The most perfect Glam Metal albums

What would you say are the most flawless, bona fide classic glam / pop metal albums that not only sound good from start to finish without skipping a beat but also have withstood the test of time?

For me the top would be:

1. Dokken - Back for the Attack
2. RATT - Invasion of Your Privacy
3. RATT - Out of the Cellar
4. Def Leppard - Pyromania
5. Tesla - Mechanical Resonance
6. Telsa - The Great Radio Controversy
7. Van Halen - VH1
8. Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
9. Skid Row - Self-Titled
10. W.A.S.P. - Inside the Electric Circus

Now I can already foresee people disputing what does and doesn't qualify in the 'glam/pop metal' category. I say as guide, if it loosely fits in there then don't worry about how debatable or not it is. From my perspective, I think everything on my list fits the 80s pop metal category because there an indefinable quality about each of those bands and their respective 80s releases: widely liked by the younger audiences of the 80s, has the MTV generation and US summertime / springbreak written all over it.

Well, Tesla aint glam, neither is Skid Row or VH 1. To me, Glam involves make-up (but not all bands that wear make-up are glam). Def Leppard, more arena rock; WASP maybe not glam either. Come to think of it, I think you were way off on most of those. In my Opinion, glam bands existed in the early 70's and mid 80's.

But I see your point about loosely fitting the genre, and I can tell that your post was based more on how good the albums were than them being pure glam. So that being said, that is a good list of great hard rock/heavy metal glam-ish albums. Most of those I dig very much.

Not really a fan of glam in any era, I can understand it's place but not my cup o tea.

But since you're including pop metal, I'll say Dokken's Tooth & Nail. Still sounds pretty good, balancing that fine line between just being heavy enough to be rockin'...yet still mellow enough to pull the chicks into the arenas.

Some others that I still dig:
Ratt (EP)
Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love
Kix (debut)
W.A.S.P. (debut)

Hysteria is basically one of the best things ever committed to record. I started spinning it this week for the first time in a couple of years and I can't get enough of it. It's ridiculous, yes, but so addictive.

I would say everything you've mentioned loosely fits in to the glam category - I'd be more inclined to say that W.A.S.P., Skid row and Twisted Sister were more just "heavy metal" but they've always been affiliated with the glam scene. So, I've no reason to dispute your calls. To that end, I'm going for;

W.A.S.P. - s/t
Motley Crue - Shout At The Devil
Cinderella - Long Cold Winter
Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction
Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
Faster Pu$$ycat - s/t
Poison - Look What The Cat Dragged In

REAL GLAM METAL ALBUMS (no hard rock):
TIGERTAILZ:BEZERK
POISON:LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN
DIAMOND REXX:RATED REXX
LONDON:NON STOP ROCK
MOTLEY CRUE:THEATER OF PAIN
SHAMELESS:BACKSTREET ANTHEMS
PRETTY BOY FLOYD:LEATHER BOYS WITH ELECTRIC TOYZ
CRASHDIET:REST IN SLEAZE

CASANOVA - S/T
HEART - Brigade
DEF LEPPARD - Hysteria
TNT - Intuition
SHOTGUN MESSIAH - 2nd Coming

This thread is gonna kill me...so much of what's being listed isn't "Glam"....but I ain't gonna bother.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

This thread is gonna kill me...so much of what's being listed isn't "Glam"....but I ain't gonna bother.

Agreed.


Hey Stormspell, did you really call HEART's "Brigade" album glam metal?

As a major fan of glam/sleaze, I would dispute some of the selections here. However, given the parameters laid out in Alex's original post for what constitutes "glam", I'm not going to argue.

Ones I think are missing:

Hardcore Superstar - S/T
Bang Tango - Psycho Cafe
Beautiful Creatures - S/T
Hanoi Rocks - Two Steps From The Move
London Quireboys - A Bit Of What You Fancy
Diamond Dogs - Up The Rock
Dogs 'd Amour - In The Dynamite Jet Saloon
Wig Wam - Non Stop Rock And Roll


Argue away. Genre disputes are inevitable.

SpectreFate wrote:

Hey Stormspell, did you really call HEART's "Brigade" album glam metal?

Well, it certainly is more glam than WASP - S/T, so there you go...

some great stuff in this thread - regardless of genre-difficulties...

Why isn't steel panther on the list?

Anything by Cinderella or firehouse would be perfect IMO

I really like Cinderella - Night Songs

The problem with defining glam is that some bands were blatantly part of the genre whilst others were neither here nor there.

Also because 80s heavy metal and glam have gained more acceptance in recent times what we end up having is some bands being cited as either one or the other.

Conversely, you have people who now cite bands formerly regarded glam metal as heavy metal (WASP, Twisted Sister). I've done that myself only because I felt at one time or another that those bands did not quite fit the Poison mold.

With the diversification of metal sub-genres in time I feel it has become a lot harder to keep a clear distinction between what is and not 'pure' glam. That's why I said that if it was good enough to be known as glam in the 80s or at least as popular metal (I just don't like the term 'hair metal') then it's good enough to fit on your list.

tohostudios wrote:

London Quireboys - A Bit Of What You Fancy

Can't believe I forgot this. I always find it odd when they're referred to as the London Quireboys as opposed to just the Quireboys, though. I think LQ was their US name, at least that would make sense.

Also, Dogs D'amour - Errol Flynn is rather spotless and fairly glam.

P.S. I think Alex has more than justified the type of band he's mentioning here; bands that were or still are associated with the whole glam / hair-metal scene as opposed to a full-fledged part of it. They might not really fit it (W.A.S.P., Twisted Sister etc.) but there is still a link.

Okay, fine...the debut WASP album was probably closer to "Shock Rock". Whatever, they wore makeup and had big hair.

stormspell wrote:

SpectreFate wrote:

Hey Stormspell, did you really call HEART's "Brigade" album glam metal?

Well, it certainly is more glam than WASP - S/T, so there you go...

You are 100% correct.

Firehouse-S/T
Hardcore Superstar-S/T
Beautiful Creatures-S/T
Smashed Gladys-Social Intercourse
Sea Hags-S/T
Britny Fox-S/T
Spread Eagle-S/T
Cyclone Tracy-One-Eyed

My vote would go to Poison 'Look What the Cat Dragged In' the album had silly sex songs ( I Want Action among others) pop elements through out the entire album, lyrics with no social redeming messages, cliche guitar solos courtsey of C. C. Deville, more make up then Mary Kay salesgirl, you had your ready made ballad, and an album cover that has become iconic, and a frontman who is not a great vocalist but is very charsmatic and who the ladies loved.

Dokken's BACK FOR THE ATTACK is a fave of mine. Feel free to argue amongst yourselves whether or not it's considered a "glam" album. I don't care.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dokken's BACK FOR THE ATTACK is a fave of mine. Feel free to argue amongst yourselves whether or not it's considered a "glam" album. I don't care.

Not glam but it is a great album

manny wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dokken's BACK FOR THE ATTACK is a fave of mine. Feel free to argue amongst yourselves whether or not it's considered a "glam" album. I don't care.

Not glam but it is a great album

I would say its not a glam album, but the band was guilty of a glam look, and for that reason I don't have a huge problem with people throwing them in with that genre. Hell, I remember how Don jokingly stated on VH1's "Where are they Now" (years ago) episode how their management told them that they needed to adopt more of a Metallica look (jeans/t-shirt). Don went onto say how management didn't get it, and that if Motley Crue had twenty bottles of Aquanet in their dressing room, then Dokken needed to outdo them. Of course, Don laughingly regretted the groups decision to get caught up in that crap, but then again, I think he always felt that their music was a cut above much of what was going on in that scene.

manny wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dokken's BACK FOR THE ATTACK is a fave of mine. Feel free to argue amongst yourselves whether or not it's considered a "glam" album. I don't care.

Not glam but it is a great album

C'mon now Manny, they (Dokken) wore more make-up than the hookers that stood out in front the clubs they played at.

Since I walked and played amongst the plethora of androgynous multitudes in my jeans and t shirt. My perspective is this. Glam can be an image thing and glam can be a sound thing. Some bands fit nicely into both. Others played around with one or the other and have tendacies that define them as other things.

James B. wrote:

manny wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Dokken's BACK FOR THE ATTACK is a fave of mine. Feel free to argue amongst yourselves whether or not it's considered a "glam" album. I don't care.

Not glam but it is a great album

C'mon now Manny, they (Dokken) wore more make-up than the hookers that stood out in front the clubs they played at.

.

OK you are right, for the album cover of 'Under Lock and Key' they wore tons of make up, but that lasted for a few photo shoots but by the time they made their videos for the album they already began moving away from that look.

The first 2 Cinderella albums and the first 2 Faster Pu$$ycat albums still get fairly regular spins from me. And some Hanoi Rocks. That's about a "glammy" as I get these days.

There are plenty of bands being listed that I like and listen to (WASP, Tesla, etc.), but I don't consider them glam in the traditional sense (if such a thing exists).