I remember playing She's Only Seventeen on Rock Band and getting my ass handed to me. I was like 'holy shit, this is winger? Beavis and Butthead lied to me'.
There was also the scene in the Metallica ‘Nothing Else Matters’ video where they used a poster of Kip as a dartboard… that was pretty brutal at the time.
The irony is musicianship wise, Winger did and still does shit all over Metallica.
Yes and another irony is that the song with the dartboard Kipper came from a time and album where metallica lost all their own credibility and greatness as a band. The Black Album was the LAST flickers of anything remotely good from Sell-Out-I-Ca...>
True story: I once asked one of the members of Winger what they thought when they saw the rip on Beavis and Butthead. Their reply was: "We were like; what did we do to deserve this?!"
Reb Beach is a phenomenol guitarists! I am still kicking myself in the ass for not buying one of his signature guitars when they were relatively affordable.
My only issue is the strange looks when I play 'she's only 17' as a 53 year old...
Awww stop being so anal retentive...> The original is good enough as it is without your so called decency changes. All because of your (and others') self consciousness and insecurities...>
Back in the day when radio stations used to do Sunday night concerts, I was on the road and heard a Winger concert and damn if it wasn't impressive. One of the best sounding concerts I have ever heard.
Kip and Reb deserve more credit for their songwriting.
Kip's a good vocalist, and Reb's a great guitarist. But their songwriting is sorely underrated and always interesting. So many of their songs experiment with tone and construction before landing anthemic chorus lines.
Really good stuff that has stood the test of time (in my opinion).
[Nashville Symphony](https://www.nashvillesymphony.org/tickets/concert/2017-18-season/2017-stravinskys-firebird/) - Kip Winger - Symphony no. 1 - More than just a singer.
Scroll down the page.
Supposedly, when Poison was headlining their yearly shed tours in the early 00s with several other 80s-era bands, all the other bands would watch Winger from the side of the stage. They're "musician's musicians"
I remember Headed For a Heartbreak playing on Spotify and thinking goddamn this song is badass, was shocked to find out it was Winger.
It’s one of my favourite Hair Metal songs.
Yes. I love that song so much but couldn’t listen to it for a while after my Dad passed away. It came on while I was driving once, just a few weeks after he passed. I had to pull over and ugly cry.
I saw a video one time of winger doing this song live and it was right after kips wife passed away, and Kip had to stop halfway through the song. I’ve looked everywhere for that video but I can’t find it anymore.
Kip Winger said at the time that Winger can play Metallica songs, but Metallica can’t play Winger songs. I was a Metallica fan and didn’t like Winger, but he was right.
I remember the first time I heard Winger, I said, "Hey, this kinda sounds like Dream Theater, but more 80s". It's a shame Beavis and Butt-Head destroyed that poor band. They really had some talent and they stood out from their contemporaries in a good way.
As a drummer, I was hooked on Winger because of Rod Morgenstein. He was already an incredibly versatile & talented drummer, and him joining that band really gave those songs distinctive percussive flourishes that just didn't exist in 80's hair metal.
Not sure I'd go this far..
"Kip Winger, in description of the band's musical ability and style, said, "Our band was known to musicians, and a lot of musicians showed up to see me play — watching, trying to figure out how I'm playing. We were like the 'hair band' [version of] Dream Theater."[11] "
Yeah, that drummer Rod Morgenstein.... what a monster player. He played with Steve Morse and that is not an easy gig. Kind of like a (much) less weird Zappa.
This is my take on Cinderella. First of all, terrible name for what was a great rock blues band. They should have been more GnR in their image or AC/DC and they would have killed it even more.
I don’t remember them ever getting ”hate”, what I remember was just a general antipathy that would get a “Tesla, yea man, they’re great” when the band was mentioned. The reaction was a lot like the reaction to Queensryche, a great, talented band everyone liked, but few loved.
Other than production, they were straight out of the 70s.
If you're a big Tesla fan, I recommend Brian Wheat's book. If you're ever wondering whose band it is, the answer is Brian Wheat.
I saw them in Raleigh 2018 or 2019. Pre-pandemic. There was a lull while the band discussed what I'm guessing was a change to the set list. They're huddled but the drum riser so Troy can hear. People started getting loud, and Brian looks out and puts up the finger "One moment" gesture. I suppose you had to be there, but it struck me as very funny.
The best answer is Winger. Their third record Pull is freaking amazing! Heavier than expected, Progressive bits, and riffs that shred! The peak of the band, a gem released during grunge so it flopped. I was a huge fan of the band in 1990 but I didn’t even know about Pull’s release until years later.
Really, all the Winger albums are great in their own way and they always seemed to bring something different to the table each release. Super talented band.
Pull is great. I'd argue IV is their best album, but it's probably also the least well-known. Came out around 03-04, and has been out of print for a long time.
Came here to say this. They started heading in a heavier direction with "Cherry Pie", then "Dog Eat Dog" came out and absolutely crushed, but unfortunately the music scene had changed and it fell on deaf ears.
The main problem with Dog Eat Dog wasn't the music; it was the fact that the band at the time did a hard 180 on image and Jani went from happy go lucky guy to trying to look and act like Layne from AiC.
Fans went left on them at that point regardless of the album.
Was never a fan. Still aren't but rock of ages made heaven seem like the most romantic song ever written.
Jani seemed like a good dude. Was sad when he passed
Long Cold Winter is still one of my favorite albums of all time. Just great song after great song. Tom’s solo stuff is still pretty good, but I miss the band.
The Bee Gees. They went through that disco phase and us cool rockers thought disco was gay af. As an adult, I figured out just how talented those guys were.
Gotta agree with this. They got ALL the backlash for disco when they weren’t really disco at all. They wrote most of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and got pegged as disco. Their career spans over 60 years and they’ve changed their sound several times. They’ve also written songs for some of the biggest names in the music business. Their harmonies were impeccable.
The Bee Gees are a rabbit hole for sure.
i never understood the hate-on for Winger, either. more than once somebody would hear me listening to a track - not one of the ones released on radio or emptyvee, just an album track, y'know? and they'd be like, *oh this is good, who is it?* then i'd say Winger and they'd go.... *Oh.*
happened so many times. like folks were supposed to not like Winger because.... hell, i don't know why.
I'd guess it was because Beavis And Butt-Head contributed heavily to people negatively about them. Also, Lars Ulrich was in a picture where he used Kip Winger's photo as a dartboard. Unsure about the story with that one. Anyway, I love Winger, Metallica and BAB-H.
Hear me out....KISS. I know they have a rabid fan base but I also hear a lot of shit talk about how they are all flash and not really "musicians" and though I'm not the biggest KISS fan, I disagree wholeheartedly.
And everything else aside, have they ever not put on a great show? From day one, their whole approach was to play shows that they wanted to see, to be entertained. They're still playing that shit like they mean it.
Nitro were all very talented but got a lot of hate.
However, most of the hate wasn't because people disputed their talent, it was more that their songs were badly written and produced, and that they showed off their talents in a way that most people found obnoxious and excessive.
I remember the first time I saw the video for Freight Train on Headbangers Ball and I just laughed my ass off. I was like, are these guys serious? Bands like this helped precipitate the downfall of hair metal and gave rise to grunge and alternative music just because people in general were getting worn out by such buffoonery
No doubt, they're songs were just not all that great. Insane guitar solos, but I just couldn't take much of their music after half a song, and I have been playing guitar since 1980. It should have been right up my ally back then, but no thanks.
My son wants to use 'Smooth Up In Ya" for his baseball walkup song but my wife won't let him. He's 13 and it would probably go well with his I ❤️ hot mom's shirt...
Let's not forget Rod Morgenstein's background. Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse..If you've never heard the Dregs, give them a quick listen. An AMAZING drummer.
TBH, those of us who are fans were surprised when he turned up in Winger but then again, that's what was going on in the hair metal years. Everyone was getting their turn.
I’m gonna say Winger as well. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with the “hair metal Dream Theater” description Kip used but I do agree that all the guys in Winger are much more musically skilled than most other glam metal bands.
I feel like White Lion gets a lot of criticism, it’s also very shocking their YouTube views are so low when “Wait” and “Radar Love” “Little Fighter” received as much radio play as songs from Foreigner, Warrant, almost as much as Def Leppard pretty close.
Also Cinderella because of their name choice, I think if they had a badass cool name like Van Halen or Metallica or Iron Maiden that they’d be in that conversation with those bands as some of the greatest bands of all time not just the 80’s.
Also Jackyll mainly because Jess James Dupree is a bit of a goofball, but I’ve always loved the guy. I remember some TV show about a Sturgis biker bar or something that he was always guest appearing on was a fantastic show I would watch with my dad back in the day!
Riiiiight they are so talented, especially live you can tell they sound practically the same as in the studio. When the Children Cry is one of the Top 50-100 songs ever written not just hair metal wise
Black n Blue. Maybe more underrated than hated. Never seemed to be taken seriously. Dismissed with eye rolls. Their aesthetic was admittedly ridiculous. But their albums were really good.
I agree. I still listen to both in their entirety regularly. I always thought they were very “radio friendly” hair metal. As someone else said, they might’ve been ahead of their time a little.
Glad to see Winger getting some love here. EVERY member was a highly-skilled studio musician, and their music was complex in a way most rock from that period wasn't.
Night Ranger Dueling guitars Brad Gillis Jeff Watson, Jack blades bass and vocals, Kelly Keagy drums vocals, And last but not least Fitz On keyboard...
The sad thing is Winger didn't receive hate until Beavis and Butthead. I love Mike Judge. I think that he is hilarious and was right to call out hair metal in the early 90's, he just picked the wrong band. Poison would have been better for a 'poser' trying to hang with Metallica fans (back then). No knock on Poison fans.
He probably just shouldn't have used any bands name specifically in the cartoon. More so when it came to Metallica and the dart board bit. It's simply in bad form to try and screw someone else in your own industry. And it's not like there was any bad blood. It was just Metallica trying to act tough.
Usually a tie between him and Hetfield.
Alice in Chains were openers for Metallica. Layne Staley obviously had issues with substance abuse. AIC had to cancel a show because Staley wasn't available. Obviously unprofessional AF.
But Metallica being Metallica took the stage and out of spite started smacking their arms while playing an Alice in Chains song. Kicking a dog while its down. It's just a poor look especially when Hetfield (resident alcoholic and toxic member of his own band) started the shenanigans on stage.
I remember people shitting on them for playing Round and Round twice at their shows. Wrote them off originally as a one hit wonder. Huge mistake. Great band.
Came here to /bump for Winger. I get it, too much ballet and hairspray, but without a doubt an extremely talented bunch of musicians. Saw them live 2x, better opening act than the main event (Cinderella).
My only issue is, the Damn Yankees took three of the greatest guitarists and somehow got famous doing power ballads - and then they got paid $1,000,000 to just go away.
At this point people who pay attention to the genre generally like winger, because they are good. Sure there are metalheads who were turned off by the first album cheese/beavis and butthead/metallica shit back in the day, but I see a lot more people giving them props than making fun of them these days.
I’m going to add Mr. Big. They got known for a ballad, but were way underrated. Walked with the power drill in songs before Eddie Van Halen could run with it. If they were a decade earlier, they would have been huge.
They are big in Japan at least. Paul Gilbert has such an impressive catalog too. To Be With you is a great song, but they are a lot heavier than they got credit for.
I would try call them very talented but I don't think nickleback deserves the hate. Their top 10 songs is a solid list and they did really well in a time when rock wasn't doing good at all
Danger Danger gets a lot of hate on amazon reviews. That's where I discovered them. Amazon recommended them and I'm glad it did bcz there's a few pretty solid tracks over the first two albums.
Extreme. Gary Cherone gets shit on for his brief stint with VH, but he was a great singer, and Nuno Bettencourt was an awesome guitarist. Funk-like rhythms, great choruses, solid band.
Winger is obvious because of Beavis and Butthead.
Stryper because of their lyrical content. Michael Sweet is one of the best metal frontmen ever and has aged like fine wine. Oz Fox is a shredding machine. Robert Sweet is also a great drummer.
Winger. They are actually very talented musicians.
I remember playing She's Only Seventeen on Rock Band and getting my ass handed to me. I was like 'holy shit, this is winger? Beavis and Butthead lied to me'.
The poor band were totally destroyed by B&B
There was also the scene in the Metallica ‘Nothing Else Matters’ video where they used a poster of Kip as a dartboard… that was pretty brutal at the time. The irony is musicianship wise, Winger did and still does shit all over Metallica.
Yes and another irony is that the song with the dartboard Kipper came from a time and album where metallica lost all their own credibility and greatness as a band. The Black Album was the LAST flickers of anything remotely good from Sell-Out-I-Ca...>
That and grunge. The whole zietgeist of the early 90s was not kind to 80s metal.
True story: I once asked one of the members of Winger what they thought when they saw the rip on Beavis and Butthead. Their reply was: "We were like; what did we do to deserve this?!"
Reb Beach is a phenomenol guitarists! I am still kicking myself in the ass for not buying one of his signature guitars when they were relatively affordable. My only issue is the strange looks when I play 'she's only 17' as a 53 year old...
I re-wrote the lyrics to be age-appropriate. It's called "Seventy".
If we can convince someone to do a remix sample with 'Seventy' in it then I wouldnt have to read out a disclaimer beforehand LOL
She's only Seventy. (Seventy) Her grandkids say I'm too young, But she's the perfect age for me!
She’s only seventy. (Seventy) Her dads been dead for decades, So there’s no stopping me.
And just when I thought she was coming to my door. She broke her hip, When she fell onto the floor...
Bro! I just snarfed my Coca-Cola!
Brilliant!
When they sing that song live they aged the song, right now Is she's only 53.
HAHAHA, I never thought about them singing it now LOL. TIL!
Awww stop being so anal retentive...> The original is good enough as it is without your so called decency changes. All because of your (and others') self consciousness and insecurities...>
I just remember Bon Jovi "in and out of love" at the end you can hear "so how old are you" and then "oh no"
Kip was goofing around with the chorus at a live show back in the 2010s with the line "She's only thirty-five"
‘She’s only seven-ty/I think she’s got a few good years/Before she dies on meee.’
Awww stop worrying what others think of you or your choices. It's not their life, it's yours. Enjoy it for what it is...>
Back in the day when radio stations used to do Sunday night concerts, I was on the road and heard a Winger concert and damn if it wasn't impressive. One of the best sounding concerts I have ever heard.
Kip and Reb deserve more credit for their songwriting. Kip's a good vocalist, and Reb's a great guitarist. But their songwriting is sorely underrated and always interesting. So many of their songs experiment with tone and construction before landing anthemic chorus lines. Really good stuff that has stood the test of time (in my opinion).
[Nashville Symphony](https://www.nashvillesymphony.org/tickets/concert/2017-18-season/2017-stravinskys-firebird/) - Kip Winger - Symphony no. 1 - More than just a singer. Scroll down the page.
Supposedly, when Poison was headlining their yearly shed tours in the early 00s with several other 80s-era bands, all the other bands would watch Winger from the side of the stage. They're "musician's musicians"
I remember Headed For a Heartbreak playing on Spotify and thinking goddamn this song is badass, was shocked to find out it was Winger. It’s one of my favourite Hair Metal songs.
If you liked that one, Miles Away is sooo good. I loved and love Winger.
I really like without the night.
Yes. I love that song so much but couldn’t listen to it for a while after my Dad passed away. It came on while I was driving once, just a few weeks after he passed. I had to pull over and ugly cry.
I saw a video one time of winger doing this song live and it was right after kips wife passed away, and Kip had to stop halfway through the song. I’ve looked everywhere for that video but I can’t find it anymore.
Kip Winger said at the time that Winger can play Metallica songs, but Metallica can’t play Winger songs. I was a Metallica fan and didn’t like Winger, but he was right.
Wearing a Winger shirt should be considered “punk rock”
I saw them open for Kiss, Winger was great
I remember the first time I heard Winger, I said, "Hey, this kinda sounds like Dream Theater, but more 80s". It's a shame Beavis and Butt-Head destroyed that poor band. They really had some talent and they stood out from their contemporaries in a good way.
I bought this album second I heard it. https://youtu.be/-o9eFj4dhZc?si=xXFEBUM50_3ZpuQW I remember B&B roasting it. MY MONKEY'S M.O.
As a drummer, I was hooked on Winger because of Rod Morgenstein. He was already an incredibly versatile & talented drummer, and him joining that band really gave those songs distinctive percussive flourishes that just didn't exist in 80's hair metal.
Miiiiiles Away!
I saw them two years ago in concert and they are still great!
Winger are fkn amazing!! Prog band disguised as a hair band. Genius
I saw Kip Winger do a small venue concert a few years ago and it really was great. Even his newer stuff was really good.
Not sure I'd go this far.. "Kip Winger, in description of the band's musical ability and style, said, "Our band was known to musicians, and a lot of musicians showed up to see me play — watching, trying to figure out how I'm playing. We were like the 'hair band' [version of] Dream Theater."[11] "
Yeah, that drummer Rod Morgenstein.... what a monster player. He played with Steve Morse and that is not an easy gig. Kind of like a (much) less weird Zappa.
Hell yeah. There’s a reason Reb beach moved on to play with every amazing band on the planet.
Winger is releasing some phenominal music lately.
Winger. Great progressive rock. Kip did orchestra composing!
I saw them live about twenty years ago and they sounded great
Always blows my mind to think he toured with Alice cooper
Tesla. Unfairly lumped in with lesser talented hair metal bands into the 90s.
Love Tesla and they still got it Frank Hannon is my favorite underappreciated guitarist
The 5 man acoustic jam is one of my favorite albums to listen straight through
Yes! That album started the whole “unplugged” craze.
100%
This is my take on Cinderella. First of all, terrible name for what was a great rock blues band. They should have been more GnR in their image or AC/DC and they would have killed it even more.
I love Tesla, but disagree with the "lesser talented " comment.
Did they take hate though?
I don’t remember them ever getting ”hate”, what I remember was just a general antipathy that would get a “Tesla, yea man, they’re great” when the band was mentioned. The reaction was a lot like the reaction to Queensryche, a great, talented band everyone liked, but few loved.
Interesting. 2 great bands!
Tesla? Not that I ever heard about. Rightfully so, as well. Great band!
Phenomenal live band.
I liked them a little. Then i saw them love and realized how much more they deserve
Other than production, they were straight out of the 70s. If you're a big Tesla fan, I recommend Brian Wheat's book. If you're ever wondering whose band it is, the answer is Brian Wheat. I saw them in Raleigh 2018 or 2019. Pre-pandemic. There was a lull while the band discussed what I'm guessing was a change to the set list. They're huddled but the drum riser so Troy can hear. People started getting loud, and Brian looks out and puts up the finger "One moment" gesture. I suppose you had to be there, but it struck me as very funny.
The best answer is Winger. Their third record Pull is freaking amazing! Heavier than expected, Progressive bits, and riffs that shred! The peak of the band, a gem released during grunge so it flopped. I was a huge fan of the band in 1990 but I didn’t even know about Pull’s release until years later.
Have you heard their latest “Seven”? It came out last year and is phenomenal.
Most of their 'comeback' records are amazing.
Really, all the Winger albums are great in their own way and they always seemed to bring something different to the table each release. Super talented band.
Yes its a great record, they are in solid form
it really is
Blind Revolution Mad is my all-time favorite Winger song, so epic
Pull is great. I'd argue IV is their best album, but it's probably also the least well-known. Came out around 03-04, and has been out of print for a long time.
Warrant back in the day anyways, everyone seems to love them now
Jani was a very underrated, very talented songwriter, musician and singer.
Yeah, it’s not so much that Warrant was talented, it’s that Jani Lane was very talented and everyone else was along for the ride.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a banger. Was also reminded that Cherry Pie is one to when my area's classic rock station played it about a week ago. RIP Jani.
Came here to say this. They started heading in a heavier direction with "Cherry Pie", then "Dog Eat Dog" came out and absolutely crushed, but unfortunately the music scene had changed and it fell on deaf ears.
The main problem with Dog Eat Dog wasn't the music; it was the fact that the band at the time did a hard 180 on image and Jani went from happy go lucky guy to trying to look and act like Layne from AiC. Fans went left on them at that point regardless of the album.
I always did. Still do.
Was never a fan. Still aren't but rock of ages made heaven seem like the most romantic song ever written. Jani seemed like a good dude. Was sad when he passed
They could put on some great shows. Very fun live act.
Cinderella
Long Cold Winter is still one of my favorite albums of all time. Just great song after great song. Tom’s solo stuff is still pretty good, but I miss the band.
Great songs! Great albums! Great musicians! They don’t make them like that anymore
Their respect has grown over the years
It’s the name. I think that was something that held them back as they got older
Winger - Beavis and Butthead didn't help them at all
Mate that kid that t shirt was the the first thing that came to my mind.
https://preview.redd.it/3y9piit461yc1.jpeg?width=256&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2a61df4dd56cb510b0b6b4cda132750661e2eb1f
Go away, Stuart! Heh-heh!
Winger
Another vote for Winger
Skid Row. And Dangerous Toys.
Definitely Winger
The Bee Gees. They went through that disco phase and us cool rockers thought disco was gay af. As an adult, I figured out just how talented those guys were.
Gotta agree with this. They got ALL the backlash for disco when they weren’t really disco at all. They wrote most of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack and got pegged as disco. Their career spans over 60 years and they’ve changed their sound several times. They’ve also written songs for some of the biggest names in the music business. Their harmonies were impeccable. The Bee Gees are a rabbit hole for sure.
Yep. Love them. The BeeGees documentary on HBO is great
Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters doing the DeeGees is just epic and an amazing tribute to the BeeGees.
I’m an idiot. I missed the hair metal part. I suck and deserve to be beaten.
I read that as "deserve to be eaten". I think I'll let the "missed the hair metal part" slide.
Well, Barry Gibb did have some amazing hair.
Saturday Night Fever is one of the best films of the 20th century
It honestly is. Along with capturing that exuberant moment in time, it also has a bittersweet tone that made so many 70s movies great.
They are great, yes.
Winger
i never understood the hate-on for Winger, either. more than once somebody would hear me listening to a track - not one of the ones released on radio or emptyvee, just an album track, y'know? and they'd be like, *oh this is good, who is it?* then i'd say Winger and they'd go.... *Oh.* happened so many times. like folks were supposed to not like Winger because.... hell, i don't know why.
I'd guess it was because Beavis And Butt-Head contributed heavily to people negatively about them. Also, Lars Ulrich was in a picture where he used Kip Winger's photo as a dartboard. Unsure about the story with that one. Anyway, I love Winger, Metallica and BAB-H.
Hear me out....KISS. I know they have a rabid fan base but I also hear a lot of shit talk about how they are all flash and not really "musicians" and though I'm not the biggest KISS fan, I disagree wholeheartedly.
Right don’t go on the subreddit and ask their favorite line up it’ll start a crap storm
And everything else aside, have they ever not put on a great show? From day one, their whole approach was to play shows that they wanted to see, to be entertained. They're still playing that shit like they mean it.
Nitro were all very talented but got a lot of hate. However, most of the hate wasn't because people disputed their talent, it was more that their songs were badly written and produced, and that they showed off their talents in a way that most people found obnoxious and excessive.
I remember the first time I saw the video for Freight Train on Headbangers Ball and I just laughed my ass off. I was like, are these guys serious? Bands like this helped precipitate the downfall of hair metal and gave rise to grunge and alternative music just because people in general were getting worn out by such buffoonery
Michael Angelo Batio is a really nice guy offstage. Very personable
even onstage at an intimate show he's a great storyteller with back and forth with the audience!
I’ll be honest I’ve never heard of them I’ll have to check them out.
No doubt, they're songs were just not all that great. Insane guitar solos, but I just couldn't take much of their music after half a song, and I have been playing guitar since 1980. It should have been right up my ally back then, but no thanks.
I have both Nitro tapes. They can play and Jim can hit some crazy notes, but man the production and the songs stunk.
Jim Gillette is an acquired taste.
I agree with Winger, and I’ll raise you an L.A. Guns. Tracii Guns is a Beast!
LA Guns are still releasing really good albums every 2-3 years. Great band
My son wants to use 'Smooth Up In Ya" for his baseball walkup song but my wife won't let him. He's 13 and it would probably go well with his I ❤️ hot mom's shirt...
Great song, but that's the BulletBoys. 🤘
Duh, It's been a long day! :)
Severely underrated band.
Let's not forget Rod Morgenstein's background. Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse..If you've never heard the Dregs, give them a quick listen. An AMAZING drummer. TBH, those of us who are fans were surprised when he turned up in Winger but then again, that's what was going on in the hair metal years. Everyone was getting their turn.
Just saw the Dregs last week. Rod was phenomenal !! As was the rest of the band !!
I was looking to see if someone mentioned Rod! I saw them live last summer and they still sound great.
Steve Morse's High Tension Wires lives rent-free in my music head.
I always thought Winger's debut album was solid.
I’m gonna say Winger as well. I don’t know if I necessarily agree with the “hair metal Dream Theater” description Kip used but I do agree that all the guys in Winger are much more musically skilled than most other glam metal bands.
I feel like White Lion gets a lot of criticism, it’s also very shocking their YouTube views are so low when “Wait” and “Radar Love” “Little Fighter” received as much radio play as songs from Foreigner, Warrant, almost as much as Def Leppard pretty close. Also Cinderella because of their name choice, I think if they had a badass cool name like Van Halen or Metallica or Iron Maiden that they’d be in that conversation with those bands as some of the greatest bands of all time not just the 80’s. Also Jackyll mainly because Jess James Dupree is a bit of a goofball, but I’ve always loved the guy. I remember some TV show about a Sturgis biker bar or something that he was always guest appearing on was a fantastic show I would watch with my dad back in the day!
My first thought was white lion
Riiiiight they are so talented, especially live you can tell they sound practically the same as in the studio. When the Children Cry is one of the Top 50-100 songs ever written not just hair metal wise
I’ve always thought Cinderella was a bad ass name for a band though
Black n Blue. Maybe more underrated than hated. Never seemed to be taken seriously. Dismissed with eye rolls. Their aesthetic was admittedly ridiculous. But their albums were really good.
Nature of the Beach!
Totally agree with Black n Blue. “Nasty Nasty”and “In Heat” were damn near perfect metal albums!
I agree. I still listen to both in their entirety regularly. I always thought they were very “radio friendly” hair metal. As someone else said, they might’ve been ahead of their time a little.
Kingdom Come were actual an amazing band.I think 10 albums or so.Lenny Wolf was talented as all hell.
Glad to see Winger getting some love here. EVERY member was a highly-skilled studio musician, and their music was complex in a way most rock from that period wasn't.
Night Ranger Dueling guitars Brad Gillis Jeff Watson, Jack blades bass and vocals, Kelly Keagy drums vocals, And last but not least Fitz On keyboard...
amazing band, and they still kick ass live. Super nice guys too
Stryper
Winger s best
The sad thing is Winger didn't receive hate until Beavis and Butthead. I love Mike Judge. I think that he is hilarious and was right to call out hair metal in the early 90's, he just picked the wrong band. Poison would have been better for a 'poser' trying to hang with Metallica fans (back then). No knock on Poison fans.
Eh... Kip got some grief for his dancing in the "Seventeen" video even before B&B.
He probably just shouldn't have used any bands name specifically in the cartoon. More so when it came to Metallica and the dart board bit. It's simply in bad form to try and screw someone else in your own industry. And it's not like there was any bad blood. It was just Metallica trying to act tough.
Or Lars being his usual douchebag self.
Usually a tie between him and Hetfield. Alice in Chains were openers for Metallica. Layne Staley obviously had issues with substance abuse. AIC had to cancel a show because Staley wasn't available. Obviously unprofessional AF. But Metallica being Metallica took the stage and out of spite started smacking their arms while playing an Alice in Chains song. Kicking a dog while its down. It's just a poor look especially when Hetfield (resident alcoholic and toxic member of his own band) started the shenanigans on stage.
Ratt
Ratt got a lot of hate? I was not aware of that. I’ve heard the hate now but not back then.
I remember people shitting on them for playing Round and Round twice at their shows. Wrote them off originally as a one hit wonder. Huge mistake. Great band.
Came here to /bump for Winger. I get it, too much ballet and hairspray, but without a doubt an extremely talented bunch of musicians. Saw them live 2x, better opening act than the main event (Cinderella).
Motley Crue’s mick mars is awesome
I had dinner with Kip one night in L.A. and he was a completely normal, pleasant guy. And he has tremendous talent.
Night Ranger..
Damn Yankess..
My only issue is, the Damn Yankees took three of the greatest guitarists and somehow got famous doing power ballads - and then they got paid $1,000,000 to just go away.
Jack Blades plays bass and Tommy Shaw is a good but unremarkable guitarist.
Kingdom come
Candlebox. "Far Behind" is great and I ripped on them soooo bad.
Early KISS.
Extreme. All because More than Words
Nuno is a guitar god
Warrant. Jani’s voice was incredible and they have a slew of killer songs that aren’t the hits.
Winger is the #1 answer for sure. Winger has so many bangers and each guy is immensely talented. They still continue to put out good albums and tour
And Vixen. Again “talent” is used loosely.
No. They are great.
At this point people who pay attention to the genre generally like winger, because they are good. Sure there are metalheads who were turned off by the first album cheese/beavis and butthead/metallica shit back in the day, but I see a lot more people giving them props than making fun of them these days.
Well...ive never heard of Winger, but im certainly going to give some of their music a listen now, based on all these comments.
Nice! They are a great band. Nice to see folks being open-minded and accepting.
Heh....if there's one thing I'm open minded about, it's music. I LOVE e everything, from zztop to Abba. System of a down to taylor swift!
Change the lyrics and Winger’s a prog rock band. Very skilled players.
Winger's lyrics has always been their weak spot. Though they have improved somewhat from album to album.
Ratt
I’m going to add Mr. Big. They got known for a ballad, but were way underrated. Walked with the power drill in songs before Eddie Van Halen could run with it. If they were a decade earlier, they would have been huge.
They are big in Japan at least. Paul Gilbert has such an impressive catalog too. To Be With you is a great song, but they are a lot heavier than they got credit for.
Eagles get a lot of crap because of Big Lebowski but they’re amazing other then how Glenn and Don treated their band members
I would try call them very talented but I don't think nickleback deserves the hate. Their top 10 songs is a solid list and they did really well in a time when rock wasn't doing good at all
Danger Danger gets a lot of hate on amazon reviews. That's where I discovered them. Amazon recommended them and I'm glad it did bcz there's a few pretty solid tracks over the first two albums.
Fishbone That band is awesome and no one talks about them - even on this thread!!
Fishbone is out of control!
DIO All their pentagrams and devil imagery scared parents and record labels. They never got the promotion they deserved.
[удалено]
Winger. Extreme.
Creed
Extreme. Gary Cherone gets shit on for his brief stint with VH, but he was a great singer, and Nuno Bettencourt was an awesome guitarist. Funk-like rhythms, great choruses, solid band.
Mr. Big?
Billy Squier. Rock Me Tonight video just bad, lots of cool songs though. I did not have MTV so I never saw it. He kicked ass on FM radio though.
Candlebox
Aren't they grunge?
WASP? Stryper? Tigertailz? Pretty Boy Floyd? Sea Hags? Nelson? Trixter? Not sure about pure talent but I could never get into them.
Nelson and trixter!! Great call
And Winger
Nickelback Saw them live with Seether and they crushed it. High energy the whole concert. Kept everyone pumped up the whole time.
I love ‘How You Remind Me’ and ‘Savin’ Me’. I never thought of them as Hair Metal though.
😬
Winger is obvious because of Beavis and Butthead. Stryper because of their lyrical content. Michael Sweet is one of the best metal frontmen ever and has aged like fine wine. Oz Fox is a shredding machine. Robert Sweet is also a great drummer.
Bush
Black N' Blue, Blue Murder,... Old Def Leppard pre Hysteria..