Hair vs. Hair (1989) Badlands vs. Blue Murder
1989… quite possibly THE greatest year of the genre. So many great albums came out that year from some awesome bands.
Motley Crue, Whitesnake, L.A Guns, Faster Pussycat, White Lion… but what truly made it a great year was the list of awesome DEBUT releases that came out that year.
Skid Row, Dangerous Toys, Warrant, Mr. Big, Bang Tango, Seahags, Enuff Z’Nuff, and Steve Steven’s Atomic Playboys all released their first records in 1989.
There were two other debut releases that year from bands that can certainly be called “Supergroups” by any stretch of the imagination. So let’s pit them up against each other in this edition of “Hair vs. Hair!”
In one corner you have Badlands featuring guitarist Jake E. Lee… best known for his two album stint in Ozzy Osbourne as replacement to the late great Randy Rhoads. He joined forces with vocalist Ray Gillen and drummer Eric Singer… who had played together in Black Sabbath… along with bassist Greg Chaisson who he had met during an Ozzy audition.
The band released it’s debut in May of 1989 and is considered a classic of the genre today. Standout tunes include: Dreams in the Dark, High Wire, Winter’s Call, Dancing on the Edge, and Hard Driver.
In the other corner you have Blue Murder featuring guitarist John Sykes… who had left Whitesnake and is responsible for co-writing 9 of the songs on the band’s classic 1987 album. Joining Sykes was drum great Carmine Appice who’s many credits include Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Rod Stewart, and King Kobra along with bassist Tony Franklin who had worked with Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers in The Firm.
The result was a spectacular debut released in April of 1989. Standout tracks include Valley of the Kings, Jelly Roll, Sex Child, Black-Hearted Woman, and Billy.
As amazing as they both are… these two albums are often compared due to the fact that they were supergroups who released their debut albums within a month of each other.
Another interesting tidbit is that Badland’s vocalist Ray Gillen was originally in an early version of Blue Murder before Geffen Records A&R Exec John Kalodner recommended that John Sykes take over frontman duties himself.
So… we’ve got two great records released in the same year. Both are considered classics… but which one is the better album???
1989… quite possibly THE greatest year of the genre. So many great albums came out that year from some awesome bands.
Motley Crue, Whitesnake, L.A Guns, Faster Pussycat, White Lion… but what truly made it a great year was the list of awesome DEBUT releases that came out that year.
Skid Row, Dangerous Toys, Warrant, Mr. Big, Bang Tango, Seahags, Enuff Z’Nuff, and Steve Steven’s Atomic Playboys all released their first records in 1989.
There were two other debut releases that year from bands that can certainly be called “Supergroups” by any stretch of the imagination. So let’s pit them up against each other in this edition of “Hair vs. Hair!”
In one corner you have Badlands featuring guitarist Jake E. Lee… best known for his two album stint in Ozzy Osbourne as replacement to the late great Randy Rhoads. He joined forces with vocalist Ray Gillen and drummer Eric Singer… who had played together in Black Sabbath… along with bassist Greg Chaisson who he had met during an Ozzy audition.
The band released it’s debut in May of 1989 and is considered a classic of the genre today. Standout tunes include: Dreams in the Dark, High Wire, Winter’s Call, Dancing on the Edge, and Hard Driver.
In the other corner you have Blue Murder featuring guitarist John Sykes… who had left Whitesnake and is responsible for co-writing 9 of the songs on the band’s classic 1987 album. Joining Sykes was drum great Carmine Appice who’s many credits include Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Rod Stewart, and King Kobra along with bassist Tony Franklin who had worked with Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers in The Firm.
The result was a spectacular debut released in April of 1989. Standout tracks include Valley of the Kings, Jelly Roll, Sex Child, Black-Hearted Woman, and Billy.
As amazing as they both are… these two albums are often compared due to the fact that they were supergroups who released their debut albums within a month of each other.
Another interesting tidbit is that Badland’s vocalist Ray Gillen was originally in an early version of Blue Murder before Geffen Records A&R Exec John Kalodner recommended that John Sykes take over frontman duties himself.
So… we’ve got two great records released in the same year. Both are considered classics… but which one is the better album???