Has anybody been listening to radio recently??What I have seen and heard recently is a resurgance of the aor power ballad , albeit this is 2000 , not 1988 so everything is dressed a little differently.Gone are the big hair , tight leathers, cowboy boots,and bright clothing (incidentally all of which I personally miss) and in its place comes Lone Star and in the past week or so Jennifer Simpson.What we have here is a new breed of performer, dressing differently to appeal to a new generation of fans.Sure neither of the above are 'pure' aor , but they have all the hallmarks and really all they are short is a decent guitar sound and it could be '88 all over again.Why are we having a resurgance???well my personal opinion is that after grunge killed off the aor/melodic scene in 92 & 93, the kids were subjected to either angry grunge or dance for the next 7 or 8 years and now as both artists and record companies alike are looking for the next happening thing they are returning to the melodic sound which a lot of younger fans had never heard.Look no further than Portrait and Kalodner who are constantly checking out new (and old ) talent in the hope of breaking them big.Velocity are currently on a demo deal with them and both Danny Danzi and Rattlebone have showcased for them.Firehouse are now signed to WEA , Ten to Mercury Japan,and many more bands signed to subsidiaries of majors.Surely an indication that the majors are again looking at melodic rock as a viable and vibrant genre.I am not for a minute suggesting that mr will rule the charts as it once did , but it is returning slowly through established artists and new artists alike.OK , perhaps as I said earlier the newer artists that are charting are not necessarily pure , but really it is AOR just presented slightly differently to suit a newer generation of fans.The great sonwriters of the 80's(D Child , DIanne Warren, Dann Huff,Jim Steinman, M Bolton and Jack Ponti )are all operating primarily outside the genre as songwriters for either new /country artists or as in house writers for majors.Bit by bit these guys are realising there is a huge market for melody and they are now beginning to write for it and steer new artists in that direction.It won't happen overnight but what we are seeing is melody and harmony returning , next it will be guitars and huge production., I mean lets face it the BSB , Westlife, and some more are only short the big guitars and production (not to mention a whoa whoa chorus or two!!) and its aor.If the music is good I don't mind them having black leather box jackets and goatee beards instead of long hair and studs.Anybody else out there got an opinion on any of the above ??? Chers Kieranhttp://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,876#msg-876Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:37:10 +1000 Phorum 5.2.16 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,949#msg-949 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,949#msg-949My worry is that the major labels are now only producing music that they KNOW radio will play rather than being able to influence the playlist. Ask any plugger how hard his/her job is.
The tail is wagging the dog!
Basically AOR needs someone on the 'inside' of radio and the major labels could do with the knowledge of someone like Mark Ashton or the 'Evil One' to combine with their global marketing muscle. Alternatively, Mark could look for some gorgeous sixteen year old girl to sign!]]> Surfpunk NoticeboardSat, 06 May 2000 03:19:49 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,934#msg-934 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,934#msg-934
Hope you and Eveline made it back to Ireland in one piece...

I think you're right. AOR has returned - just in a different look. And that's exactly why most current AOR/MHR bands won't get anywhere until the labels and bands start to market their product differently. Most people I work with are in their early twenties. Whenever I show them one of my newly purchased CD's, they're laughing off their asses because of those, and I quote, "horribly 80's looking CD covers". Fact is, most young people buy just as much with their eyes as they do with their ears. And being in advertising, I know that it is not that expensive to get a decent graphic artist who can produce a decent looking cover. Frankly, most of what's being inserted in jewel cases from the minors these days looks like crap - poor quality and hideous designs that show absolutely no artistic value at all. One of our interns (a 19 year old student) does really cool covers for my samplers. It only takes him a couple of hours max. - and that stuff looks a million times better, believe me. Same with how most bands look. Personally, I don't care how one dresses on or off stage. But the reality is, it's no longer 1984. I'm not suggesting for bands to look like Korn or the Backstreet Boys. But why can't they go with the times and get a more contemporary look? I think the majors will take notice again very quickly once a band looks "sellable". And that in turn will get radio on the bandwagon as well. After all, we all know that is the labels that have quite a bit of saying what's being played on the radio (good old payola).

Peter]]> Peter M. Bietenholz NoticeboardFri, 05 May 2000 17:21:12 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,922#msg-922 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,922#msg-922
I agree entirely with Rogue. "Somewhere Lost in Time" is, IMO, hands down the best AOR/MHR CD of 1999. This thing has fantastic songs (& no filler), great vocals, and smoking (yet tasteful and not self-indulgent) guitar playing. Add to that the fact that Danny did the WHOLE FRIGGIN' THING (ie., all instruments, songwriting, etc.) and what you have is an essential component of anyone's MHR collection. (No, I don't work for Danny or his record company. I was a little slow in picking this thing up (it was a $ thing), but since I've had it, it hasn't stopped growing on me. It's simply a monster!!!

Susumu, the only criticisms I of this album I remember hearing/reading are as follows:

1) Not enough variety in songwriting
2) Production could have been better

As far as the songwriting goes, I think that this same criticism could be said about at least 80% of the AOR/MHR we all know and love. Really, I do. And from my experience, when artists do try to "mix it up" a little bit in the songwriting department, they are often slammed for it. People will often say they feel the artist should stick with what they do best and sometimes even refer to those more unique tracks as the "throwaway" ones or something similar. With regards to the production, I guess it's probably true that the album is not on par with a lot of bigger budget stuff. But at the same time, it's certainly not terrible, IMO, and I have definitely heard much worse. Personally, I'd like to have seen Danny's vocals a little more upfront in the mix, but I'm sure that a lot of guitar nuts (including Danny himself) absolutely love how in-your-face his shredding is.

Anyways, the bottom line is that you owe it to yourself to put this thing on your list of stuff to get (Waaaaaayyyy up near the top of it!!!) I am positive that you will not be disappointed. Take care.
Don
]]> Don NoticeboardFri, 05 May 2000 09:54:36 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,907#msg-907 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,907#msg-907
Many tours require the support bands to 'buy on' to the tour these days, and it's not cheap! Z rock probably couldn't afford it even if it was offered (I may be wrong) and even then some bands just don't want the competition. Thunder just won't have TEN filling their suppport slot and why doesn't, say, David Coverdale give his old 'mate' Glenn Hughes another shot at a big stage? Would YOU want to go on after Glen has just finished his set with 'Burn'?

Here's to all the struggling artists out there, but whatever labels are reading this remember, QUALITY COUNTS. Don't hype things over and above their level. It just distorts the scene.]]> Surfpunk NoticeboardFri, 05 May 2000 03:25:35 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,904#msg-904 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,904#msg-904Jag heter fredy och kommer från LasPalmas men nu studerar jag på Lunds universitet
jag alskar svensk bands som TREAT MASQUERADE etc

Var bör du????
]]> alfredo NoticeboardFri, 05 May 2000 02:13:08 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,898#msg-898 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,898#msg-898>AMAZE ME and their brilliant album WONDERLAND from
>your contryman on the z records label.

Ack! Yet another entry on my wantlist (I really need to win on the lottery...). I have heard some of their older albums, and believed them to be gone, as many of the other Scandinavian AOR, MHR and MR bands are.

Thanks for letting me know! :)]]> EchoMan NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 18:37:10 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,896#msg-896 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,896#msg-896
Rogue
http://RogueCreations.tripod.com./

]]> Rogue NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 14:39:22 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,892#msg-892 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,892#msg-892And I agree totally with you Danny, if the radio played some of these aor songs they would be huge. Bon Jovi have a new record coming out with the usual corporate promotion assuring a blockbuster sales outcome. But I'll be damned if the album will be as good as the recent Danger Danger album which has a similar sound but being on a small label - MTM has had limited publicity and consequently modest sales of the album.
And why don't the big rock bands give something back. For example Bon Jovi could tour with Danger Danger or Danny Danzi or a host of classic bands and give them the exposure they deserve. It's obscene that Bon Jovi can just crank up the publicity machine and sell millions after having a 4 year sabbatical whilst bands like Danny Danzi's with equal (or better) quality sell say 10000.
Corporate trends come and go but tunes live on and I'll keep doing my darndest to support "real aor/hard rock" and especially the small guys and small bands who with proper support could and should be much bigger.
Danny as for yourself keep plugging away - artistic integrity is the most important thing. And as for ECHOMAN hailing from Sweden, I love the band AMAZE ME and their brilliant album WONDERLAND from your contryman on the z records label. If they released any of the songs on this album under the BON JOVI name it would be huge.
Cheers to everyone. Keep the melodic rock flame alive. KAOS FAN.
]]> KAOS FAN NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 13:08:45 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,888#msg-888 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,888#msg-888
It's people like you that make it all worthwhile for us. Keep the faith! You don't have to purchase my album, just keep on promoting and pulling for the guys you like. ;-) But if you do decide to purchase SLIT, I would be most grateful. ;-) Peace....

Danny Danzi
http://www.dannydanzi.com]]> Danny Danzi NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 11:54:03 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,886#msg-886 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,886#msg-886
Oops I will put your Somewhere Lost In Time in my future purchase list.

Regards

Susumu]]> Susumu NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 10:34:14 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,885#msg-885 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,885#msg-885
Very well said mate! But I think we will still have a problem even if the majors ARE sorting some of us out. Sure any of us would LOVE to sign with a major, but what will that give us in return? The fact of the matter remains that if you don't have the internet, nobody will really ever know of your existence. If I wasn't on here I would have never known Cinderella or Dokken were rolling again......but even still....the mighty Portrait/Sony are not doing shit as far as radio promotion in my area....and I personally would like to know why.

Cindy was from around here (about 25 minutes away from me) and should be pushed to the max on PA radio.....but nothing. How will we ever get established if the radio staions don't let people know of our existence? Someone in the past was really trying to get me to tour the states. Without radio support, I would die. Nobody knows me other than our internet family. And if I were to sign with Sony, and fell flat on my ass, I'm sure I would be blackballed as the artist that couldn't do a thing with even a major behind him. So do we even take that chance if a Sony approaches us? Do we really need the pressure of being dropped when bands that are more established than I'll probably ever be aren't doing shit? This is why I would NEVER sign to a major unless major radio promotion was promised. I don't care about the money man. It's the effort and love that goes into it and then you find out you're tossed aside.

I'm still a firm believer that this music would go over fine if someone would just take a chance and play it! A song is a song, and let's face it, 90% of the AOR music we all know and love is as good or better than any of the classic favorites of the past. So the bottom line as far as I can see (and I've said this a billion times) we will continuously die unless we get promoted. Major label or indy....if nobody knows of your existence, and the net is the only place to get this info, you're still toast. Sony, Atlantic, or Z records......we're dead bro unless we get played. Sure we can make a nice little living on album sales and little appearences....but the artists know that isn't enough. I hate recording! I hate making albums! I hate the studio! Why you may ask? When I put my heart and soul into everything I do, and find out there won't be any airplay or a nice tour, I cringe man!!! I belong on the stage! That's why I do it. Not for the money, not for the fame, but to give the fans something back. A piece of myself in a live atmosphere that I feel the fans as well as myself get ripped off on when I can't tour.

How would you feel if you gave your life to a trade and never got a chance to show your abilities on a constant basis? Pretty shitty right? That's how I feel, and that's not meant as a negative comment against my label. It's just the way things are on the whole. Some of these artists on the AOR labels are absolute monsters and deserve the chance to shine! A good start would be for everyone that believes to call their local radio stations and continuously request material from their favorite bands. Bug the shit out of them!!!! And if your band has a release in the US, you have an even better chance to help some poor artist achieve their dream. I don't play favorites as you know. We as artists and fans are all in this together. Just like Z rock, nobody outshined anyone. We were all there for the same reasons and it should never be a competiton. So with the right support and the right amount of persistence from the believers, it can become a way of life and to me, that's the way it should be. I salute ALL the artists on all the labels for busting their asses. We're all in this together, we should make the best of things and make it work. All the best bro!

Sincerely,

Danny Danzi
http://www.dannydanzi.com]]> Danny Danzi NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 10:19:58 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,882#msg-882 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,882#msg-882
Spooky! Check out my response to the Bon Jovi meets Backstreet Boys thread. I mention some of the same artists. The point is you are, of course, correct. AOR IS BACK. It's just in diguise! Mainly, it seems, in the form of either groups of boys or jailbait females! But there are some GREAT songs around.

I've been in music retail over half of my life, seen trends change continually and yes, I love all those 80's bands, but that was then. It may seem desperate 'making do' with the music that's out there in the absence of the style and sound we all got used to but there is a whole new generation that need to find a sound to call their own now and the majors just don't seem to target 30 somethings that want to hang on to the past. That's what the specialist labels do! The problem is that they can't get the music onto the radio. A problem for what is, essentially, 'radio rock'.

I'll be interested to see what kind of response you get to this thread. But, let's face it, Jon Bon Jovi is nothing if not a buisness man and even he's enlisting the same songwriters to help him get another hit (Max Martin).By the way, did you know that Desmond Child wrote Ricky Martin's 'Livin' La Vida Loca'? Next time you hear it listen to that bridge!

I suspect you've opened up a whole can of worms here! Brilliant!]]> Surfpunk NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 07:35:08 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,879#msg-879 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,879#msg-879
But a lot of smaller labels have started to really enhance this genre. My want/buy list has never been bigger than it is right now, but I fail to see any of the big record companies in that list. Maybe I am just unaware of the connection between these labels (Z Records, AOR Heaven, Frontiers, etc) and the bigger companiers?...

On the contrary I have seen e.g Alice Cooper (once a Sony released artist) coming with a new album on the Spitfire label. Just one example of many...

Just my $0,02]]> EchoMan NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 07:05:26 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,878#msg-878 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,878#msg-878
Have you heard the Mars Electric album yet? (see previous posts further down the page)

Gav]]> Gav NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 05:29:03 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,876#msg-876 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,876,876#msg-876Chers
Kieran]]> Kieran NoticeboardThu, 04 May 2000 05:22:34 +1000