SC6 Names the Top 10 Rock/Metal Songs of My "Golden Years".......

To kick off our new focus while I am thoroughly disgusted with all things political (we'll see how long it lasts), SC6 presents topic that always gets a lot of comments - Heavy Metal !! Just in case your were wondering, I'm the guy on the left, circa 1984.... kidding!!

I've been pondering my favorite songs of the Rock/Heavy Metal Era, or what I call The Golden Years. That fabulous time when the only magazines worth reading were Circus and Hit Parader. Where my closet consisted solely of concert shirts, Levi's 501's and flannels. When every girl in my neighborhood looked like Joan Jett, and we had no idea Freddie Mercury or Rob Halford were gay.

To qualify, the song needs to be between 1981 (about when I hit puberty, because kids CAN'T ROCK) and late 1991 ( when I finished college and life got serious). That takes the Alternative revolution and Classic Rock out of the contest. We're talking purely the Heavy Metal era. This takes a lot of the Neo Glam bands out of the loop - sorry, no Poison, Faster Pussycat, Enuff Z'nuff or Cinderella here. So, let's take a trip back in time........

#10 - Ratt: Lay It Down

Ratt is close to a Glam Band, but they can actually play (CC Deville couldn't hold Warren Di Martini's jock). Sure, 'Round and Round' was a bigger hit, but Lay it Down has always been my favorite. like I said on a previous post, their Behind the Music was a little cliche, except for Robbin Crosby's bout with HIV.

#9 - Rainbow: Stone Cold

Somewhere in my closet, there is a copy of the moldy oldie. After Deep Purple broke up, Ritchie Blackmore took his Stratocaster and started Rainbow. The major additions to Rainbow were drummer Bobby Rondinelli ( a friend of mine) and singer Joe Lynn Turner. I wore this album out for a couple years, before Rainbow broke up - Blackmore is not known to be easy to get along with.

#8 - Motley Crue: Dr. Feelgood

Sometime between 1981 and 1989, Mick Mars took some guitar lessons, because Dr. Feelgood was a real kickass album, and I was not a real big fan before then. It seems that kicking drugs has a positive effect often of rock bands. As Tommy Lee put it, "We got along better, we felt better, we played better - Hey, that's important." Smart boy, Tommy....

#7 - Iron Maiden , Flight of Icarus.

So many songs, which one to choose??? When most bands sang vaguely about demons, drugs or other bland topics, Bruce Dickinson and the boys were talking about Bible stories, Cowboys and Indians and the Revolution. And how many other bands had a mascot?? Eddie Rules!

#6 - Guns 'n Roses, Paradise City.

For about 4 years, G'nR ruled the planet. Appetite for Destruction came on like the intro to 'Welcome to the Jungle', and a band like no other was here. Paradise City is a song that still holds up over the years, thanks to Slash's Heroin- fueled solo's. Unfortunately, Axl Rose's pursuit of making EVERY song an epic turned him into an asshole, and Guns called it quits. Slash, Duff and Matt Sorum continue on with Velvet Revolver, and Axl is in a psych ward in Vienna, talking about how he killed Mozart.

#5 - Living Colour , Open Letter to a Landlord

no, Vernon Reid was not the most talented guitarist I've ever heard, but Living Colour could rock, funk, jazz and metal out like no other. Corey Glover showed he could sing even better than he could act ( he starred in Platoon), and the fact that Heavy Metal could make room for African-Americans who spoke their minds was a major step. A top selection in my tape deck for about 3 years.

#4 - Metallica, One.

I left this picture of bassist Cliff Burton on the post, because even though he died in 1986, before And Justice for All came out, his handprint was all over the album. This was a band still grieving, still angry, and it showed. It declared the American Dream dead, and it's use of Dalton Trumbo's film, Johnny Got His Gun, added a dramatic aspect that pushed Metallica out of the pack, and set them up for the superstardom that followed with 1991's Black Album.

#3 - Judas Priest, You've Got Another Thing Comin'.

Okay, so MAYBE I wasn't paying much attention to Rob Halford's wardrobe selections while in High School... Sexual preference aside, no one rocked better than Priest. Like Iron Maiden, I could pick from a dozen tracks, but this one chugs along like a freight train, and like most Priest songs, has a solo that you know every note to. As Rob would say, "OH YEAH!"

#2 - Ozzy Osbourne, Over the Mountain.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the next Governor of California! Hey, don't be surprised if it happens. Ozzy is the grand old man of Metal, but for everyone my age back in the early 80's, Randy Rhoads was the be all and end all of guitarists. He and Ozzy had one of those classic collaborations until Rhoads tragic death in 1982. Ozzy's music suffered for a decade, until he found Zakk Wylde. Ozzy continues on, still making great music and television. SHARON !!!!!!!!!!! Tha fufmi dug shy onna cahpo agin!!! Translation? The F'ing dog shit on the carpet again.

#1 - Faith No More - Epic.

It has been 17 years since this song came out, and it is STILL in my CD changer!! When Mike Patton joined the band, and they made The Real Thing, they unknowingly influenced a generation of artists. Up to that point, NO ONE mixed Rap and Heavy Metal together - Anthrax and Public Enemy came years later. Though guitarist Jim Martin was not a master guitarist, his solo was probably the most tension laden, angst-ridden solo ever made. Faith No More followed with another great album with 1992's Angel Dust, but Patton's continued toying with his Mr. Bungle project brought Faith No More to an end. But they live on in my car still !

Honorable Mention to a Band that Didn't Even Exist: Spinal Tap. Any Heavy Metal fan who didn't see and love this movie should have his head examined by Lemmy Kilmeister with a corkscrew! One of my all-time favorite movies. Oh my God.... They're playing Paradise City on a Harley commercial, with a bunch of SHEEP?? Well, at least it's a Harley ad.

Well, those are MY picks. I'm sure there are ones I forgot, so add your picks if you choose - my memory is a little fuzzy from that decade!