12 '80s Hard Rock Albums All Fans Should Own

9. Skid Row - Skid Row

The debut album from Skid Row seemed to suggest that they were a band who would be kicking around in the rock 'n'roll premier league for decades to come. They had the songs, the chops and an iconic singer who knew how to work a crowd and deliver a quote. Unfortunately, that same Sebastian Bach only lasted for one more album. With his departure the band never really hit their stride again.

MTV was in thrall to the visuals of the so-called hair metal bands, who had the looks to match the hooks of their three minute slabs of effervescent, anthemic, radio-friendly rock. Skid Row were all over MTV with the videos for '18 And Life', 'Youth Gone Wild' and the obligatory ballad 'I Remember You'.

Live, the band seemed to be able to tap into the same kind of fevered loyalty that the likes of Kiss had made their own, with Bach's motormouth spiel able to deliver wise-guy witticisms that would have been worthy of David Lee Roth. These days Bach has been appearing in the live 'Rock Of Ages' jukebox musical and the band, sans Bach, have continued to release strong albums, but the bad blood between the camps is sad for fans to witness.

In this post: 
Metallica
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

Lifelong music obsessive, regular contributor to US guitar magazines, sometime radio presenter, singer/guitarist in Star Studded Sham, true believer in the power of rock'n'roll and an amp turned up to 11, about to publish first novel, The Bulletproof Truth.