Nelson: were they any good?

I am not sure if Nelson was classified as AOR, HR or HM but I'd like to know more about them. Were they any good?

No.

But Bobby Rock is an awesome drummer.  And their lead guitarist Brett Garsed was awesome too.

They should've formed their own band.

The Brothers Blonde! They had a #1 hit and their first album went double platinum. Who knew? You learn something new everyday.

They were a harmless pop rock act with a couple of catchy songs, and the ladies liked them. One of my sisters loved them and she was in her mid-30s when they were popular. Calibrate your expectations accordingly.

Never was a fan, but my wife loved them.

Oh, also they had three guitarists in the band and it sounds like they have less than half of one guitar. So there's that.

"Love and Affection" is catchy as hell though.

haha about the 3 guitarists

Were they going for the Leatherwolf vibe ?

I thought they were awful back in the day. A couple of years ago I came across their "After the Rain" CD at a yard sale and figured I'd give them another try...

.....aaaaand yeah, they were still awful. Haha. Way too lightweight/fluffy. They were like a "My First Non-Threatening Rock Band" for 12 year old girls.

Witchfinder wrote:

Oh, also they had three guitarists in the band and it sounds like they have less than half of one guitar.  So there's that.  

"Love and Affection" is catchy as hell though.

Wow, I haven't heard that song in ages and it really takes me back to around 1988(?).  I was living in Jackson, TN at the time and there weren't any decent radio stations in the area at the time so I was stuck lisiening to a top 40 station most of the time.  And this damn song was in constant rotation.  It's actually a well-written song IMO but so lightweight and it still flashes me back to driving to work and going "Oh not this F'n song again!".

But it was still better than any of the Bad English BS that was even in higher rotation at the time; Gawd I HATE that band!

Talk about weak and fluffy... they made Winger sound like real metal in comparison.

So they were the first band to successfully integrate easy listening and metal? That's an achievement!

tohostudios wrote:

But it was still better than any of the Bad English BS that was even in higher rotation at the time; Gawd I HATE that band!

That's just your Journey bias showing.

007 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

But it was still better than any of the Bad English BS that was even in higher rotation at the time; Gawd I HATE that band!

That's just your Journey bias showing.

  The sad part is I really enjoy John Waite with The Babys but teaming him up with the remnants of Journey just created this horrible synchronicity for me.  I actually hate Bad English MORE than Journey because they're even wimpier.

I like the song "After The Rain."

I have After the Rain and its ok, some good AOR tunes like Love and Affection, Only Time Will Tell, Bits and Pieces, Will you Love Me, and especially the title track (but do NOT watch the video for that song, just dont). Havent really heard anything else from them though, and from what ive heard, the later stuff gets even wimpier and is closer to acoustic-based pop than anything remotely rock-oriented.

muckie wrote:

So they were the first band to successfully integrate easy listening and metal? That's an achievement!

They were pure pop cheese with a hard rock image. Kinda like Michael Bolton back in the day.

Lightning Strikes Twice from 2010 is actually a very good melodic rock album. However, the majority of what I've heard after the debut is very weak. They have a new album coming out this year. If it continues in the vein of LST I will be interested.

glassprison wrote:

Lightning Strikes Twice from 2010 is actually a very good melodic rock album. However, the majority of what I've heard after the debut is very weak. They have a new album coming out this year. If it continues in the vein of LST I will be interested.

Lightning Strikes Twice is outstanding. Absolutely.

I was also never impressed with their first two albums when they came out. Just a little too "light" for me, though I never thought the songs were bad, you know. I have planned to pick them up at some point and see what they're like beyond the hits.

I do have Imaginator, their third album--which I guess is actually their second album but deemed too dark and heavy by the label, so they self-released later--and it's quite good. It's a concept album so it has a bunch of short interludes, but excluding those it's a fantastic album.

I remember them being quite popular with the ladies back in the day. Never knew any dude that would admit to liking them though.

I remember watching the video on MTV and telling my dad, "Those are Ricky Nelson's sons and Ozzie & Harriet's grandsons". My dad replied something along the lines of them spinning in their graves with those boys looking like girls.

I had no idea they had made albums after the debut. Not that I'd be interested in any of them, I just figured they were a one album wonder.

007 wrote:

I had no idea they had made albums after the debut. Not that I'd be interested in any of them, I just figured they were a one album wonder.

Quite a few actually. Their 9th came out in 2010. I thought they had a new one on the horizon. My mistake.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

007 wrote:

I had no idea they had made albums after the debut. Not that I'd be interested in any of them, I just figured they were a one album wonder.

Quite a few actually. Looks like their 9th is coming out soon.

9th !

Incredible...and good for them.

Yeah, after the first two on Geffen they released a bunch on their own label. Aside from Imaginator, I've never even seen a single one of them. Don't think they got the greatest distribution.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

007 wrote:

I had no idea they had made albums after the debut. Not that I'd be interested in any of them, I just figured they were a one album wonder.

Quite a few actually. Their 9th came out in 2010. I thought they had a new one on the horizon. My mistake.

According to Amazon they do have a new one coming out on 5/19 called "Peace, Out"

So it is. Someone needs to update their Wiki discography, stat!! . Nice cover...


I remember seeing this one in the used bins quite a bit...


I thought it was pretty funny and it would seem as though the brothers Nelson had a sense of humor about themselves.