More Sleazy Hair Metal Songs: Bang Tango and Great White

Hello,

Here are some more classic hair metal songs and one not so classic hair metal song.

Thanks to Spotify I was able to check out several great hair metal songs, either by genre or by artist. I listened to most of a 3 CD set "This is Hair Metal", it provides a good sample of all songs of that era. It just doesn't focus on the Cinderellas and Poisons, but gives love to more obscure bands. The two bands I've been most surprised that I've liked is Bang Tango and Great White.

I'm going to highlight those two bands in this blog.

I'll start with Bang Tango. They are a band I remember hearing about back in the day, but honestly I couldn't have told you a song they sang. The lead singer, Joe Leste, sounds a lot like a young David Lee Roth. And yes I mean that as a compliment. Leste has a great voice.

This is probably their most famous song, "Someone Like You":



Bang Tango is still around and performing in 2012. However from their live CD "United and Live" and the below video clip they aren't a very dynamic live band. However this is probably my favorite song of theirs, "Dressed Up Vamp":



I love the crowd shots in the above video, do they even know there's a band playing? In the below video is another one of Bang Tango's great songs. I know I just wrote that "Dressed Up Vamp" is probably my favorite Bang Tango song. But when I listened to "Wrap My Wings" again, it kicked my butt. So this might be my favorite Bang Tango song.



But then again I also really like this song, "Attack of Life" (I couldn't find a good version of this song, it sounds much better on record.")



Remember in 2003 when Great White performed at the bar that burned down? With all due respect to all those killed: I remember thinking there were that many people that wanted to see Great White in concert?

From wikipedia.org (RIP):

"The Station nightclub fire was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people. The fire began at 11:07 PM EST, on Thursday, February 20, 2003, at The Station, a glam metal and rock n roll themed nightclub located at 211 Cowesett Avenue in West Warwick, Rhode Island.

The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the evening's headlining band, Great White, which ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. A fast-moving fire engulfed the club in 5½ minutes. Some 230 people were injured and another 132 escaped uninjured. Video footage of the fire shows its initial growth, billowing smoke that quickly made escape impossible, and the exit blockage that further hindered evacuation."

100 people dying at a concert is just crazy, but it seems it was a perfect storm of conditions. After doing  a bit of digging into Great White's catalog, I understand better their appeal now. Great White is best known for this ode to groupies "Once Bitten Twice Shy":



This is also a pretty cool song. But again as with their hair metal brethren, they aren't breaking any new lyrical ground. This is "Rock Me":



And this is another great Great White song, "Save All Your Love":



"Ready For Love". I can't find the Great White version on youtube anywhere, so this is Bad Company's version. (I believe Bad Company did the original.)



Great White does a lot of covers, but they especially love to cover Led Zeppelin. And to be honest if you're going to cover a hard rock band, the mighty Zep is the best band to cover. This is Great White's version of "Babe I'm Gonna To Leave You":



I have to admit that I've never heard this song before. And with only 1,741 views of the video it seems I'm not the only one. I still like this song, this is Union's "Around Again":



themusicaddict