5. Styx: Lady
Styx, from Chicago, was originally a progressive rock-oriented group in its early years reminiscent of Emerson Lake & Palmer and The Moody Blues, albeit with something of a mainstream tilt to it. The enormous power ballad "Lady", their first hit single, changed them forever. Taken from their second album, Styx II, it didn't become a hit until 1975, after four albums and right before a big change in labels from RCA to A&M and the addition of guitarist Tommy Shaw to the lineup. With A&M, the band entered its most successful phase, reaching the top-10 with five albums from 1978-1983. With Shaw, the band pursued a much more aggressive, guitar-oriented approach, while vocalist/keyboardist Dennis DeYoung favored a theatrical "concept album" approach to albums. This disagreement in direction actually worked to the band's benefit for awhile, as their albums took on a epic sprawl, while providing some good hard rock songs, too. However, following the fairly silly Kilroy Was Here album in 1983, the band went on haitus. Styx re-formed without Shaw in 1990, and continues to this day after numerous confusing lineup changes that included Shaw coming back, original drummer John Panozzo's death, competing Styx bands, etc. None of their post-1990 albums have broken the top-100.
6. .38 Special: Hold On Loosely
.38 Special reached arena rock status not via the usual prog-rock/hard rock route, but as a Southern rock boogie band, contemporaries of 70's legends the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Skynyrd connection was particularly acute; .38 Special vocalist Donnie Van Zant was Ronnie Van Zant's brother. The band formed in 1975, and released their self-titled debut in 1977 (the same year Ronnie Van Zant was killed in a plane crash). While it and its followup Special Delivery didn't make many waves, the band's audience grew through relentless touring as well as some spillover from Lynyrd Skynyrd's fans. Rockin' Into The Night from 1980 was their big national breakthrough; its clean radio-friendly production, and song-oriented approach earned them a following among non-Southern hard rock fans. Wild-Eyed Southern Boys, from 1981, is their critical high-water mark; the album peaked at #18, and the single "Hold On Loosely", a mellow hard rocker with Van Zant's country-soul vocals, became a radio perennial. Their next album, Special Forces, from 1982 was their best seller, reaching #10 and containing the top-10 "Caught Up In You". Subsequent albums failed to generate much interest, as hard rock and Southern rock dropped of the mainstream's radar; they disbanded in 1991. Occasional reunion efforts since then haven't caused a stir beyond their core Southern audience.
Article comments
1 - The Proprietor
Frampton's signature effect is called a talkbox, not a squack box. Frampton and most 70s guitarists enamored of the effect used the Heil Sound talkbox, although there were other models from Electro-Harmonix and Kustom that enjoyed some popularity at the time.
An interesting trivia bit about "More Than A Feeling" is that Tom Scholz has said that he was very influenced by the Left Banke classic "Walk Away Renee" when writing it.
2 - uao
Thanks for the correction and bit of trivia, Proprietor. I wasn't sure what to call that darned thing. I'll fixt it in the text.
Walk Away Renee? Somehow I can't hear it, although "More Than A Feeling" does contain the line "I See my Marianne walking away..."
3 - Guppusmaximus
Nice review of some great bands... Me personally, I would've listed ASIA instead of Loverboy because Loverboy were one hit wonders(my opinion).With tracks like "only time will tell" and "Heat of the moment"... ASIA was definately Arena Rock!!
4 - uao
Asia would have been an excellent inclusion. I'm not sure I'd bump Loverboy for them, since Loverboy represents something of a road-not-taken by arena rock. Maybe I'd toss the Tubes, who only made the list at the very last moment when my mind was drawing a blank.
5 - cathi
I love your list!!!!! these are songs that I would play as well on a lazy day. thanks
6 - Uncle Fiscus
Where's AC/DC?? These hacks stink!! Or Zepplin??
7 - uao
Uncle Fiscus: Led Zeppelin and AC/DC were left off because the term "arena rock" diminishes them; they both are primarily known as heavy metal or hard rock. As for the rest being hacks, isn't that what arena rock is all about? Read the article, and you'll understand.
8 - Bruiser
Three of the bands listed - Blue Oyster Cult, REO Speedwagon, and Heart - played at the first concert I ever attended: the 1981 Texxas Jamm at the Houston Astrodome. For the record, the other two bands that played were Foghat and the long-forgotten Rockets.
The last two studio records that Cheap Trick have released are among their finest.
9 - Sister Ray
Maybe you could substitute Bob Seger for the Tubes. He would be more familiar to fans of arena rock, and you hear him a lot on classic-rock radio.
Punk just didn't catch on in the Midwest as much as the critics hoped it would. MTV really knocked off the arena bands.
Drifting a bit, remember when early MTV played "closet classics" from the 60s? There was a clip of the Doors doing "Touch Me" and videos by Blue Cheer, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Donovan. Lots of swirling lights, etc.
10 - Paul Roy
Damn, I've seen nearly every one of these bands in concert. That must make me an arena rock lover. I guess there's worst things to love.
11 - uao
I did consider Bob Seger, but he already turned up in my 'Detroit Rock' playlist, and I'm saving him for a 'Heartland/Midwestern Rock' list as well.
However, his late 70's work definitely could qualify as 'arena rock' too.
12 - Linda
Enjoyed your reviews. However, you left out a very important chapter in Nuge Tune History. In 1990, Ted's band THE DAMN YANKEES, and self-titled CD,
spawned four smash AOR hits ("Runaway," "Coming Of Age," "High Enough" and "Come Again"); High Enough reached #3 on the Billboard Charts.
Additionally, in 2000, the Ted Nugent/KISS Tour made the Top 10 Grossing Tours of the year.
13 - uao
Thanks Linda, I should have said something about Damn Yankees (and added a bit after seeing your comment). It slipped my mind completely, but yes, that was a major chapter in his bio.
14 - godoggo
A defining characteristic of what I think of as arena rock is that it would seem absurdly incongruous if played in a small club, thus disqualifying not only Cheap Trick but also Aerosmith, but of which, not coincidentally, I like.
I also think that a lot of the characteristic mannerisms of arena rock were innovated by The Who, around the time they commenced sucking (I'm sure you all agree). For me the ultimate arena rock moment is "They're all wasted" which was obviously calculated to elicit the ultimate arena rock response: "Whoooooooo!"
15 - NashTrick
Cheap Trick remains a force today. A lot of "new" bands in rock point to them as a major influence....STP,Foo Fighters,etc...all recognize Cheap Trick as their roots. Quite a compliment by todays standards.
Give Cheap Trick's 2003 release "Special One" a whirl...great as ever!!! PEACE.
16 - Christine Foster
I agree with your listing of arena rock artists but I would have left off the Tubes and put Nazareth.Also as a Canadian I loved "Loverboy" but our greatest arena rock band here is the hard workin band "Trooper".
17 - Benatarlvr
Great review of Pat Benatar. However, she hit number #1 in 1981 with Precious Time. Not 1982. And Get Nervous was #4 in 1982 not 1983. Overall a great countdown.
18 - Trigaba
Why is everyone so reluctant to classify Rush as an Arena Rock band? Are they too progressive and conceptual to break the pop seal? Geddy Lee's high-pitched voice and abundance of keyboards makes me thing they definitely belong in this countdown.
19 - guppusmaximus
Ya know... Looking back on this review, I don't believe Pink Floyd could ever be classified as Arena rock along with RUSH. They were way too progressive and pioneering for their time to be lumped in with the comercially appealing rock of the 70's. I mean if you're going to overlook those qaulities, you may as well add ELO or YES to this list. But I do feel it was a great article and I do love alot of those bands....
20 - Ray Violette
Loverboy were hardly a one hit wonder as mentioned in the comments section, with a bunch of Top 40 hits. I saw them in 1981, and they were definitely arena rock then. I saw them in 2006, and they're still arena rock, although playing smaller venues, with all original members (save their bassist who passed away). Their latest album is actually quite good and is getting some surprising airplay.
21 - Kirt
Exactly. You hit the nail on the head with this one. I would only add these bands for consideration. April Wine, Cars, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, Scorpions, Judas Priest, Joe Walsh, Black Sabbath, Molly Hatchet, Fleetwood Mac. All huge arena bands when I graduated from HS back in 1982.
22 - Eye-roller
I don't even like .38 Special, but even I know ('84? Dallas Texxas Jam, watching MTV) that the dark-haired bearded guy (Don Barnes) sang "Hold On Loosely", and nearly all of their other hits. Always seemed like Donnie Van Zandt was just there to sprinkle on some of Skynyrd's "cachet", if one can call it that...
Also, according to the latest re-writing of the Boston foundation myth (in some schwag mag I picked up at '06 Austin NAMM), Scholz actually did go back to Boston and re-record everything with the ostensible band while the label-appointed "producer" stayed back in LA and ran interference.
23 - toocrass
Loverboy were not a one-hit wonder as mentioned, but if you want the epitome of a pre-packaged arena rock band that was a one-hit wonder look no further than Survivor. Saw 'em open for REO back in the day and they were beyond boring live. Unacceptable sin in the world of arena rock.
24 - PanurgeATL
Hmmm...
1. With all due respect, most pop music genres are "notoriously adverse to change". Indie-rock is actually a prime example. And bands that change a lot, like (say) Rush and Yes, tend to get blame rather than credit, because when they do it it seems like standing down or Accepting The Inevitable, or else selling out for the sake of continued commercial success. Meanwhile, bands from AC/DC to the Foo Fighters keep writing the same song over and over and no one complains.
2. Classic rock radio seems like a "mausoleum" because the playlists aren't broad enough. There's little effort to bring arena rock into a larger lineage, which is what the old AOR format provided. A good arena-rock station today ought to be playing everything from Hendrix to Zeppelin to ELP to Boston to Van Halen to Ozzy to Ratt to Dream Theater to echolyn (who you don't know, but you should) to Porcupine Tree. Beyond that, the stations won't play those old bands' new music. Is it not as good? Is it on small labels and thereby unofficially blacklisted? If major labels knew that radio would play new music by Band X, would they be more likely to sign Band X to a new contract?
3. I guess the truly amazing thing is that this stuff still has a decent audience after all this time, even though most of the bands who made it appear to be shells of themselves by now. I think the arena experience (and let's not forget the '80s hair bands here) is an essential part of rock; it's just not the whole story, and beyond that the whole enterprise as it actually went down always seemed to have a bit of an air of compromise and artistic decline about it from the beginning, which is a shame. What would an uncompromising, "ascendant" arena-rock sound like?