Search - Various Artists :: Vh1: Big 80's Big Hair 2

Some good stuff here...

Thomas Anderson | Harrisburg, IL USA | 07/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being born in the early '70s, I fortunately, or unfortunately (however you wanna look at it) missed the '70s rock scene and then grew up through the '80s Hair Metal scene. While the mid-to-late '70s had bands like Boston, Led Zeppelin, Lynard Skynyrd, the mid-to-late '80s had gaboons of what were known (post-humously) as Hair Metal bands. These times, in my somewhat biased opinion were some of the best years and times of the rock music history.



I first got into heavy rock and metal around '86 when Bon Jovi hit it big with "Slippery When Wet", and then a year later with Whitesnake's self-titled album "Whitesnake". Talk about major hair metal! This stuff was good, but like most pop-type music, one grows tired of it rather quickly. So by 1988, I was looking for something a little heavier. That's when I discovered bands like Anthrax, Megadeth, and Metallica. It all when down the "heavier" hill from there. But anyway...



What you get with VHS's Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 of "Big 80's Hair", is a nice compilation of some of the best well known songs of the hair metal era. Even though I never owned any of these band's albums, I knew most of these song by heart because of the over-saturation they got on the MTV circuit. (You know, back when MTV actually played videos?)



If you grew up during this era or got exposure to this stuff later in the bleck '90s music scene, you'll probably love reliving these songs for the nostalgia. The difference between bands of this era and the dreck the industry puts out today, is that these bands had talent, and most of all charisma. I don't how some of the artists today could've made it past Simon Cowell, let alone get a recording contract. This is why, to this day in the ripe ol' age of 31, I have stuck to my ol' favorite genre of music...power metal. Very seldom do you get a bad band.



But back to "Big Hair"...if you're looking to relive some of these old classics, don't hesitate picking up some of these compilation albums. Then if you feel like you like some of these bands more than others, look for some of their own albums, such as their 'Best ofs' or whatnot."