"The Flame" is better than the competition def.
Considered as the band's comeback album following the commercial failure of the 1986 album The Doctor, Lap of Luxury spawned three top 40 hit singles and one minor hit single. After "The Flame" topped the American Billboard Hot 100, a cover of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" peaked at #4. The third single "Ghost Town" continued the commercial success, peaking at #33 whilst the fourth single "Never Had a Lot to Lose" peaked at #75. The album opener "Let Go" also peaked at #32 on the American Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The success of "The Flame" brought the group out of a years-long commercial slump and back into music industry prominence. It was the band's only number one single in America.[4] It also became the band's first hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, reaching #29 there; "Don't Be Cruel" then hit #32 on the AC chart.
Reportedly, although the band disliked the song at first,[5] Rick Nielsen disliked the song so much on first hearing that he yanked it from the tape player and ground the cassette beneath his boot heel.
In an interview with Gerry Galipault, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos stated: "Tom Petersson rejoined in 1988, and then the vice president at Epic Records told us he had these two songs and they're both gonna be #1. He goes, 'We got one for you and one for the group Chicago, but you can have first choice.' He said, 'I think the one 'The Flame' would be good for you guys.' The other one was 'Look Away,' and it sounded like some girl singing on the demo. We really didn't like that song anyway, so 'Sure, we'll do 'The Flame.' We're game.'"[6]
According to lead vocalist Robin Zander, "The band was very skeptical about performing this song live, because we only liked to perform songs written by us. However, a young man from, oh, I don't know, somewhere, confirmed to us after a show in Florida about a week after the song was released that the song was great and, get this, would be a #1 single. As we joked about the guy's prediction, we later realized whoa! This guy was right. I thank him for that."
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:46 (ten years ago) link
I'm fond of "Ghost Town."
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:48 (ten years ago) link
Oh, I loved "Ghost Town" when I was 10. Should listen again.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:49 (ten years ago) link
If you want a summit of the power ballad masters, listen to this top ten from early '89:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUwF-8R7ckY
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:50 (ten years ago) link
anyway my vote for shittiest power ballad goes to corny crap like "when i see you smile" and "love of a lifetime" -- those songs sucked then and now.
generally most power ballads are pretty good!
― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:51 (ten years ago) link
cowritten by Richard Marx!
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:51 (ten years ago) link
TS: "Surrender To Me" vs. "Almost Paradise"
― Esperanto, why don't you come to your senses? (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:51 (ten years ago) link
YES
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:52 (ten years ago) link
almost paradise
― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:52 (ten years ago) link
cowritten by Eric Carmen!
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:53 (ten years ago) link
oh god richard marx was really big for a whilehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_E2EHVxNAEbig hit here
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Monday, 5 August 2013 23:55 (ten years ago) link
Same notes played in the same succession, at the same tempo, and in the same key on what sounds like the same instrument.
Isn't the instrument a guitar? There isn't really a succession of notes here: they're strumming an Asus2 chord in a similar (but not particularly unusual) rhythm. The similarity doesn't extend very much beyond that first chord. It's totally possible that Cheap Trick or the songwriters heard the Spirit song and were inspired by it. I'm just saying that this is far from any grounds to claim plagiarism (assuming that's what you meant by "rips off").
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:10 (ten years ago) link
("Right Here Waiting" was huge in most countries with a lot of white people in them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_Here_Waiting#Charts_and_sales)
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:11 (ten years ago) link
how many of these songs were penned by Diane Warren? so many.
― arctic mindbath (President of the People's Republic of Antarctica), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:11 (ten years ago) link
In an era of power ballads, "Right Here Waiting" distinguished itself by its understatement;[according to whom?] the track was arranged by Marx with Jeffery (C.J.) Vanston to feature none of the heavy drums and synth popular at the time, with Marx's vocal accompanied only by classical guitar (by Bruce Gaitsch) and keyboards (by Vanston). It is one of Marx's most frequently covered compositions.
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:13 (ten years ago) link
love the first bracketed statement
I'm 80% sure it's a mandocello rather than a guitar -- Nielsen's dad owned a music store which had a number of odd stringed instruments, and he also played a mandocello on, oddly enough, "Mandocello."
I agree that the similarity doesn't extend beyond the intro, but it's like the Elastica/Wire skirmish: it's only a few seconds, but it's the exact same thing (or, alternately, it's the exactly same thing, but it's only a few seconds).
xp
― Esperanto, why don't you come to your senses? (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:18 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-nyeiKk35M
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:21 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL9y9CcnEJQ
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:22 (ten years ago) link
this shit never did anything here thankfullyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMKPQKU61QI
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:22 (ten years ago) link
^^^that styx remix is VILE
a fair handful of these are pretty good imo - "Love Song," "Silent Lucidity," "More Than Words," "To Be With You" - schmaltzy, ok, but still decent tunes
― tight in the runs (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:23 (ten years ago) link
I also rep for that Winger tune, fuck the haters
― tight in the runs (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:24 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHZ79InLGRY
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:26 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAX20LoVgxE
PfunkGW 2 months ago
Remember when their were white people on mtv?
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:27 (ten years ago) link
lolol NOT ME
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:29 (ten years ago) link
(ie im not pfunkgw obviously)
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:30 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmWE9UBFwtY
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:31 (ten years ago) link
At least with Elastica/Wire, there's an actual similar melodic gesture. The Spirit/Cheap Trick thing really is a fairly common strumming pattern on one chord.
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:32 (ten years ago) link
being someone else from the uk, my only knowledge of cheap trick is knowing big black covered one of their songs.
― sleepingsignal, Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:32 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukmobha2krY
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:33 (ten years ago) link
If they were both using mandocellos, that would probably point more strongly to a connection/influence but not to plagiarism.
xpost to self
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:34 (ten years ago) link
that richard marx song
Three music videos were filmed for the song, although two were deemed "too sexual" in nature, and were shunned and banned by lobbyist before the release ever hit the public's screens.[citation needed] Included in the first banned video was 42 second "softcore" sex scene, involving Marx and the love interest this song refers to.The second video, was picked at with a fine-toothed comb. Complaints were made about every minor detail, including Marx briefly holding hands with a man, and the backup dancers clothing being "too tight".[citation needed]After the criticism, Marx's producers denied any creative control to Marx, and ordered that he film a three minute sequence of him playing the piano, and became the music video for "Right Here Waiting".[citation needed]
The second video, was picked at with a fine-toothed comb. Complaints were made about every minor detail, including Marx briefly holding hands with a man, and the backup dancers clothing being "too tight".[citation needed]
After the criticism, Marx's producers denied any creative control to Marx, and ordered that he film a three minute sequence of him playing the piano, and became the music video for "Right Here Waiting".[citation needed]
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:39 (ten years ago) link
fuckin' A, White Lion's "When the Children Cry," that right there is the unquestioned heavyweight champ of this shit. So vile. I can get down with "Wait" or "Little Fighter" if I have to but come the fuck on, White Lion
― tight in the runs (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:48 (ten years ago) link
it's also so boring, as soon as i heard it i knew it was going to be huge
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:53 (ten years ago) link
never heard it
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:55 (ten years ago) link
I've noticed that every video in this thread has this kind of youtube comment
franklin armstrong 4 days agoI GREW UP IN THE 80S AS A TEENAGER AND ALL THIS KIND OF MUSIC IS NOT HEARD OF TODAY. WHY IS THE QUESTION. I FEEL LOST IN TODAYS WORLD. I WISH THINGS WOULDNT OF EVOLVED TO THIS. ITS SAD.
I GREW UP IN THE 80S AS A TEENAGER AND ALL THIS KIND OF MUSIC IS NOT HEARD OF TODAY. WHY IS THE QUESTION. I FEEL LOST IN TODAYS WORLD. I WISH THINGS WOULDNT OF EVOLVED TO THIS. ITS SAD.
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:56 (ten years ago) link
ok this song is bad
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 00:59 (ten years ago) link
what made party animal hair metal bands get serious cat on ballads? Cant blame live aid as it was years before. What started it?
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:01 (ten years ago) link
appealing to the ladies?
― arctic mindbath (President of the People's Republic of Antarctica), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:04 (ten years ago) link
i do have a soft spot for some of these 'lick my love pump' slow jams but there's only a couple mentioned thus far that i like. 'love bites' being supreme. other good ones: 'alone again' by dokken, 'don't close your eyes' by kix.
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:04 (ten years ago) link
yeah "alone again" is solid and "don't close your eyes" is all-time
― tight in the runs (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:06 (ten years ago) link
I would have thought love song ballads did that quite well. It just seems weird that it went from there to dealing with serious topics
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:08 (ten years ago) link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Monster-Metal-Hits-Power-Ballads/dp/B001R59LF2
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:18 (ten years ago) link
tho its not all ballads
― ..it would have sounded about as heavy as Talulah Gosh. (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:19 (ten years ago) link
"Don't Close Your Eyes" is INSANE.
― first I think it's time I kick a little verse! (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:23 (ten years ago) link
Does this count?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quG-Q7iKfn0
― MarkoP, Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:23 (ten years ago) link
(OK, AMG says there's a mandocello on "The Flame". I'm not that familiar with that instrument tbh but yeah, it does sound more mandolin-like, for sure. I'm not sure that's not a guitar on "Nature's Way" though. Only guitars are listed in the credits on AMG. I just checked out three live clips where it is played on a guitar.)
xposts I kind of love "Don't Close Your Eyes".
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:25 (ten years ago) link
has anyone mentioned the bryan adams robin hood song, because that
― Roberto Spiralli, Tuesday, 6 August 2013 01:26 (ten years ago) link
"when the children cry" is the worst
― free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Tuesday, 6 August 2013 02:16 (ten years ago) link