The other day I was sitting with a good friend of mine and we were discussing music and in particular how there is no longer the same fire and quality in the releases from our favorite bands. Of course there are exceptions where albums are released by 70’s artists that make you wonder how the hell they are so fantastic! The latest example is Judas Priest. However, these are exceptions. The vast majority of our favorite bands either release albums that are almost always below our expectations – which is to be expected and normal, if you ask me – or they don’t release anything at all having put the emphasis on gigs. Then there are the others who…abuse the band name with different versions of the same name, line-ups with one (or no) original member, concerts with playback vocals, etc. These are well-documented things.
I remember many, many years ago, I was at a party. Leppard had just released “Hysteria”, Guns had just released “Appetite”, Crue had just released “Girls, Girls, Girls” and so on. Next to me, instead of having an ethereal being so I could experience some of the…Sunset Strip binge, I had the forty-something uncle of the girl who was throwing the party who saw the Leppard shirt I was wearing and struck up a conversation. “Who’s the biggest band on the planet, kid?” he says, and I replied without any hesitation “Def Leppard”. He laughs and after a few seconds he tells me that when I grow up I’ll realize that this band is Led Zeppelin despite the fact that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page are releasing crap nowadays (and this was 1987). The years have passed, my opinion hasn’t changed but I understand what the man was trying to say. In his eyes every Page & Plant release paled in comparison to the Zeppelin masterpieces. In other words, the comparison would always be inevitable and the outcome would always be equally predictable even if the two Zeppelin leaders put out something truly remarkable.
But aren’t we doing the same? I’ll speak for myself. I’ll always expect Leppard, Bon Jovi, Crue, Purple, Maiden to put out something on par with their classic albums. If you ask me, the bands themselves think the same thing every time they go into the studio to record an album. Of course Joe Elliott knows that they can’t rewrite a “Hysteria” or a “Pyromania” but if they manage to put out a decent set of compositions that’s something important. You see, you can’t be 65 and have the same energy and inspiration you had at 25. Plus, we have to remember that the music industry has changed.
My point is that all those people who constantly criticize, for example, Jon Bon Jovi or Don Dokken for having lost their voice or for having put out bad records should first ask themselves what they will be like in their seventh decade of life. I won’t even comment on the fact that most of those people who bawl them out didn’t even listen to Bon Jovi or Dokken in the 80’s but that’s another thing. At least these guys never fooled their audience with playback like KISS and are still fighting it while dealing with numerous health problems. Until recently the same…keyboard warriors cursed Coverdale and now they use him as an example to emulate because he had the courage to retire (by all accounts, at least). I also saw comments about Ian Gillan without any awareness of the fact that we’re talking about an iconic figure. But we live in the world of social media toxicity where the ephemeral and the “likes” carry weight compared to, say, the fact that a man who’s almost 80 years old gets up on stage and sings – with dignity, I’ll say – at the same time that we watch him down below the stage, clutching our waist in pain. And we are almost 30 years younger than him. Not to mention that we are talking about musicians who have left an indelible mark on music with their presence, but a no-namer behind the screen of his laptop has a different opinion!
No one, of course, is immune to criticism. Especially when someone is exposed will also suffer the…avalanche of positive or negative comments. But what I’m saying is that before we write something, we should think a bit about whether all this toxicity is worth it and, more importantly, what the musical landscape would be like without all these artists. I don’t give anyone a pass but when someone tries, gives 100% of himself and keeps going despite the odds, it gets a positive mark from me. Just for the mere fact that he is “present” when the aforementioned keyboard warriors are permanently absent…from life!
Sakis Nikas
