Every Billboard #1 Mainstream Rock hit discussion thread (1981 - present)

With the exception of "Rag Doll", second-wave Aerosmith never did much for me. But it was amusing to see Steven Tyler become a household name to the point where my seventysomething father was asking me all about him.

 

"Mixed Emotions" is maybe not quite the Stones' last great single, but it's a candidate. The eighties sheen is there, but it's more decorative than intrusive -- it still very much sounds like a Rolling Stones record.

 

#163 Rod Stewart, Downtown Train
Written by Tom Waits
Produced by Trevor Horn
Label: Warner Bros.
Debuted November 25, 1989 at #19
Issued January 13, 1990 - #2 previous week - 2 weeks at #1
^8 weeks

#3 on the Billboard Hot 100
#37 on the 1990 Year-End Hot 100

Songfacts page? Yes



This and the next few songs entered the chart in 1989, so it'll be a little while before we get the first true-blue #1 rock hit of the 1990s. But Rod Stewart's cover of Downtown Train by Tom Waits was in fact the first song to top the rock chart after the new decade began.
Believe it or not, Rod Stewart's cover wasn't the first. Friend of the thread Patty Smyth did a cover in 1987, but most people probably wouldn't know that version. It peaked at #95 on the Hot 100 and #40 on the rock chart.
I have to make a disclosure before I get to Rod Stewart's version. 1985's Rain Dogs, the album that spawned the original song, is one of my favorite albums of all time. So I've heard the original version of Downtown Train far more than any of its covers. For that reason, I fully acknowledge there is some bias in my assessment of Patty and Rod's covers. However I feel about their renditions is no fault of their own. But while Patty Smyth is an excellent singer, I feel her vocals are too clean for this song.
The lyrics just worked so well with Tom Waits' uniquely gravelly voice on the original version. He sings about this woman he admires from afar, one who humbles him. Tom's gruff and unpolished vocals perfectly sell the emotions with lyrics full of beautiful imagery. Additionally, the production is wonderfully effective in bolstering the emotion with minimal polish and relatively few instruments. With all its individual elements put together, Tom Waits' Downtown Train feels grand without having to be grand, if that makes sense. It's unpolished but pure.
Which brings me to Rod Stewart's version. His raspy vocals work well with the lyrics. In contrast to the original's unpolished simplicity, however, the production by fellow friend of the thread Trevor Horn aims for David Foster territory. If you've heard David Foster's work with Chicago, you know exactly what I mean.
I admit it does kind of work. I certainly like it more than the Patty Smyth version, and I definitely see why it was such a big hit. But I still much prefer the Tom Waits original. And in case you're wondering, Rod Stewart's version was a non-album single originally released on greatest hits compilations, which is why there's no album included.

 

The story I heard was that Bob Seger played Rod a tape of his version to get his reaction, as it was being considered for a single. Rod either had just recorded it or recorded it immediately after and released it. Segers went unreleased at the time because Rod beat him. I may be off but thats what I remember. Actually makes sense as Bob takes forever to actually release things as is well known.

 

Well, this has been fascinating.
Your analysis rings true to me, that the raspy voice works well for the song, but not the polished production.

Now here's where it gets interesting. I was unaware of the Patty Smyth version. In listening to it now, I much prefer it. This in spite of the fact that Smyth's voice isn't raspy (maybe Stevie Nicks would would be a better match, at least on paper). Furthermore, the Smyth production is has hints of new wave, which itself would be an even greater departure from the perceived best mood for the song. But the Smyth version really rings true; even in the upbeat groove and smoother vocal, she brings the needed authenticity to the song.

I love it when things defy labels or expectations.

 

#164 Eric Clapton, Bad Love
Written by Eric Clapton and Mick Jones
Produced by Russ Titelman
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Label: Reprise
Debuted November 25, 1989 at #40
Issued January 27, 1990 - #2 previous week - 3 weeks at #1
^10 weeks

#88 on the Billboard Hot 100

Album: Journeyman (1989)

Songfacts page? Yes



It's official. I Can't Stand It is my favorite of Eric Clapton's five #1 rock hits.

 

Pretending
Great album. Mr Clapton’s last as far as I can tell. Good solid single, but the album has better material on it, particularly “Old Love”.

Show, Don’t Tell
I like the music a lot but the lyrics are a bit of a mess. The next album is where Rush really rebounds in my opinion.

Downtown Train
Nice cover. Good vocals. ‘80’s production doesn’t bother me. He’d still have good songs to come, some of which may have hit number 1 on this chart, before the dreaded Songbook era.

Bad Love
GREAT single. One of Clapton’s best of all time. And that solo!

 

I listened to KIIS-FM (Rick Dees was a DJ at the time) in L.A. pretty often during this stretch we're in, and had been listening since Spring of 1989. KIIS was a pop station, but still actually played mainstream rock hits like "Mixed Emotions", "Love in an Elevator", and "Downtown Train". I remember hearing all three of those on KIIS in 1989, but don't remember hearing any of the other earlier 1989 #1 mainstream rock hits. KIIS kept reducing rock pop hits on the station in favor of R&B and Hip Hop pop hits. By 1991, when I stopped listening, they still played R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion", though.

 

It isn't necessarily that the polished production doesn't work at all. Just not as well as the original.

 

#165 Alannah Myles, Black Velvet
Written by David Tyson and Christopher Ward
Produced by David Tyson
Mastered by George Marino
Label: Atlantic
Debuted December 9, 1989 at #47
Issued February 17, 1990 - #3 previous week - 1 week at #1
^11 weeks
Issued March 3, 1990 - #2 previous week - 1 week at #1
^13 weeks

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100
#18 on the 1990 Year-End Hot 100

Album: Alannah Myles (1989)

Songfacts page? Yes



Alannah Myles' debut single, Love Is, was released in her native Canada in April 1989. As far as most every other country was concerned, however, her first and only single was Black Velvet, released outside of Canada between late 1989 and early 1990. Love Is was released in the US as the follow-up to Black Velvet but only managed to peak at #36 on the Hot 100. After that, she never had a song chart on the Hot 100 ever again. She would continue to have hits in Canada, but she could've had more hits in the US too. Sure, the songs on her self-titled debut wouldn't sound too out of place in Pat Benatar's catalog, and rock in the 1990s would have little to no place for that, but she had a top-ten hit in Canada in 1995. She had a great voice and some decent songs. She could've had more hits here, even if she had to adapt to the times.
As is, it would be over two decades before another female act hit #1 on the rock chart.

 

I think I like a performance video set in a rainstorm. (The song is solid, too.)

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hTzxtAoTj6U
Interested in your opinion on this early take, pre-Hornisation..
I like the finished article, and remember singing along halfway through my first hearing (was not familiar with the original)..but this rough version is nice too, would have fit well on Sessions.

 

Sounds like a TV theme. In a good way, I suppose.

 

Love love love this song and some of their others.

Same. I've always thought I should like him better than I do, for some reason. But I don't.

I was thinkin' ... "geez, yet another one I never heard of." Then I played it and realized I knew it pretty well, I just didn't remember the title. Yeesh.

Did someone else also do this? I recognize the tune, but not the artist's name or voice.

Re: Rod Stewart ... I saw him in concert just before he hit it big ... he was an opening act for some band I can't even remember the name of any more, and he blew them out of the water. One of the most roof-raising performances I've ever seen. Then a few years later he'd descended to ... this. I still have trouble reconciling it.

 

Damn, talk about dating yourself. That would've been awesome to see.

 

Black Velvet
Good tune

 

Of course, I was only about 4 at the time....

 

I'd always thought Rod's track sounds like a defanged cover of someone else's song. Just never knew it was Tom Waits. Against my better judgment, I attempted to listen to the original. With some strain, I barely made it to the first chorus. Can't. Stand. His. Voice. (Another artist with a fiercely devoted fan base who just doesn't click for me.) Maybe I should look for a Tom Waits tribute album, so I can hear others sing his tunes.

Regarding Rod's version, that'd be a big Thumbs Down.

 

This is a terrific song with a terrific production and a terrific vocal performance. I cannot fathom why she disappeared from the U.S. charts. Man, this song takes me back to a particular period of my life.....

 

My CD copy of Calm Animals by The Fixx (the one with Driven Out) came in the mail over the weekend, and once again, it's a solid record. While I wish the closing track didn't end so abruptly, let it be officially known that I think The Fixx is a good band. Also, Reach the Beach is a good album too.
Now then, on to the next hit.

#166 Aerosmith, What It Takes
Written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Desmond Child
Produced by Bruce Fairbairn
Mastered by Greg Fulginiti
Label: Geffen
Debuted January 13, 1990 at #41
Issued February 24, 1990 - #2 previous week - 1 week at #1
^7 weeks

#9 on the Billboard Hot 100
#91 on the 1990 Year-End Hot 100

Album: Pump (1989)

Songfacts page? Yes

 

What It Takes
Arguably Aerosmith’s best post Done With Mirrors ballad

 

Love Is was actually released as the first single from the LP but didn't chart. I have the US copy on the red Atlantic label with its original picture sleeve. After Black Velvet hit, Love Is was re-released on the Atlantic purple label of the 90s, and it charted at No. 36.

I really like the song Lover of Mine, which was released as the third single but missed the Hot 100.

In Canada, she had five singles from the album - the first four of which were released on 45s. The fifth - that came in 1990 when cassette singles seemed to be the thing - but not for me (I never got into those!)

 

it took years for "Black Velvet" to grow on me, and it was such a huge hit that played so long that it eventually did. WEird that such a powerhouse singer was basically a one-hit wonder in the states, but I guess times were changing.

All those Aerosmith songs were played so much everywhere, especially on MTV that I grew to like them, then grew to hate them and only now can kind of appreciate them: but the ballads all sound a bit the same to me. Should have used more outside songwriters than they did.

 

#167 The Rolling Stones, Almost Hear You Sigh
Written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Steve Jordan
Produced by Chris Kimsey and The Glimmer Twins (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards)
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Label: Rolling Stones
Debuted January 20, 1990 at #45
Issued March 10, 1990 - #3 previous week - 1 week at #1
^8 weeks

#50 on the Billboard Hot 100

Album: Steel Wheels (1989)

Songfacts page? Yes

 

I like "Janie's Got a Gun", but anything after that I can take or leave myself, as they became a nearly faceless mainstream pop-rock band and released some truly atrocious power ballads.

Not sure why I like this song so much, but I do, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Interesting bluesy vibe you don't hear too much of on the mainstream charts.