Best Power Ballad?

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Are there any?

― A Nairn, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Hey Jude

― J Blount, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

It's a cliche, but I suppose I'll have to go with "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns'n'Roses.

Actually, I don't mind "Mamma, I'm Comin' Home" by Ozzy. How about "Changes" by Black Sabbath, does that count?

"Beth" by Kiss = a power ballad minus the power.

― Alex in NYC, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Changes" = rules. Def Leppard probably owns this with "Love Bites" or (arguably) "Hysteria."

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Is This Love" by Whitesnake. Yes, I'm serious.

― Dan Perry, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

We know, alas.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"I Remember You" by Skid Row. Because it is essentially "Heroin" by the Velvet Underground. Anybody who doesn't believe me, play "Heroin" on an acoustic guitar and sing "I Remember You." Uncanny. Somebody who's got the setup please hurry and make a bootleg of this, non-recent stuff is inadequately mined in that field

― John Darnielle, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"I Wanna Know What Love Is"? I now agree with Tom that this indeed is some sort of masterpiece.

― Clarke B., Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

whole of 1st meatloaf alb >> Total Eclipse of the Heart >> I'll Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)

― mark s, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ohmygod...."Total Eclipse..." of course!....who recorded the dance- remix version of that a few years ago? Anyone?

― Alex in NYC, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

John might be onto something, though I fear I am in no rush to confirm. All other recent answers = worthy. Turn around, bright eyes, because every now and then I fall apart. And I'll take Meat Loaf's Springsteen-on-Broadway any day over the 'real thing.'

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

...it is essentially "Heroin" by the Velvet Underground. Anybody who doesn't believe me, play "Heroin" on an acoustic guitar and sing "I Remember You." Uncanny.

This is true of 25% of all pop songs I've ever heard (including 50% of the Velvets' catalog).

How about "God Gave Rock'n'Roll To You"? For it's inclusion in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey alone.

― Keiko, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Jim Steinman appears to be kicking butt here.

― Prude, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Steelheart's "I'll Never Let You Go." One of the later nerf metal hits. It hit the summer just before Nevermind and Use Your Illusion. It's a huge-sounding song, but there's no bombast, not much complexity either. The lead singer -- riding a slow, solid beat and the arching guitars -- is almost always way up there in the stratosphere and leaps even further when you don't expect. It's devotional. It's tender. You could play it at a wedding without embarrassment.

― Michael Daddino, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"I Wanna Be With You" by Pretty Boy Floyd, and "Dream On" by Sweet... actually a whole bunch of songs by Sweet.

― Brian MacDonald, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Amanda"- Boston

― Joe, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Bringing on the Heartbreak" has to be a contender. The chunky guitars that pop in during the pre-chorus are so jarring (Radiohead stole this idea for "Creep"), and Joe Elliot's accent on the "taking all the best of me" line is amazing; all the refinement is stripped away and he just sounds like a pathetic lout. And then he takes it up an octave for the chorus...he's like, "fuck it, I'll SING my way through this" -- it's a power ballad with all sorts of personality! Also "Still Loving You" by the Scorpions, a song that seems to go on for 3 years before getting to the part everyone remembers -- the tension/release is amazing!

― Kris, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"The Rain Song"- Zeppelin (kinda)

― Joe, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Just Between You and Me"- April Wine (I'm really into this one, lately...)

― Joe, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Photograph" is better than "Love Bites" or "Hysteria" (I can't place "Bringing On the Heartbreak" but I do remember Winger's "Headed For a Heartbreak", which I liked all right at the time) but I don't think it should win this. I also don't think anything by Zeppelin except possibly "All Of My Love" should really be considered, least of all "The Rain Song", since it belongs to an art-rock ethos predating and entirely different in spirit than anything that could produce something as gloriously crass as a true power ballad. ("Don't Fear the Reaper" will also be rejected on similar grounds.) The power-ballad-AOR era in rock was, obviously, truly pioneered by Tom Scholz, who revolutionized rock music in the 70s by brilliantly taking the music of two of the most ambitious over-the-top brain- fried virtuoso collectives of the art-rock post-counterculture (Yes and Led Zeppelin) and mining it strictly for its commercial pop potential - art-rock without the art if you will. He also composed the ultimate power-ballad touchstone, which was, obviously, "More Than a Feeling".

(PS The chords to "Heroin" are I-IV. This is a very common progression. Many songs can be sung to these chords.)

― sundar subramanian, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well Sundar yes of course I know there are twenty million I-IV songs. "Heroin" has a particular strum pattern, returns continually to the open unaccompanied D string, and works nicely as the music to "I Remember You." That's all I was saying, not that those two songs alone had found this magical interval.

― John "Worshipping I-IV-V from the jump, G" Darnielle, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

For my money, "All of My Love" never puts enough meat on the ball (snort), though. It's just a ballad, not a POWRRRRRR ballad.

― Joe, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

John: Sorry. I think I preferred "18 & Life" anyway, rendering the point moot;)

I just listened to that Scorpions song. (I only ever listen to "Big City Nights", "No One Like You", and "Rock You Like a Hurricane" from Best of the Rockers & Ballads.) Interesting. The first part reminds me of Queen a bit. This song might represent enough of a turning point in over-the-top-ness to be considered.

― sundar subramanian, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Joe: Fair point. That might also be what separates "Still Loving You" from "More Than a Feeling", in which case I'll have to consider whether I actually like power ballads as opposed to regular ballads very much. Keeping that power requirement in mind, Cinderella's "Nobody's Fool" at least deserves mention and brief consideration somewhere in this thread.

― sundar subramanian, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i'll second the def leppard and skid row. also "every rose has it thorn" by poison, "i've been waiting for a girl like you" by foreigner.

― di, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Tying this into another current thread: "The Winner Takes It All"!

― Douglas, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"One" by Metallica ?

― Andrew, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"more than A feeling" - fuck i really wanna hear sleater-kinney's cover of that song. can anyone help me out with that?

― di, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

easy: the ballad of jayne - la guns

― chaki, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Every Rose Has Its Thorn is awesome. And When I See You Smile.

― Ally, Saturday, 27 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You like that Bad English song, Ally? I'm crushed. *weeps*

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My faves:

Carrie - Europe
Every Rose - Poison
I'll Be There For You - Bon Jovi
Winger - Miles Away
Skid Row - Wasted Time

― jel --, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

For some reason "I'll Be There For You" always reminded me of the Beatles "Don't Let Me Down".

― J Blount, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

did anyone mention "heaven" by bryan adams?

― di, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

someone mentioned "heaven" by warrant on the 'worst' thread, but i'm saying its great. i am a big girly girl who likes her hairmetal soft.

― di, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Without You" by Motley Crue.

― Damian, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

My favourite would be Angels by Robbie Williams. Yes, I think it counts, and I do think it's a good song.

― Martin Skidmore, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Dream On - Aerosmith Throw Pat Benetar into the mix too.

― shaun de carlo, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Possibly I Can't Live... - the original Badfinger version - I love the vocal fadeout/organ fade in at the end; it adds to the tragedy.

― Jez, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Poison - Life Goes On. (that's it I'm going to type up my C90 article, as it features four Poison songs!)

― jel --, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Poison is EVIL EVIL EVIL and wrong.

― Dan Perry, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Def Leppard quite possibly do have the monopoly on power ballads. even that big ballady hit they had in 1995 when it was all britpop and cheesy house is power ballad classic.

― Wyndham Earl, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Not 100% Sure what the definition of a power ballad is, but how about Led Zep's Stairway, and Metallica's Nothing Else Matters?

― Fred Lundqvist, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think of "power ballad" as: a song (the 'ballad' part) where the dynamic is mellow or 'soft'--usually in the verses, combined with a louder/'harder'/noticeably contrasting dynamic (the 'power' part; usually hard rawk/AOR/metal) usually in the chorus or building up towards a climax in the song. Rhythm is usually slow or steady throughout the song, as its a ballad.

"Dream On", "Amanda", "Sister Christian", "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)", etc. These are all power ballads.

― Joe, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think of power ballad as a state of mind, a state of being. It's capable of possessing your body and make you sing it at the most inappropriate time and place and suddenly, everything around you becomes a 80s videoclip. Fuck serenading her with an acoustic guitar like a overly sensitive girly boy; a power ballad will keep her coming back every time, baby. That being said, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is the hands-down winner. I also have a soft spot for Bon Jovi's "Always" though it lacks oomph.

― alex in montreal, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

di- you should be able to get the sleater kinney version of more down a feeling off soulseek (soulseek.org),i just got it on a whim...its fairly good,but the moog cookbook version is streets ahead....(cheers to whoever mentioned it here,it's quality...)

― robin, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

thanks robin. hey "don't know what you got till its gone" by cinderella is good too.

― di, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

1. "Sweet Child o' Mine" - Guns N' Roses
2. "Rock Me" - Great White
3. "Everywhere I Go" - Nelson
4. "Love Song" - Tesla
5. "Love Bites" - Def Leppard
6. "Nobody's Fool" - Cinderella
7. "Crystal Eyes" - L.A. Guns
8. "Love is on the Way" - Saigon Kick
9. "Here I Go Again (1987)" - Whitesnake
10. "I Remember You" - Skid Row
11. "Just Take My Heart" - Mr. Big
12. "Real Love" - Slaughter

Dude!

― AP, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I know we went over this on some other thread but "Is This Love?" really is head and shoulders above every other power ballad from the time. It's so much more moody and uncertain than the straightahead Poison, Warrant, etc. ballads from that era. Deceptively catchy chorus as well.

― Vinnie, Sunday, 28 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't know most of the ballads here but I like the ones I do! (Except "Hey Jude") - anyone want to make me a compilation??!

― Tom, Monday, 29 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I think the riff kinda invalidates "Sweet Child o Mine". Not soppy enough. "Don't Cry" is spectacular.

― Sam, Monday, 29 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

did anyone else read simon frith's comments re: power ballads in the latest Perfect Sound Forever?

― J Blount, Thursday, 2 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Okay, I'm down with total Eclipse Of The Heart, Sister Christian and Every Rose Has Its Thorn, but also Oh, Sherry by Steve Perry, I'm All Out Of Love by Air Supply, Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes blah blah blah...

― suzy, Friday, 3 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, "Total Eclipse of the Heart", forgot about that...that's a good 'un!

I will also propose again Peter Frampton's anthemic "I'm in You".

― Joe, Friday, 3 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

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