History Main / ArenaRock

* Music/{{Loverboy}}

* Music/{{Genesis}} (From ''Duke'' onward)

Since artists of any genre can fill an arena if they're popular enough, arena rock naturally had several additional characteristics to help differentiate it from other rock subgenres. "Guitar pyrotechnics" and massed vocal harmonies performed by the whole band were very common, along with [[AudienceParticipationSong Audience Participation Songs]] featuring big, anthemic choruses. Most singers had cleaner-sounding vocals than a lot of the other HardRock or HeavyMetal groups of the time and often performed with an operatic flair. Lyrically, most arena rock songs were pretty simple, with many a straightforward {{Power Ballad}} for audiences to sing along with. And recordings were characterized by a slick, radio-friendly production sheen, which made the genre a perfect complement for the emergent AOR (for "album-oriented rock") format on the FM dial. The AOR format was an offshoot of the early FM stations -- variously termed "freeform", "progressive", or "underground" -- that played PsychedelicRock in the late '60s and early '70s, many of which narrowed their focus to play more commercial material around the middle of the latter decade. The "album" in AOR came from the fact that these stations played album tracks rather than singles.

This was the dominant commercial style of rock music for about ten years, starting in 1976 when Music/{{Boston}} released their first album and Music/PeterFrampton released ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' (the best-selling record of the year), and more or less ending in 1986 when Music/{{Journey}} released their last album for ten years and Music/BonJovi's ''Slippery When Wet'' put HairMetal on top of the mainstream rock pile at the same time AlternativeRock acts like Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{REM}}, Music/TheCure and Music/{{INXS}} started to cross over onto the album rock stations that had been arena rock's bread and butter. These bands would set the stage for alternative rock's mainstream breakthrough with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' in 1991.

* Music/RogerWaters

Although {{rock}} groups had been filling some of the largest venues in the world since Music/TheBeatles played at Shea Stadium in the 1960s, this subgenre of rock music began to develop in the mid-1970s. Also known as adult/album-oriented rock (AOR, which is the term [[https://rateyourmusic.com/genre/AOR/ rateyourmusic.com]] uses to describe the genre) due to the genre's focus on albums rather than singles, pomp rock, melodic rock, anthem rock, teen rock, or stadium rock, the main exponents of the style were pop-rock bands that wrote songs specifically to appeal to large crowds, to be performed in big stadiums in front of big audiences.

* Music/TedNugent

Although {{rock}} groups had been filling some of the largest venues in the world since Music/TheBeatles played at Shea Stadium in the 1960s, this subgenre of rock music began to develop in the mid-1970s. Also known as adult/album-oriented rock (AOR, which is the term [[https://rateyourmusic.com/genre/AOR/ rateyourmusic.com]] uses to describe the genre), pomp rock, melodic rock, anthem rock, teen rock, or stadium rock, the main exponents of the style were pop-rock bands that wrote songs specifically to appeal to large crowds, to be performed in big stadiums in front of big audiences.

** ''Music/PermanentVacation'' (1987)
** ''Music/{{Pump}}'' (1989)
** ''Music/GetAGrip'' (1993)

** ''Music/SecretTreaties'' (1974)
** ''Music/AgentsOfFortune'' (1976)
** ''Music/{{Spectres}}'' (1977)

** ''Music/MakingMovies'' (1980)
** ''Music/LoveOverGold'' (1982)
** ''[[Music/BrothersInArmsAlbum Brothers in Arms]]'' (1985)
** ''Music/OnEveryStreet'' (1991)

** ''Music/{{Rumours}}'' (1977)
** ''Music/{{Tusk}}'' (1979)
** ''Music/{{Mirage}}'' (1982)
** ''Music/TangoInTheNight'' (1987)

** ''Music/{{Duke}}'' (1980)
** ''Music/{{Abacab}}'' (1981)
** ''Music/GenesisAlbum'' (1983)
** ''Music/InvisibleTouch'' (1986)
** ''Music/WeCantDance'' (1991)
** ''Music/CallingAllStations'' (1997)

** ''[[Music/HeartAlbum Heart]]'' (1985)

** ''Music/WishYouWereHere'' (1975)
** ''Music/{{Animals}}'' (1977)
** ''Music/TheWall'' (1979)
** ''Music/TheFinalCut'' (1983)
** ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason'' (1987)
** ''Music/TheDivisionBell'' (1994)
** ''Music/TheEndlessRiver'' (2014)

** ''Music/NewsOfTheWorldQueen'' (1977)
** ''Music/{{Jazz}}'' (1978)
** ''Music/TheGameQueen'' (1980)
** ''Music/HotSpace'' (1982)
** ''Music/TheWorks'' (1984)
** ''Music/AKindOfMagic'' (1986)
** ''Music/TheMiracle'' (1989)
** ''Music/{{Innuendo}}'' (1991)
** ''Music/MadeInHeaven'' (1995)

** ''Hi Infidelity'' (1980)

** ''Music/ClockworkAngels'' (2012)

** ''Music/KilroyWasHere'' (1983)

** ''Music/{{Tommy}}'' (1969)
** ''Music/WhosNext'' (1971)
** ''Music/{{Quadrophenia}}'' (1973)

** ''Music/{{Eliminator|ZZTopAlbum}}'' (1983)

Since artists of any genre can fill an arena if they're popular enough, arena rock naturally had several additional characteristics to help differentiate it from other rock subgenres. "Guitar pyrotechnics" and massed vocal harmonies performed by the whole band were very common, along with [[AudienceParticipationSong Audience Participation Songs]] featuring big, anthemic choruses. Most singers had cleaner-sounding vocals than a lot of the other HardRock or HeavyMetal groups of the time and often performed with an operatic flair. Lyrically, most arena rock songs were pretty simple, with many a straightforward {{Power Ballad}} for audiences to sing along with. And recordings were characterized by a slick, radio-friendly production sheen, which made the genre a perfect complement for the emergent AOR (album-oriented rock) format on the FM dial. The AOR format was an offshoot of the early FM stations -- variously termed "freeform", "progressive", or "underground" -- that played PsychedelicRock in the late '60s and early '70s, many of which narrowed their focus to play more commercial material around the middle of the latter decade. The "album" in AOR came from the fact that these stations played album tracks rather than singles.

Since artists of any genre can fill an arena if they're popular enough, arena rock naturally had several additional characteristics to help differentiate it from other rock subgenres. "Guitar pyrotechnics" and massed vocal harmonies performed by the whole band were very common, along with [[AudienceParticipationSong Audience Participation Songs]] featuring big, anthemic choruses. Most singers had cleaner-sounding vocals than a lot of the other HardRock or HeavyMetal groups of the time and often performed with an operatic flair. Lyrically, most arena rock songs were pretty simple, with many a straightforward {{Power Ballad}} for audiences to sing along with. And recordings were characterized by a slick, radio-friendly production sheen, which made the genre a perfect complement for the emergent AOR (album-oriented rock) format on the FM dial. The AOR format was an offshoot of the early FM "freeform" stations playing PsychedelicRock in the late '60s and early '70s, many of which narrowed their focus in the mid-'70s to play more commercial material. The "album" in AOR came from the fact that these stations played album tracks rather than singles.

** ''Music/BrothersInArms'' (1985)

+ BluesRock, ProgressiveRock, PsychedelicRock, GlamRock, Soft Rock

* Music/{{Foreigner}} (tended to be one of the few "arena rock" acts critics liked from the start, with work such as ''4'' and their signature PowerBallad "I Want to Know What Love Is" garnering enough acclaim for the latter to wind up on ''Rolling Stone'''s greatest songs of all time list)

Although the spectacle and accessibility of arena rock has pretty much always been [[CriticProof popular enough with the public]], it isn't always [[DeadHorseGenre treated as kindly by music critics]], many of whom seem to regard it as either HairMetal without any make-up on, ProgressiveRock without the complexity or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_rock heartland rock]] without the heart. The epithet "corporate rock" was originally applied to this type of music, with "dad rock" also popping up sometime around the late '90s, due to the genre's popularity among aging Baby Boomers. Listen to any ClassicRock radio station nowadays, and chances are arena rock is the genre you'll hear the most of.

It's worth noting that the sort of stadium rock played by bands like Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{INXS}}, Music/SimpleMinds or Music/ThePolice doesn't necessarily come under this heading; their sound was typically more influenced by PostPunk and AlternativeRock (such as it was in the 1980s).

* Music/{{Foreigner}}

* Music/{{Kansas}} (with more of a ProgressiveRock bent than usual, but still...)
* Music/{{KISS}}, hell, they were [[InvokedTrope deliberately designed to be this]] by founders Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

This was the dominant commercial style of rock music for about ten years, starting in 1976 when Music/{{Boston}} released their first album and Music/PeterFrampton released ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' (the best-selling record of the year), and more or less ending in 1986 when Music/{{Journey}} released their last album for ten years and Music/BonJovi's ''Slippery When Wet'' put HairMetal on top of the mainstream rock pile at the same time AlternativeRock acts like Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{REM}}, Music/TheCure and Music/{{INXS}} started to cross over onto the album rock stations that had been arena rock's bread and butter. These bands would set the stage for alternative rock's mainstream breakthrough with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' in 1991. Listen to any ClassicRock radio station nowadays, and chances are arena rock is the genre you'll hear the most of.

Although the spectacle and accessibility of arena rock has pretty much always been [[CriticProof popular enough with the public]], it isn't always [[DeadHorseGenre treated as kindly by music critics]], many of whom seem to regard it as either HairMetal without any make-up on, ProgressiveRock without the complexity or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_rock heartland rock]] without the heart. The epithet "corporate rock" was originally applied to this type of music, with "dad rock" also popping up sometime around the late '90s, due to the genre's popularity among aging Baby Boomers.

This was the dominant commercial style of rock music for about ten years, starting in 1976 when Music/{{Boston}} released their first album and Music/PeterFrampton released ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' (the best-selling record of the year), and more or less ending in 1986 when Music/{{Journey}} released their last album for ten years and Music/BonJovi's ''Slippery When Wet'' put HairMetal on top of the mainstream rock pile at the same time AlternativeRock acts like Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{REM}}, Music/TheCure and Music/{{INXS}} started to cross over onto the album rock stations that had been arena rock's bread and butter. These bands would set the stage for alternative rock's mainstream breakthrough with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' in 1991. Listen to any "ClassicRock" radio station nowadays, and chances are arena rock is the genre you'll hear the most of.

Since bands of any genre can fill an arena if they're popular enough, arena rock had several additional characteristics to differentiate it from other rock subgenres. "Guitar pyrotechnics" and massed vocal harmonies performed by the whole band were very common, as were [[AudienceParticipationSong Audience Participation Songs]] with big, anthemic choruses. Most singers had cleaner-sounding vocals than a lot of the other HardRock or HeavyMetal groups of the time and often performed with an operatic flair. Lyrically, most arena rock songs were pretty simple, with many a straightforward {{Power Ballad}} for audiences to sing along with. And recordings were characterized by a slick, radio-friendly production sheen, which made the genre a perfect complement for the emergent AOR (album-oriented rock) format on the FM dial. The AOR format was an offshoot of the early FM "freeform" stations playing PsychedelicRock in the late '60s and early '70s, many of which narrowed their focus in the mid-'70s to play more commercial material. The "album" in AOR came from the fact that these stations played album tracks rather than singles.

Since bands of any genre can fill an arena if they're popular enough, arena rock had several additional characteristics to differentiate it from other rock subgenres. "Guitar pyrotechnics" and massed vocal harmonies performed by the whole band were very common, as were [[AudienceParticipationSong Audience Participation Songs]] with big, anthemic choruses. Most singers had cleaner-sounding vocals than a lot of the other HardRock or HeavyMetal groups of the time and often performed with an operatic flair. Lyrically, most arena rock songs were pretty simple, with many a straightforward {{Power Ballad}} for audiences to sing along with. And recordings were characterized by a slick, radio-friendly production sheen, which made the genre a perfect complement for the emergent AOR (album-oriented rock) format on the FM dial. The AOR format was an offshoot of the early FM "freeform" stations playing PsychedelicRock in the late '60s, many of whom narrowed their focus by the mid-70s to play more commercial material. The "album" in AOR came from the fact that these stations played album tracks rather than singles.

Although rock groups had been filling some of the largest venues in the world since Music/TheBeatles played at Shea Stadium in the 1960s, this subgenre of rock music began to develop in the mid-1970s. Also known as adult/album-oriented rock (AOR, which is the term [[https://rateyourmusic.com/genre/AOR/ rateyourmusic.com]] uses to describe the genre), pomp rock, melodic rock, anthem rock, teen rock, or stadium rock, the main exponents of the style were pop-rock bands that wrote songs specifically to appeal to large crowds, to be performed in big stadiums in front of big audiences.

Since bands of any genre can fill an arena if they're popular enough, arena rock had several additional characteristics to differentiate it from other rock subgenres. "Guitar pyrotechnics" and massed vocal harmonies performed by the whole band were very common, as were [[AudienceParticipationSong Audience Participation Songs]] with big, anthemic choruses. Most singers had cleaner-sounding vocals than a lot of the other HardRock or HeavyMetal groups of the time and often performed with an operatic flair. Lyrically, most arena rock songs were pretty simple, with many a straightforward {{Power Ballad}} for audiences to sing along with. And recordings were characterized by a slick, radio-friendly production sheen, which made the genre a perfect complement for the emergent AOR (album-oriented rock) format on the FM dial. The AOR format was an offshoot of the early FM "freeform" stations playing PsychedelicRock in the late '60s, many of whom narrowed their focus by the mid-70s to play more commercial material.

Although rock groups had been filling some of the largest venues in the world since Music/TheBeatles played at Shea Stadium in the 1960s, this subgenre of rock music began to develop in the mid-1970s. Also known as adult-oriented rock (AOR, which is the term [[https://rateyourmusic.com/genre/AOR/ rateyourmusic.com]] uses to describe the genre), pomp rock, melodic rock, anthem rock, teen rock, or stadium rock, the main exponents of the style were pop-rock bands that wrote songs specifically to appeal to large crowds, to be performed in big stadiums in front of big audiences.

Since bands of any genre can fill an arena if they're popular enough, arena rock had several additional characteristics to differentiate it from other rock subgenres. "Guitar pyrotechnics" and massed vocal harmonies performed by the whole band were very common, as were [[AudienceParticipationSong Audience Participation Songs]] with big, anthemic choruses. Most singers had cleaner-sounding vocals than a lot of the other HardRock or HeavyMetal groups of the time and often performed with an operatic flair. Lyrically, most arena rock songs were pretty simple, with many a straightforward {{Power Ballad}} for audiences to sing along with. And recordings were characterized by a slick, radio-friendly production sheen, which made the genre a perfect complement for the emergent AOR (album-oriented rock) format on the FM dial.

Similar to TeenPop today, at its height in the late '70s and early '80s, arena rock was marketed to teenagers and young adults. Typical characteristics of arena rock include an emphasis on visual appeal, lyrics focused on love, relationships, dancing, partying, and friendship.

Similar to TeenPop today, at its height in the late '70s and early '80s, arena rock was marketed to teenagers and young adults . Typical characteristics of arena rock include emphasis on visual appeal, lyrics focused on love, relationships, dancing, partying, and friendship.

Similar to TeenPop, arena rock is marketed to teenagers and young adults. Typical characteristics of arena rock include emphasis on visual appeal, lyrics focused on love, relationships, dancing, partying, and friendship.

Although rock groups had been filling some of the largest venues in the world since Music/TheBeatles played at Shea Stadium in the 1960s, this subgenre of rock music began to develop in the mid-1970s. Also known as adult-oriented rock (AOR, which is the term [[https://rateyourmusic.com/genre/AOR/ rateyourmusic.com]] uses to describe the genre), pomp rock, melodic rock, anthem rock, or stadium rock, the main exponents of the style were pop-rock bands that wrote songs specifically to appeal to large crowds, to be performed in big stadiums in front of big audiences.

This was the dominant commercial style of rock music for about ten years, starting in 1976 when Music/{{Boston}} released their first album and Music/PeterFrampton released ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' (the best-selling record of the year), and more or less ending in 1986 when Music/{{Journey}} released their last album for ten years and Music/BonJovi's ''Slippery When Wet'' put HairMetal on top of the mainstream rock pile at the same time AlternativeRock acts like Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{REM}}, Music/TheCure and Music/{{INXS}} started to cross over onto the album rock stations that had been arena rock's bread and butter, setting the stage for alternative rock's mainstream breakthrough with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' in 1991. Listen to any "ClassicRock" radio station nowadays, and chances are arena rock is the genre you'll hear the most of.

* Music/{{Eagles}} (post-''On the Border'')

** ''Music/KilroyWasHere'' (1984)

* Music/{{Yes}} (post-''90125'')

* Music/ZZTop (post-''[[NewSoundAlbum Eliminator]]'')