Dude...awesome.
I have to say that my fave Dio tune is "The Last In Line". RJD is so operatically ridiculous sometimes, yet still, I feel the love.
Also, "Back for the Attack" is one of my favorite albums, period. Very few misses on that one (I still keep the cassette tape in my car, for when the mood strikes me), though "Dream Warriors" is lame to me, in retrospect. I love "Sleepless Night" and "Heaven Sent", and think ithat if some half-assed popstar remade "Burning Like A Flame" today that it would be as big a hit as it was in '87.
I like the 1984 choice, though I rank 5150 right with it in terms of quality.
What a great series of posts! I need to scan in my ticket stubs and do a "best of" concerts post. Going through them, there are some winners in there. ...stuff I was really lucky to see.
Glad you've enjoyed them. I look forward to reading some of your posts on concerts.
I agree that Dream Warriors was hokey, but it was influential and it still makes me smile when I hear it. Every time I do, I think of that kid in the movie who was a D&D player and was a wizard trying to get rid of Freddie. Too funny.
I have to admit that I would have had Ride the Lightning and Danzig higher.
Still, that's a pretty good list.
For me I would have had Motorhead and Racer X in there, too.
What's hard for me is that I love the Cult, but I'm not sure that they would be metal. Meanwhile, Megadeath, the Scorpions, and Wasp hat a few moments but they were too spead out.
However, what about ACDC?
Oh , wait a sec, there they are at 9.
Nevermind.
Rob, I flirted with Motorhead. I almost put them at 25, but since it's my list, I decided to leave them off the Top 25. They would definitely be in the Top 50 though.
Racer X ... I love Paul Gilbert. I think he's magnificent. I don't, however, think Racer X was that good a band. Their singer annoyed the hell out of me.
As you can tell, I'm a big Megadeth fan, so that weighs heavily on the list. I also flirted with the Scorpions as Uli Roth is so influential, but again, they didn't quite make the Top 25.
You might want to check out Early Man. The ep was crushing and the lp should be good. (I haven't heard it yet.)
WHAT??? No Carpenters?
Filthy commie.
All in all a strong top 25. I have only one nit. If you are gonna have Crue and Dokken, then you must have KISS. Now those guys weren't great musicians by any stretch of the imagination. But their influence cannot be denied. Hell, they are the grandfathers of 80s hair metal. 'Alive' was the album that got them recognized, even if their first album was heavier and better imo than the next three studio albums combined. Ace, while not a stellar player, inspired many to take up the axe. And who can forget the fire-spewing and blood vomiting of Gene Simmons. Theatrical metal at its best. All said, "Alive II" is the best album of their career. It would be in MY top 25, which is why music is such a subjective thing.
Good series of posts, Cullen. I enjoyed it very much.
Glad you liked it, Crotalus.
KISS is yet another band I flirted with. Yes, their influence is undeniable, but I don't like them, so I left them off.
KISS is a victim of their own image, now much better known for de- (and then re-) making up on MTV. The Family Guy episode (with the "KISS Rules!" guy on cable access), while funny, doesn't enhance their standing as rock gods. "I wanna rock and roll all night, and have a wonderful time!"
Oh, and PS - "Detroit Swing City" is superior to the original. I'll post proof before much longer. In the meantime, in honor of Diamond Dave and VH:
Dum-da-dee-da-dum, da-dee-da-dum, da-dee-da-dum...
Happy trails to you
Until we meet again (dum-da-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da-dum...)
Happy trails to you
Keep smiling until then
Who cares about the clouds when we're tugethaaaaaah?
Just sing a song and bring the sunny weh-eh-ther
Happy trails to you
Until we meet again...
KISS? You're kidding, right?
I kind of like "Rock and roll all night", and they did one other I sort of liked (about 1977) whose name I can't recall, but...still, you're kidding, right?
I agree with you on Tool. I saw them live a few years ago (I actually went to see the opening act, Tricky) and after getting over the whole shy Maynard act, I was able to concentrate on Carey's drumming. It was amazing!!! On a human level, he is someone that frightens me, but on a music level, he is simply stunning. I am still more of a Peart fan...that is a guy that I just don't remotely comprehend how he does what he does.
Peart has always been awesome, but has always been more of a straight-forward rock drummer to me. It's obvious he's inspired all today's drummers, but Mike Portnoy -- even though he owes most of his skills to Peart -- is my favorite. I just love all the off-time synchopation he does.
I adore Carey's drumming, and he's probably up there in my top 10 drummers. Keith Moon is way up there also.
Good list, Cullen! I appreciate the addition of Dio. He's one of the voices that I can't help but like (as long as his lyrics aren't too embarrassingly melodramatic, which isn't as often as I'd like), along with Hetfield, Mike Patton, Maynard from Tool (although I'm not as appreciative of Lateralus as many other fans), and a few others.
rust in peace and peace sells should be switched
lateralus? seriously? that's when tool began it's lame descent into stoner sounds of "atmosphere" instead of actually playing songs. how many tracks do you need to skip to actually hear songs on their last 2 albums?
Commenting by HaloScan
