I’m All Out Of Love For The Sweet November Rain…

Tonight we have a guest blogger… my husband a.k.a. Dan Martin a.k.a. TheTallCool1. Take it away baby!

I’m not a music snob, but music has always played a big part in shaping my life. I’m the youngest of 5, and my parents grew up in the 30s and 40s, so the different musical styles, genres, and artists that influenced my tastes run the gamut from jazz, to rock, to country, to of all things, show tunes and big band. I like any music as long as it involves talent. So no hip-hop or rap.

As I was listening to the two stations that I can pick up at our house, 97.3 and 106.9, I was struck by a certain similarity between them both. On 97.3, they play lots, I mean LOTS of Air Supply, that kind  of thing, the whole soft rock from the 70’s and 80’s. Meanwhile on 106.9, they do the classic rock, 70’s 80’s and 90’s stuff. Going back and forth, I heard Bread, singing “Baby, I’m-A Want You” on 97.3, and I took it as long as I could before I changed the channel.

There on 106.9, nestled in between the ever present Bon Jovi songs, was the worst trend in American music, the “power ballad”. Poison, the hair-metal band, was singing that “Every Rose has It’s Thorn.” And the worst part of it was, I couldn’t tell difference between the two.

Now, if you think about it, Bread has more credibility with their music. The ballad is what they do. They did it better than most. They ranked right up there with the aforementioned Air Supply, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, and Dan Fogelberg. So I wonder why Poison felt at some point in the late 80s, that they needed to emulate these guys?

Seriously, can you imagine if Dan Fogelberg tried to sing hair metal? Can you imagine the Air Supply version of “Ace of Spades”? Yet people always tend to make fun of the 70s ballads, while they get all emotional with “November Rain.”

Yep, that was Guns ‘n Roses singing that one. Again, no credibility, so I will take Jim Croce and Dan Fogelberg every time.

As I said, they stuck to their guns, and maintained what they did best. I can sing along with Dio on “hungry for Heaven” just as easily as I can with Billy Joel on “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, and have a blast either time. After all, they’re doing what they do best.

~ Dan Martin