didn't fit John Fogerty's vocals and felt really off center. Also that chorus "eye eye eye eye of the zombie" sounds more like ahy ahy ahy eye of the zombie, and the more I listened to it the sillier it it started to sound.
92.
Can't Stop Rockin' -
ZZ TopI think
"Rough Boy" is even worse, but this band was not gonna win any points with me by rehashing a sped up version of
"Legs" with one of your worst vocal deliveries ever.
91.
Harlem Shuffle -
The Rolling StonesI didn't see this coming. Especially since this song ,and that other phoned in travesty are miles apart in musical integrity. This song here tries a different groove and I think it really works. The music sounds like the Rolling Stones ,and Mick delivers it with just enough sway to give it a slight R&B vibe while still keeping its rock sound intact.
90.
Let Me Down Easy -
Roger Daltrey Easily a faster version of
Bryan Adams hit
"Somebody". Bryan even wrote this one for Roger. In fact Roger had little to lend in the song writing aspect of this album. I liked this song mainly because it sounds like "Somebody" and frankly I would rather have let Bryan sing it too. In the end I think it cheapens the value of the song ,because why rehash "Somebody" to begin with? That's me, but What I wanna know is how high you guys had this song on your list originally before Bryan makes his cameo in the music video, because I don't think it helped one bit.
89.
Best of Both Worlds -
Van HalenSo you guys actually like
"Love Walks In" better than this rocker? Tell me it ain't so. Anyway I spread out the Van Halen songs sparingly until we get to my top 10. I think
Sammy Hagar really brought out the power of this song. I don't think
David Lee Roth could have pulled it off without doing the leg splits, but Hagar does it effortlessly. The bluesy rock vibe also worked with the new Van Hagar sound.
88.
Love Walks In -
Van Halenand there it is. I figured most of you would tank a glammy Van Hagar power ballad. I thought the song was pretty good, but there is a reason Han Halen didn't put out powerballads. First they were not that great at it ,and second they totally waste the power of Hagar's and Lee Roth's. Now if you guys tank one more Van Halen song unfairly I'm putting you in my tank.
87.
Like a Rock -
Bob SegerHeard this when it was out and I really never cared for it. It sounded even worse on a list with a bunch of Rock songs I knew and loved. Chevrolette could have picked out a much better song like
"I Can't Drive 55" for their car commercials. Just saying.
86.
The Knife Feels Like Justice -
Brian SetzerCan't say I cared for this first time listen at all. I really wasn't even into that Alternative Rock sound yet, but talk about a ba
d Morrissey impression. Brain should have stuck with the 50's revival style of
The Stray Cats. Seriously why did this bands change their winning formula?
**Going for some extras. Most of these were super unmemorable. My favorite of the bunch should be a no-brainerWorking Class Man -
Jimmy BarnesThis working class let's have a few beers after work at the local bar rock style isn't for me. Funny enough
Bob Seger's vocals would have made it sound slightly better.
Got My Mind Made Up -
Bob Dylan This sounds like a clear
#100 for me if we had ranked it. Not only do we get Bob's stellar singing tones ,but his strikingly aesthetic speaking vocals as well. A double whammy.
Mystic Rhythms -
RushHonestly
Rush didn't do much to mystify me with their offerings in this rank down. Way toooooo proggy, but that isn't even the culprit here. The songs were just lacking of any aspect that makes one want to go back to them. At least for me they didn't, and I normally love 80's Rush.
In My Dreams -
DokkenHere we go. Freddy Krueger's prefereed band for his movie soundtracks. A great song with that heavy metal sound in the guitar works that really complimented
Don Dokken's vocal range. Dokken really got reamed in the music industry. Not even the pop crowd really dug them. I really wish Mainstream Rock would have played them more.
"Breaking' The Chains" is my favorite from the band, and fat chance we rank that one.
Ivory Tower -
Van Morrison This did nothing for me at all. Never was a van Morrison fan. His vocals tones are meant more for a AAA format, but I didn't even think they fit this song's particular upbeat vibe. I might have slightly preferred it with
John Mellencamp's vocals, but even then the lyrics are mystery to me, because I couldn't understand a word Van said.
One Simple Thing -
StabilizersA staple song from a band I never heard of back then. This song wasn't too bad. There is a certain way the guitars are played that reminds me of some
Tubes songs, and the break has a little
Rush vibe. Giving repeat play I would have most likely liked a this song a whole lot more back in '86.
Silent Night -
Bon JoviThis song was decent for a power ballad. Maybe a little too pretty ,and even X-massy in that synth and chorus, but it's still passable for Jon's strong vocals. I have
7800° Fahrenheit album ,and for me the standouts were clearly
"In and Out Of Love" and
"Only Lonely". Both of those also got Music Videos. I think we will run into them in '85? At least as extras.
Justice and Independence '85 -
John MellencampGood ol Uptempo Heartland rock from John. Not much more to add as it sounds like a good chunk of songs from his already stellar discography, but it gets the desired effect across because of John's vocals.
Bad Attitude -
Honeymoon SuiteI didn't think this particular rock sound worked for
Honeymoon Suite. Put a little too much emphasis on the guitar strumming. This would have been perfect for
Loverboy. I think the problem with this band is that they relied too much on Loverboy's winning formula that they kinda lost their own musical identity.
"Feel It Again" sounds nothing like this, and that's what made the song work. Still a great sounding rocker, but I wouldn't identify it to Honeymoon Suite at the end of that day.
I Know What I Like - Huey Lewis & the News
A great song to end this set of extras. Now this band had a sound no other could clone. Even today no one can sound like
Huey Lewis and the News. You could try, but fail miserably. I preferred this one to
"Jacobs Ladder". Same musical structure. The chorus bassline follows The "Step By Step" one of "Jacob's Ladder' but I think the lyrics sound catchier on this song. In the end I love Huey Lewis and The News so why bother when choosing songs when they are all great.