The Seattle Effect: Ten great Hard Rock albums released when Grunge ruled the world
We all know that when Nirvana and their accolades started to take over MTV, the “Hair Metal” sweet days were over. Shoe-string budget stage sets, flannel shirts, darker subjects and NO GUITAR SOLOS were replacing Aquanet, power ballads, duckfaces and all that.
I understand the fact that popular music has changed through the years and will always have. But the "Grunge thing" had such an effect on Hard Rock, that bands that were playing stadiums in early 1991, would be performing at tiny clubs later on the same year. Record companies dropped some that had just signed their contracts and finished records would be shelved in some cases.
Some bands tried to turn their sound into something more contemporary, flirting with the aforementioned Grunge or Alternative Rock, which was also popular during that time.
In this article, I’m going to bring ten records that were released between 1993 and 1998, which I believe was the worst period for Hard Rock in terms of popularity (1999 was when the "package tours" started to have some relevance in the US) . I will not include Mötley Crüe’s 1994 record with Corabi, Poison’s “Native Tongue”, Def Leppard’s “RetroActive”, etc.. That’s because they still had record company support and weren’t THAT affected by the Grunge bug.
10. Vain - Move On It (1993)
Formed in 1986, Vain would only release their debut, the classic No Respect, in 1989 through Island Records. A second album was recorded and even promoted in Japan in 1991, but eventually shelved due to the band being dropped after Island was bought by PolyGram. The record would be released only years later.
Move on It had a Japanese release in November 1993 and the next year it was out in the UK through the Heavy Metal Records label. Adding former Lords Of The New Church drummer Danny Furry was a spot-on decision. His drumming here flows with great grooves and fills.
We also have a few nods to 70’s rock, some psychedelic moments that would become part of their sound later on and great melodies by Davy Vain. “Whisper” is one of my favourite tracks of all time and my favourite Vain song, for sure. Worth checking out. Hard to find in some places, the album is available on Spotify in all its glory.
09. Tyketto - Strength In Numbers (1994)
Led by the great singer Danny Vaughn (formerly of Waysted), Tyketto released an amazing debut (Don’t Come Easy) in 1991, which included the great singles “Forever Young” and “Wings”.
They were signed by Geffen Records at the time and the horizon looked great until Grunge took over. Their second album was recorded, but rejected by Geffen and as a consequence, they were dropped from the label.
Strength In Numbers saw its release only in 1994, via the label CMC in the U.S. and Music For Nations in other parts of the world. The record is as strong as the debut, with the catchy title track setting the tone, alongside gems as “Rescue Me”, “Meet Me In The Night” and lovely mellow numbers such as “End Of the Summer Days” and “Standing Alone”.
The rest of the album alternates those styles with some great bluesy numbers and it is a shame that it’s not available on any streaming services.
Tyketto - Meet Me In The Night
08. Talisman - Life (1995)
This is the fifth release by Swedes Talisman, fronted by American singer Jeff Scott Soto and the great, late, virtuoso bass player, Marcel Jacob. On"Life", ex-Treat Jamie Borger is on drums and Freddie Akeson is on guitars.
If you’re not familiar with the band, they started as a Melodic Rock band but progressively started to include funky elements into their sound. Giving a bit of fresh air to the style and still sounding very melodic and exciting.
1995’s Life was recorded on a budget and the initial mixing, quickly done for the Japanese release, didn’t please Jacob. Therefore, the European version was remixed before release.
Some of the highlights include the funky opening track “Tears In the Sky”, the smooth “Temptation”, the frantic “Body” and a cool version of Seal’s “Crazy”.
07. Enuff Z’ Nuff - Seven (1997)
Although most of the record was already released in Japan as Chip And Donnie - Brothers in 1994, this had to be included since EZN is one of the most underrated bands in music history. Their blend of Hard Rock and Beatles-inspired melodies and harmonies is mindblowing.
The album opens with the psychedelic and Lennon-esque “Wheels” and the great songs that follow, such as “It’s No Good” and “Still Have Tonight” and the bonus track “I Won’t Let You Go” showcase what an incredible duo Chip Z' Nuff and Donnie Vie were. This period was one of the most prolific for them and it’s a shame that they don’t work together anymore.
I recommend all of their albums. You can find different musical textures that go far beyond Hard Rock but they still rock hard no matter what.
06. Warrant - Ultraphobic (1995)
Produced by Beau Hill and released through CMC International (same as Tyketto’s Strength In Numbers), Warrant’s fourth record features future Scorpions and ex-Kingdom Come, James Kottak on the drums. Great drum sound here, by the way.
Ultraphobic messes about with some sort of Grunge influence (mainly Alice In Chains) but still retains Jani Lane’s great writing and cool guitar tones. Darker and raw, the album may not sound as bombastic as its predecessor, 1992’s Dog Eat Dog, but it is a forgotten gem that deserves to be given a shot. Not a total shift from their sound like the next one, “Belly to Belly” came to be, so it still sounds like Warrant.
Some songs here, like “Followed” and “Family Picnic” (which has a video for it) are good examples that the album wasn’t a hit just because Warrant was associated with the “Hair” package and couldn’t be taken seriously in 1995. A shame, since songs like “Stronger Now” are between Lane’s finest compositions.
Warrant - "Stronger Now" music video, 1995
05. Night Ranger - Neverland (1997)
First of all, the opening track, “Forever All Over Again” is probably my favourite Night Ranger track of all time. This often overlooked “comeback” album from 1997, doesn’t sound dated at all and keeps the band's traditional humour and upbeat melodies throughout it.
They rock hard with the title track (great hooks as well) and “As Always I Remember” has a beautiful 12-string intro. The melodic rockers “New York City” and “Sunday Morning” are some other standout tracks.
Some reviews say the album has too many mellow moments, but I think the songwriting is great and part of that era for bands like Night Ranger. Some relied on a heavier sound. However, they went for an “adult” oriented one and it worked.
Night Ranger - Forever All Over Again
04. Unruly Child - Waiting For The Sun (1998)
I’m a huge fan of the first Unruly Child record, produced by legend Beau Hill and featuring the amazing vocals by Marcie Free (then Mark).
Guitarist and songwriter Bruce Gowdy teamed up with ex-Hurricane and future Foreigner Kelly Hansen on vocals. Even though I love Marcie, Hansen delivers the goods on this album. They maintain their debut style but are a little bit more AOR-flavoured in their textures.
“Forever” is one of the highlights, co-written by Free and featured on her second solo album. I love both versions, but here the production is a bit better, in my view. The bluesy “Do You Ever Think Of Me” could easily be a Foreigner song, with its beautiful melodies and “Live In The Night” rocks as a nice boogie tune. Ricky Phillips (formerly of The Babys and Bad English) plays bass on some tracks. Great album, ofter overlooked even by fans of the genre.
Unruly Child - Do You Ever Think Of Me
03. Steelhouse Lane - Metallic Blue (1998)
One of the most 80s-sounding records ever made and it was released in 1998! If you know Mike Slamer, a great guitarist and tunesmith, you’re probably aware of his project Steelhouse Lane, which compiles new material and songs that he wrote/co-wrote for other bands such as House Of Lords, and Hardline, among others.
I love Keith Slack’s voice. What a set of pipes! You can hear all his versatility on tracks such as the mid-tempo treat “Surrender” and the lovely “Addicted”. A few songs remind me of Foreigner (Slack emulates Lou Gramm like a champ on some tracks) but with a bit of a harder edge. The keyboards add a lot to the overall sound of the record and the production is clean and crisp. I recommend it to any fan of the genre.
02. Gotthard - G. (1996)
The third album by Swiss rockers Gotthard goes against mostly everything that was going around in 1996. They just wanted to play hard rock, mix a few ballads in and be as loud as they could be. And hell, had they succeeded.
The opening track, “Sister Moon” became an instant classic, with the mighty Steve Lee belting out his insane vocals. They often include cover songs of other artists on their records, and here we have got “Mighty Quinn” (a Bob Dylan song made famous by Manfred Mann), which became a staple during their live concerts.
Other highlights include the Whitesnake-influenced “Let It Be”, the rocking “Fist On Your Face” and the touching “One Life, One Soul” which we can say is their “Love Of My Life”.
After this record, the band became a bit more radio-friendly and had some sort of success worldwide in the 2000s. Unfortunately, Steve Lee died in a tragic accident in 2010. Aussie Nic Maeder became their singer when they decided to carry on and Gotthard is still releasing good albums. If you’re not familiar with them, I highly recommend G. to you.
Gotthard - Sister Moon / Cut & Run (Videoclip)
01. Harem Scarem - Mood Swings (1993)
In my view, this is the best album from the 90’s, alongside Def Leppard’s Euphoria. After gaining some success with a melodic rock debut in 1991, Canadian band Harem Scarem released their magnum opus in 1993, Mood Swings.
The record maintains the brilliant and melodic songwriting of Harry Hess (vocals) and Pete Lesperance (guitars), with a darker tone that fits the album and was unique at the time. Lesperance’s guitar playing here is probably the best I have ever heard caught on tape. And I’m not exaggerating. He’s phenomenal.
“No Justice”, the lead single from the album showcases everything I talked about so far. But the whole band shines through the album. Drummer Darren Smith (who later became the singer for Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel project) has the perfect voice to harmonize with Hess’s raspy and powerful vocals, and sings lead on the great “Sentimental Boulevard”.
There’s even a full acapella track, “Just Like A Planned” that might sound crazy but it works, and masterpieces with different tempos than usual, such as “Change Comes Around” and the opener “Saviors Never Cry”. There’s even room for a Def Leppard-like song, “Stranger Than Love”, that has some flavours from the debut album.
Even with a perfect formula in their hands, Scarem decided to change directions throughout their career, which just shows their integrity. They never repeated the formula of this one (The re-recorded version a few years back doesn’t count), which is carved as a work of art in itself.
Harem Scarem *OFFICIAL* No Justice.mov
I hope this list can show you a few great Hard Rock records that were overlooked by some during the “grunge” era. I will try to come up with a part II because there are many, many great records.
Again, I have avoided albums released by big labels, such as Atlantic Records (Skid Row, Mr.Big, Winger, Extreme, etc) that still got at least a bit of promotion for those records.
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