10. Warrant - Cherry Pie (1990). It was a tough call between this one and Warrant's debut, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinkin' Rich, but I went with Cherry Pie in the end because I think it's a little more representative of the height of the Hair Band Era: decadent, full of sexual innuendo, and a little bit cheesy. Obviously, the title track is a classic, full of innuendo (apparenly "cherry pie" isn't literal, as I had previously believed), and the album also contains two of the band's more successful ballads, "I Saw Red" and "Blind Faith." In addition, some of the lesser-known tracks are pretty solid, including "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "Sure Feels Good to Me," "You're the Only Hell Your Mama Ever Raised," and "Love in Stereo" (which is about a young rocker's first threesome -- how perfectly hair band).
9. Whitesnake - Whitesnake (1987). A reworking of a song off of their 1982 Saints & Sinners album turned Whitesnake into hair band legends. That song, of course, is "Here I Go Again," and the video featuring then-attractive-and-not-crazy Tawny Kitaen spread eagle on the hood of a car didn't hurt. In addition to that anthem, the album features the ballad "Is This Love" (whose video also featured Kitaen), the Zeppelin-influenced "Still of the Night," the hard-rocking "Children of the Night," and the solid "Straight For the Heart."
8. Skid Row - Skid Row (1989). I rediscovered this album six or seven years ago, and it's actually a pretty underrated album, especially considering it was Skid Row's debut. Sebastian Bach has some pipes, and bassist Rachel Bolan used to have a chain connecting his nose ring to his earring (which doesn't really bear on the music, but I just think it's badass). The album has anthems ("Youth Gone Wild"), ballads ("I Remember You," "18 and Life"), and straight-up rockers ("Big Guns," "Sweet Little Sister," "Here I Am").
More...
Leave a comment