Great Metal Albums of 1988: Winger

Back in 1988, heavy metal wasn’t so categorized, at least in my view. If it had some good power chords, suitable vocals and killer guitar solos, then it was metal. Sure, I knew of glam metal. Bands like Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and Europe carried that banner proudly. As for hair metal, it didn’t exist although I would say that TNT were pioneers of the genre. Therefore, when my sister sent me one of her many compilation tapes from the US, I made no such distinction when it came to the Winger song, “Headed for a Heartbreak.” I just liked the song.

Winger’s debut album was exactly one direction which heavy metal seemed to be heading in the late 1980s. For metalheads, there were power chords galore but there was some great melody and power ballads to gain the band much commercial success with the album. Four singles were released from the album, one of which, “Heading for a Heartbreak,” has already been mentioned. It’s considered a great power ballad and I don’t disagree. Three other singles begin the album, the first one, which was also the first single, “Madeline,” is another almost power ballad type song but it shows the potential of the band from the right off. The second track, “Hungry,” is noticeably heavier. Maybe it’s me mellowing with age but I appreciate the combined power chords with melody much more these days.

Single/track three, “Seventeen” is my favourite among the singles. It’s even more rockier than “Hungry” with a lot of swagger to it. True, it’s about intimacy with a girl of the same age as the title but the lyrics don’t matter here. It’s a catchy hard rock vibe and guitarist, Reb Beach, really steps into the spotlight on this one. His rhythm guitar work is exceptional and he plays a blinder of a guitar solo. But before I get into the deeper cuts and reveal the hidden gem, one can’t help but notice the cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic, “Purple Haze.” It wouldn’t win a Original vs. Cover competition in my eyes but it’s done fairly well.

Although “Without the Night,” wasn’t released as a single, maybe it should have been. It’s a good enough power ballad. Kip Winger does pour some genuine passion into the vocals and lays down a cool bassline. Maybe it should have been called, “Kip’s Song.” Okay, maybe not because bass and vocals are supported by some good keyboards from Paul Taylor. Additionally, we get another great guitar solo from Reb and one can’t forget the drumming of Rod Morganstein. However, it’s not the hidden gem.

So, the search for the hidden gem continues. All four remaining tracks are contenders but the winner is “Time to Surrender.” Reb’s riffs at the very beginning lets you know that Winger want to rock. This one is great hard rocker but with some great harmonizing at the chorus and some superb guitar fills. I had to momentarily stop typing so I can bang my head to it, at least until the guitar solo. “Poison Angel” comes second in the hidden gem search. In contrast to the other tracks, this one just gets down to business with some traditional metal. The fastest song on the album. One final point. I think it was a good idea to have the final single, “Heading for a Heartbreak,” close the album.

Track Listing:

1. Madeline
2. Hungry
3. Seventeen
4. Without the Night
5. Purple Haze
6. State of Emergency
7. Time to Surrender
8. Poison Angel
9. Hangin’ On
10. Heading for a Heartbreak

Winger

Kip Winger- lead vocals, bass, keyboards

Reb Beach- guitar, backing vocals

Paul Taylor- keyboards, backing vocals

Rod Morganstein- drums, backing vocals

Additional Musicians:

Dweezil Zappa- slide guitar on “Purple Haze”

Beau Hill, Ira McLaughlan- backing vocals

Sandra Park, Rebecca Young, Hae Young Ham, Maria Kistopoulos- strings

It has been said that with Winger’s debut album, hair metal was launched upon the world. It could be the case but I never noticed it. For me, this is a great album no matter what category you put it in.

Next post: Overkill- Under the Influence

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80sMetalman’s Top 30 Power Ballads: 1-10

The moment of truth has arrived! I am going to real my all time top ten power ballads. Before I do, let me just thank you for all of your comments and for simply enjoying the ride. While sitting down actually figuring out my top 30 was more exhausting than I had anticipated, it was still great fun. Think of all the songs I got to listen to. I know some of you might be a little disappointed that a power ballad you really love didn’t make the list but believe me, there were so many to choose from. Pity poor Ozzy, he has delivered many a great power ballad but not one of them made my list. It’s not that I didn’t want to include him, my favourite Ozzy power ballad, “In Old LA Tonight” from the “Osmosis” album came pretty damn close. Maybe if he preforms it at Download, I may change my mind. Anyway, enough of me rambling on, here’s my top ten.

10. Dokken- Alone Again

9. TNT- Eddie

8. Beggars and Thieves- Your Love is in Vain

7. Steel Panther- Community Property

I can see with lyrics like these why some people don’t take SP seriously but this is a kick ass power ballad!

6. Tyketto- Standing Alone

Another reason why Danny Vaughn doesn’t get the accolades he so truly deserves as a singer.

5. Pretty Maids- With These Eyes

4. Twisted Sister- The Price

For me, this song put the power in the ballad!

3. Savatage- All That I Bleed

I had to do some complicated math to include this one. The first half of it is a piano ballad while the second half completely rocks. So I applied the formula ballad + power rocker = power ballad

2. April Wine- Just Between You and Me

Go back and re-read my post on their 1981 album, “Nature of the Beast” and you’ll see why it’s number two.

1. Heart- Allies

Heart would put out two more commercially successful power ballads later on in the 1980s. However, in my mind, they would never be as good as this one, not even close.

There you have it, 80sMetalman’s top thirty power ballads. I hope you have enjoyed listening to them as much as I have.

Next post: A Great Unknown Philadelphia Band

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Great Rock Albums of 1984: TNT- Knights of New Thunder

You’ve probably guessed that I’ve been off from my main job the past several days or why else would I be able to post three days in a row? That all changes as I’m back in work tonight so before I go, I thought I’d leave it with a post about an album from whom I call my favourite Norwegian band, TNT. Leaves Eyes does come a close second though. I didn’t hear their second album, “Knights of New Thunder” until 1986 and I have to say that I was quite impressed when I did.

“Knights of New Thunder” was the first album to feature American born Tony Harnell, though for some reason, he is credited on the first few TNT albums as Hansen. Anyway, Tony’s fantastic vocal range completed what is essentially a great band. I can totally understand why my sister put him into her band of underrated musicians. Speaking of underrated, guitarist Ronni Le Tekro doesn’t get the true recognition he deserves either. He does hammer out some really amazing guitar solos on this album.

Things open on the album with probably the best known track on it, “Seven Seas.” It seems to be the one most people remember whenever it is mentioned. The reason for this is a no-brainer. Harnell’s vocals shine through straight away supported by Le Tekro’s guitar work. We must not forget the rhythm section of Morty Black and Diesel Dahl who are as tight as any on this album. While “Seven Seas” is the most well known track on “Knights of New Thunder,” the rest of the album is just as good. In fact, the only tracks that might be called filler are “USA” and “Deadly Metal” though I like both of these tracks too. On a personal note, the lyrics to “Break the Ice” were very important to me in late 1986. The title track ranks right up there with the best album closers.

There is one difference in the tracks on the US version and the European version of the album. Having the US one, I was treated to my favourite track on the album, “Eddie,” while Europeans had the track “Tor With the Hammer” which itself is a pretty good track. “Eddie” is a very good power ballad whose lyrics I found very amusing. I think the song is about a deranged dog but I have known humans who fit in quite nicely with the lyrics of the chorus.

“Eddie likes torture and pain;

And Eddie’s crying in the rain;

Eddie’s got a twisted brain;

And neighours think that he’s insane;

Eddie strikes again.” 

Track listing:

1. Seven Seas
2. Ready to Leave
3. Klassik Romance
4. Last Summer’s Evil
5. Lost Without Your Love
6. Break the Ice
7. Tor With the Hammer
8. USA
9. Deadly Metal
10. Knights of New Thunder
11. Eddie (Track 6 on the US version)

TNT

Tony Harnell (Hansen in the credits)- lead vocals

Ronni Le Tekro- guitars, backing vocals

Morty Black- bass, backing vocals, synthesizer

Diesel Dahl- drums

Because of “Eddie,” there are two power ballads on the US version of “Knights of New Thunder.” While I prefer “Eddie” to “Lost Without Your Love,” I do think Le Tekro’s guitar solo on the song is amazing. It has been said that “Knights of New Thunder” would be TNT’s last pure metal album as they would go more glam after. My sister was always jealous of the band’s hair. While, I will explore that theory down the line, I will say for now to just kick back on enjoy the delights of this one.

Next post: Deep Purple- Perfect Strangers

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Norweigan Tragedy, A Metalhead’s Take

Several weeks have passed since the tragedy that happened in Norway and I am still trying to get my head around as to why it happened. We now know that Anders Behring Breivik who carried out the atrocity was on the far right of the political spectrum and felt that he was saving his country from a takeover by Islam. Since the 1980s, there has been a more of a polarisation of political thought in Europe with more people going to the extreme right or left. However, for me this doesn’t wholly explain why it happened in the first place.

The main reason I am still struggling with this is because I went to Norway in 1980, not as a tourist, but as a member of the US Marine Corps, where I took part in a large NATO operation. I spent eight days walking the Norweigan countryside and getting rained on. September is the rainy season in Norway and it rained six days out of the eight I was there. But that’s not important, what is important is how extremely friendly the Norweigan people were. On the first night, we captured some Norweigan home guard as part of the war games and they in turn offered us all cigarettes and whisky. I don’t smoke, but did enjoy the latter. This was the case, the rest of the time. We would be in a position and the locals would come out and give us sweets, coffee and even beer. On the last day, as we marched back to the ship, we went past an all girls school and they came out and cheered us as we passed. This is my problem, I can’t understand how such a thing happened in a country where the people are so friendly.

Now you are probably asking yourself, what has this got to do with heavy metal? The answer is quite simple, there is a lot of metal in Norway. The first band that comes to mind is TNT who have been going since the 1980s and it was listening to their album “Realised Fantasies” that gave me the inspiration for this post. TNT have put out 12 studio and two live albums, but it was their first two “Kights of New Thunder” and “Tell No Tales” that are the most memorable for me. That is why I mention them quite a bit in Rock And Roll Children and give an account of the concert I saw at the Marquee in London.

Last year at the Bloodstock Festival, I had the opportunity to see another impressive band from Norway, Leaves Eyes. Of all the acts that were unknown to me before that weekend, Leaves Eyes is the one that impressed me the most. It was the way the operatic, melodic voice of lead singer, Liv Kristine and the more raw vocals of Alex Krull came together with the rest of the band. I suggest you check them out, you won’t be disappointed.

Of course, there are other metal bands in Norway like Angel, Bankok Babes, Wild Side and Hush to name a few. So, if you are trying to make sense of the tragedy, which befell Norway, then listen to a Norweigan metal band, I’m sure it will help you see things in a new light.

Next post: Back to Great Rock Albums of the 70s: The Eagles- Hotel California

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