In Praise of Moody Midtempo AOR

Speaking of Moody Blues, I think "The Voice" might be a rare example of Moody Uptempo AOR:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiPzKbT21Vc

But if you lower the speed to 75% it suits the thread surprisingly well.

R&B equivalent by way of Enya:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCHgxoXv4g4

Not sure if this fits? Intro is very moody, then it turns into a mix of Dire Straits and i dunno... I don't know if this was big nationally, or just in the Midwest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxPtCADXqdc

ohh these are good ones. that mario one reminds me of the a rap version of this genre, one of my favs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B5uvm34CdE

^^^^^ yesssss such a good one

my vote for R&B equivalent would be Oran "Juice" Jones' "The Rain"

Maybe at least until it goes totally spoken word narrative nuts.

There are a lot of minor key electro sort of things that kind of fit. Even something sort of celebratory, like Shannon's "Let the Music Play," I feel has this pronounced tinge of spooky melancholy. Or something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWUpgzRK1vc

Strafe and Bruce Hornsby, together at last.

Hmm this may fit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41P8UxneDJE

I thought of this thread the other day when I heard Kenny Loggins' "This Is It" on the radio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS52sEUqxMo

“These Dreams” definitely feels like a food court where aims have lunch during a mall-job shift, or a strip club mid-afternoon with only a few isolated patrons scattered around the place.

hell yeah, crut

Can I get a hell yeah to this spacey loggins epic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAq0oonN9Kc

"This is It" was ruined for me (relatively speaking) because I think it was used as the theme to some news show in Philadelphia when I was a kid.

That's exactly the reason why the song is iconic to me.

I can't find it right now but didn't we have a list thread somewhere of songs that are about giving it your all, going for it, reaching for the stars, not givin' up, etc.?

Like "Man in Motion," "This is It," and other inspiring songs that go well over the training montage in an 80s action movie?

oh wait, now I found it

Cheesy '80s Songs About Heart and Soul and Overcoming and Winning and Givin' it All That You Got (RIYL Action Movies and Training Montages and Cocaine)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogMKZ5Zto2Q

Ooh, that's a good one. Just moody enough.

These Dreams is one of my favorite Heart songs.

the gold standard for this has always been the blue nile for me

I wouldn't classify the blue nile as AOR

I like These Dreams a lot.

This track was a pretty big FM radio tune (at least where I was at) that Mark Sandman really did not get with Morphine. (Although Morphine was a pretty hip group seemingly loved by NPR and college stations somewhat even today I suppose.)

I had not heard for a long time until I heard it in the piped music at the local Redi Mart (which plays all sorts of wacky stuff that you would not expect in a small town in KY - LOTS OF Depeche, New Order and Cure...deep cut 80s stuff).

Treat Her Right - I Think She Likes Me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyOo-aheGIU

That blues harp dude is inexcusable.

i'll submit player, "baby come back"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLtmmFjxSoc

occurs to me now that it could as easily have been a hall n oates jam.

for rnb equivalents, I'll submit jermaine jackson, do what you do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sneQ1AaIbC0

ozark mountain daredevils, "jackie blue"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xuW-aI-haw

I don't know if "Holdin' on to Yesterday" ever got played on AOR; it didn't on my local station. I don't even remember it much on Top 40, though it charted at #17 on US Billboard. Love this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1jeVdUo1-I

This genre can feel creepy or spooky in a good way, especially if you're out in the middle of nowhere and all you have to listen to is a classic rock station.

Was never much of a Journey fan, but in recent years, I discovered "Who's Cryin' Now" as kind of creepy.

A favorite of mine has always been Pat Benatar's "I'm Gonna Follow You".

xp The Ambrosia song got played a lot on the AOR stations I listened to up until the mid Eighties.

Yeah, in retrospect maybe it got played on mine back then, but it's now been focus-grouped off the playlist.

Firefall's "Strange Way" fits in with "70s AOR that stayed around in the moody mid-80s."

38 Special, "You Got The Deal":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLsEm8pku_M

I lived my life one way too long
Deal me straight, I can't go wrong
A gambler's fate's in the cards he takes
And now I know it's just a mistake

Noel emits posted “burning feeling” earlier but this is my fav lovelock jam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8tJDPoknXA

Speaking of .38 Special, does this fit the bill, too?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRkaPdfjzEk

Very bittersweet montage/end-credits ballad vibe, but the tempo might be just mid-tempo enough to work.

BTW, lovely youtube comment:

My Girl and I had just split prior to my 3rd deployment to Iraq. Friends of mine acquired tickets to see 38 Special in Dallas. what I didn't know was they had managed to meet with band members and during the concert my Girl and I were called on stage and they played this song for us while we danced. We have been married for 16 years now. I proposed that night. A night I will never forget.

That is lovely, but it also reminds me of @IraParks from Twitter who tweets out fake YouTube comments that have exactly the same kind of rhythm as that.

Well I got shagged to this song in the bathroom of a Wendy's

how was the baked potato?

You should have seen the salad bar.

Right in front of my salad bar.

I might be stretching to meet the criteria, and I'm not sure these are worthy of praise, but here are a few I thought of. Purposely not embedded...

Emerson Lake & Powell - Touch & Go
The Hooters - All You Zombies
The Firm - Satisfaction Guaranteed

Olivia Newton-John “Magic” is core curriculum for me in this area, so smooth and ominous

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8thfhpKzYg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbHiY-DvMg0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3soJBmu_cFI

thread desperately needs a spotify playlist.

surprised there's not an AI tool that can scrape the text and youtube links and uh, do that for us.

Pet Shop Boys - "Later"
Duran Duran - "Save A Prayer"

I made one a while back

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/17ioxB7tYdJvbZFaMksZFi?si=HZzWmro3Sd-SDfWn985Q2A

Benjamin Orr "Stay the Night"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ySLmwsfP4Q

Foreigner "Waiting for a Girl Like You", similar vibe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIdfPBmUAXc

Walter Egan - "Hot Summer Nights"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oZyT9z9Fmc