The Rock Singer - Vicarious Dreams, Pt. 1

Who has not wandered what it would be like to be the lead singer in a famous rock band? And I don't mean one of those "here today, gone a couple of hours later"-rock bands of today. I mean of the bands from 30 or 20 years ago. Those bands that endured all the trials and tribulations and still managed to remain on top. Lead singers have been the object of desire for girls around the world for the past 40 years and the example to follow for their respective boyfriends. From the lean, mean, breakdancin' machine that was David Lee Roth in his prime, to the "come hither" smile of Jon Bon Jovi, lead singers have entranced us in their spell. Let's take a look at one of them.

If we look at rock's main figures, Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones is the definite person to start with. He is the one that started the whole rock singer mythos. Swaying hips, making love to the microphone for two and a half hours, Jagger is the quintessential rock star. Not only has he been able to hold on to that status well into his 60's, but he's still as nimble as ever and I'd be willing to bet his voice has gotten stronger!

Now, many people might say that Mick Jagger cannot be a good example since he is, as some people might put it, not the best-looking guy in the world. Well, in his case, that is what it's all about. It's not what you got but how you use it. DAMN, does Mick know how to use what gifts the rock gods decided to lay down upon him. He has managed to lay claim to the crown of rock singers since the early 60's. For those of you mathematically-inclined that means that, in about 4 years, The Rolling Stones will have been on top of the rock world for half a century. That's half a century of being a rock demi-god, playing concerts the world over, selling millions of records (albeit less and less as the years go by, but who the hell is counting anyways), being regarded as an influence of about three generations of singers and, of course, being seen with some of the most beautiful women in the world. Not bad for a not very good-looking guy.

Ratt - Invasion of Your Privacy

The year 1985 brought with it a good many rock albums, but Ratt's Invasion of Your Privacy is in the top ten for sure. Riff after sweat-laden riff, this album just explodes with energy.

Known to be a band that didn't really cater to ballad-listening teens but more to sex-starved early 20's ladies, this album does not sport a real ballad, but Closer to My Heart is pretty close. I guess it's just that Stephen Pearcy's voice was never one to be singing "love you, love me"; he was more of a "give it to you, give it to me"-kind of guy, you know? The big hits, honestly, were not that big, but BOY were they good. You're In Love and Lay It Down have some of the best, hookiest riffs in the history of hard rock, especially the latter one. Guitarists Warren DeMartini and Robbin Crosby (R.I.P) were never ones to shy away from showing off, and a good thing they did.

Bassist Juan Croucier and drummer Bobby Blotzer were nothing to write home about, but, then again, 80's bands were mostly known for their singers and guitar players. But that's a subject for another day.

Singer Stephen Pearcy, probably one of the worst live singers that came out of that decade of decadence, was also one of THE coolest voices when recorded in the studio. My guess is that pretty much every lead vocal he did was double-tracked (recorded twice) in order to get a nice, meaty texture to it. In any case, his squeaky, scratchy voice sounds awesome in this record.

Reasons to climb up into somebody's room to get this album:

1) Every wanted to know what it sounds like to try to sing your entrails through your nose? Welcome to a Ratt album!
2) The riff to Lay It Down
3) The SOUND of the album. This sound is the aural equivalent of the grain in the film of movies from the 1970's and early 80's. It sounds GREAT.

Invasion of Your Privacy is not an album that will let a listener down. It does what it's supposed to do very well. It entertains, it's open to a good listen at least once a month and will keep you entertained for half an hour or so. As far as Ratt is concerned, this is their best album (the dispute always being between this and their debut album, Out of the Cellar). Get it and get your air guitar ready.

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Director Rob Reiner is famous for many great movies but, in the world of rock at least, This Is Spinal Tap is his masterpiece. A rousing homage to cock-rock, ego-centrism, lyrics that are so shallow that, apparently, they're very deep and all things in between, This Is Spinal Tap is the Big Whopper of comedy rock movies (how many are there?).

Also written by Reiner, accompanied by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer (the three Spinal Tappers), this movie is as funny as it gets because it takes the world of rock so not seriously that it makes a great big parody of it. Taking as background that Spinal Tap were a very famous band in the late 60's and during the 70's, the movie supposedly documents their "big comeback" tour, which ends up being a trainwreck across America.

All clichés have some screen time: dumb rockers who get really lost on their way to the stage; cucumbers stuck down pants so that the carrier's "package" is correspondingly well-endowed; "deep" conversations which seem to go around in circles from the very beginning; break-ups, reunions, you name it, it's there.

This Is Spinal Tap is not a movie for the whole family, but if you're a lover of rock music and haven't seen this movie... well, then you don't deserve to turn your amp all the way to 11.

Kiss - Destroyer

In 1975, after two years and three albums, Kiss was falling apart due to lack of significant sales. That year, they put out a live album called Alive! and things changed quite a bit. Suddenly, the band was a hot ticket and the tickets were selling like pancakes, since Kiss was seen as a major live act. Come 1976, Kiss recorded and released Destroyer, which went on to sell a few million copies and included many hits, including their highest ever charting single, Beth, written and sung by drummer Peter Criss.

Kiss - Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss - made history with this album since it catapulted them to worldwide fame and secured their name forever as being in the big leagues or, as Simmons would put it, showing people "how the big boys do it." This album included something for everyone and, with songs such as Detroit Rock City, Beth, God of Thunder (sung by Gene but actually written by Paul Stanley) and Do You Love Me, it gave many gems to the Kiss Krown (sorry, couldn't help writing that!).

Albums with few songs are many times seen as a blatant disregard for the fans who've been waiting to hear new material from their favorite band. Destroyer, being an album with only nine songs, could very well be seen as such, but one has to remember that this was 1976 and, since February 1974, Kiss had had a total of three studio releases and one live record, so it's not like they had been resting in their laurels. If they were not touring, they were making albums. Add to that the fact that the album has 9 songs which are amazing, and you've got a total hit, not just in terms of sales, but in the hearts of the fans.

Reasons to go to Detroit or anywhere else to get this album:

1) Gene gets his second alter ego (after The Demon) with God of Thunder.
2) Paul sings it softly in Great Expectations (a song you don't expect from Kiss) and hard in Detroit Rock City, so we are able to get a bigger picture of his singing palette.
3) Kiss hits it REALLY big with the softest ballad they ever released, Beth, which was sung by the one who sang the least number of songs in their albums, drummer Peter Criss.

Destroyer really cemented Kiss in rock culture and rightly so. It is a solid album which showcases how hard-hitting the band could be but never forgetting that their soft side was always present.

When Rock Stars Fall... Sick

When rock stars fall sick... no, scratch that. When our rock stars fall sick, we fall sick with them. Whether they are unknown musicians in the local bar band whose playing we've come to adore, or be they the larger-than-life, world famous rock stars, when they fall sick, a part of us is lying in that bed with them.

Everyone knows I'm not talking about the flu, right? We're talking really sick. November 24, 1991 was a horrible day for me, but I didn't understand until a few years ago exactly to what extent. My favorite band being Kiss, that day was black as Eric Carr, Kiss drummer since 1980, died due to cancer of the heart after having been in a comma for some time. The news fell on me like a ton of bricks and it was the first time I remember crying for something that had to do with the world of rock. I was a teenage kid crying due to the death of a hero of mine. Sadly, that type of fanaticism doesn't exist anymore, but we'll cover that topic later on.

The thing is, on that same dark day for rock music, Freddie Mercury, Queen singer, died - of AIDS complications -, too. I became a Queen fan late in life, to tell the truth, and I became a big Queen fan even later, but the fact still struck me.

When you are a fan of someone and that someone falls sick, and might even die, you are there on that bed with them. If they die, a part of you dies that will never be reborn because that hero of yours gave you something that, at least in that particular way, nobody else gave you: the gift of music. Their music. Your music.