Your favorite AOR anthems (upbeat, anthemic, shoulda-been-on-Rocky 4 soundtrack)

I've been listening to the Rocky 4 soundtrack a lot and want to put together my own bitchin' playlist of this kinda thing. So what jams do you like? Preferably stuff that's on Spotify. Old or brand new, just some AOR tunes that have that "Burning Heart" vibe.

Songs like John Farnham's "Break the Ice" and "Thunder in your Heart" from RAD! or Stan Bush's songs from Transformers and Kickboxer. And of course the stuff from Rocky 4.

Any suggestions?

Do they have to have been included on OST releases or appeared in movies?

If so then I was always partial to The Moment of Truth - SURVIVOR, from Karate Kid. Also St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) - John Parr.

Nomadic Drifter wrote:

Do they have to have been included on OST releases or appeared in movies?

If so then I was always partial to The Moment of Truth - SURVIVOR, from Karate Kid.  Also St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) - John Parr.

They don't specifically have to be from movies or OSTs. They can be from proper albums. Any that rule.

I will add those to my list. Survivor is a good bet no matter what. I haven't thought about any music from St. Elmo's Fire in forever. Thanks!

In that case then, I'd suggest the entire first album by ASIA. Most of Nature of the Beast by APRIL WINE. And a lot of the late 80's stuff by Bad Company (with the other singer Mike or Brian Howe I think).

Check these out for some prime 80s action movie closing credits/montage music:

Savage Streets - OST - This whole soundtrack is packed full of the neon, soft-serve, permed hair excellence which you seek.



For a massive mix tape of this stuff, check out Blood Bros.  They are two DJs that have done three huge mixes of 80s action movie soundtrack songs.  They are on Soundcloud here:

https://soundcloud.com/maddecent/blood-bros-first-blood

Their Mad Decent page is here and it give a listing of all the songs on their first mix:
http://maddecent.com/blood-bros-first-blood/

Here's a youtube version:



I think Fortune has the vibe you're looking for:

Everything in that post is spot on. That Blood Bros. thing looks awesome...so looks like they already basically made the playlist I wanted for myself. Ha.

And looking on imdb at the Savage Streets tracklist...yes, that is exactly what I need. It is almost entirely John Farnham.

Thanks, as usual, for the knowledge.

ZombieHavoc wrote:

Everything in that post is spot on. That Blood Bros. thing looks awesome...so looks like they already basically made the playlist I wanted for myself. Ha.

And looking on imdb at the Savage Streets tracklist...yes, that is exactly what I need. It is almost entirely John Farnham.

Thanks, as usual, for the knowledge.

Glad I could help. Enjoy!

Not a favorite of mine per say, but this was the first one that popped into my mind. Fits the criteria I believe...

Pretty much any John Parr song from the 1980s

One of the favorite songs of all time.

Here's another one that I like:

Dominoe - Keep In Touch from 1988

One more. Check out the Megaforce soundtrack. In particular you'll want "Megaforce" by 707. Many people mistake this for a Journey song.

Witchfinder wrote:

One more.  Check out the Megaforce soundtrack.  In particular you'll want "Megaforce" by 707.  Many people mistake this for a Journey song.

That's some good stuff there! This song from their first album sounds like something that Toto would do.

[quote="chewie"]

Witchfinder wrote:

One more.  Check out the Megaforce soundtrack.  In particular you'll want "Megaforce" by 707.  Many people mistake this for a Journey song.

That's some good stuff there! This song from their first album sounds like something that Toto would do.

That track is from their first album and it was something of a hit for them. They had two albums and the Megaforce soundtrack song. It's pretty good AOR.

I always loved Foreigner's Jukebox Hero.

chewie wrote:

Pretty much any John Parr son from the 1980s

This. Man in Motion was my first "rock" song as a kid, I think. Had it cranked max on the walkman everywhere I went. Still so cool.

That whole soundtrack was wonderful with Jon Anderson, Billy Squire, Fee Waybill, and especially an early, catchy ballad from the Elefante bros. They were known simply known as Elefante. Doesn't look like they released an album tho.

Tons of killer stuff in here everyone, thanks!

I don't know how I forgot these guys. Dig their first two albums:



or this:

The band Touch (w/Mark Mangold) had a bunch of great songs in this vein.

Witchfinder wrote:

One more.  Check out the Megaforce soundtrack.  In particular you'll want "Megaforce" by 707.  Many people mistake this for a Journey song.

Dude played with Frehley's Comet as well

James B. wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

One more.  Check out the Megaforce soundtrack.  In particular you'll want "Megaforce" by 707.  Many people mistake this for a Journey song.

Dude played with Frehley's Comet as well

And took that song with him:

I recently picked up a cd by a band called SEVEN. The s/t album is excellent AOR music. Sorry I cannot post any videos :-(