In Praise of Moody Midtempo AOR

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

I can't tell you why

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odcn6qk94bs

Electric Light Orchestra – Sorrow About To Fall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnAbyd8oT-E

surprised benny mardones "into the night" had never been mentioned

Pedo anthem

Too croony, not moody.

"Waiting for a Girl like You" and "I Can't Tell You Why" mentioned in the first post

My bad, President K. Both tracks still rock tho

added egan, elo, eagles (which i missed somehow), and benjamin orr to the playlist - all great picks

that Orr song rules. a childhood favorite that I only rediscovered a year ago

I really like "Skyline" off that Orr album - that one's too optimistic-sounding for this thread though

Atlanta Rhythm Section – Alien

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

i love ARS. would also totally pay for a tee with that album design on the front.

Benjamin Orr's reputation has suffered only because he was the second most talented member of a world-class, top-tier band.

He's the 80s version of George Harrison. He would have been the standout star performer of almost any band he joined... except for the band he was actually in.

thread needs some atlanta rhythm section imo

― budo jeru, Sunday, December 13, 2020 2:09 PM (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol

Schmit has to be among the top ten tenors of all time. His voice in that video co-stars with his luxuriant hair and the 'stache of Joe Walsh.

The music is good, sure. But let us please reflect that this was a truly epic period for Eagles hairdos.

He would have been the standout star performer of almost any band he joined... except for the band he was actually in.

Reminds me of Mike Mills saying that he's a good singer who just happens to be in a band with one of the greatest rock singers ever.