Line #14 Main/ArenaRock


1	[floatboxright:
2	Primary Stylistic Influences:
3	+ HardRock, TraditionalHeavyMetal, {{Pop}}
4	]
5	[floatboxright:
6	Secondary Stylistic Influences:
7	+ BluesRock, ProgressiveRock, PsychedelicRock, GlamRock, SoftRock, PowerPop
8	]
9
10	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) or album-oriented rock (also abbreviated AOR, which is the term [[https://heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/genre.cgi heavyharmonies.com]] uses to describe the genre) due to the genre's focus on albums rather than singles -- and by such other labels as pomp rock, melodic rock, anthem rock, teen rock, corporate rock, or stadium rock -- the main exponents of the style were pop-rock bands that wrote songs specifically to be performed in big stadiums in front of big audiences.
11
12	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 {{Audience Participation Song}}s 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 PowerBallad 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 just singles.
13
14	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\|Band}} released their last album for ten years and Music/BonJovi's ''Slippery When Wet'' put HairMetal, the format's spiritual successor, on top of the mainstream rock pile at the same time AlternativeRock acts like Music/{{U2}}, Music/{{REM}}, Music/{{The Cure\|Band}} and Music/{{INXS}} started to cross over onto the AOR stations that had been arena rock's bread and butter. HairMetal would serve as the SpiritualSuccessor to the genre for the next half-decade, inheriting the genre's penchant for glossy production, [[AudienceParticipationSong stadium-ready anthems]] and {{Power Ballad}}s. The alternative bands meanwhile would set the stage for the next sea change with Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind\|Album}}'' in 1991.
15
16	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. The genre was most popular in North America.
17
18	It's worth noting that while "arena rock" tends to be a blanket term used for any acts that are known for anthemic songs and memorable stagecraft, the term itself was originally an epithet used by critics to bash the genre for what they perceived as its tendency to prioritize spectacle and [[ItsPopularNowItSucks mass appeal]] over [[TrueArt artistic quality]]. (It didn't help that many arena rock acts' use of polished production styles and precise songwriting conflicted with the critics' taste for the messy, ThreeChordsAndTheTruth style of PunkRock at the time of arena rock's peak in popularity.) The epithet "corporate rock" was originally applied to this type of music by the more elitist critics, with "dad rock" also popping up around the late '90s due to the genre's popularity among aging baby boomers. Still, if you listen to any ClassicRock radio station nowadays, chances are arena rock is one genre you'll hear a lot of.
19
20	It's also 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, as their sound was typically more influenced by PostPunk and AlternativeRock (such as it was in the 1980s). HairMetal, on the other hand, has plenty of overlap as mentioned earlier, and many bands will fall under both subgenres.
21
22	!!Artists commonly associated with the genre include:
23	[[index]]
24	* [[Music/ThirtyEightSpecial 38 Special]]
25	* [[Music/SevenOhSeven 707]]
26	* Music/LeeAaron
27	* Music/BryanAdams
28	* Music/{{Aerosmith}} (eighties output and everything following it)
29	** 1987 - ''Music/PermanentVacation''
30	** 1989 - ''Music/{{Pump}}''
31	** 1993 - ''Music/GetAGrip''
32	* Music/{{Angel}}
33	* Music/AprilWine
34	* Music/{{Asia}}
35	* Music/{{Autograph}}
36	* Music/{{Axe}}
37	* Music/TheBabys
38	* Music/BadCompany (mid-eighties-to-early-nineties output)
39	* Music/BadEnglish
40	* Music/{{Balance}}
41	* Music/RussBallard
42	* Jimmy Barnes
43	* Music/PatBenatar
44	* {{Music/Blackfoot}} (mid-eighties-to-early-nineties output)
45	* Music/BlueOysterCult (from ''Agents of Fortune'' onwards, combined with HeavyMetal)
46	** 1976 - ''Music/AgentsOfFortune''
47	** 1977 - ''Music/{{Spectres}}''
48	** 1979 - ''Music/{{Mirrors\|Album}}''
49	* Music/MichaelBolton (eighties output)
50	* Music/BonJovi (their glam period, mostly)
51	** 1986 - ''Music/SlipperyWhenWet''
52	* Music/{{Boston}}
53	* Music/{{Charlie}}
54	* Music/CheapTrick (mid-eighties-to-early-nineties output)
55	* Music/{{Cher}} (eighties-to-early-nineties output)
56	* Music/{{Chicago\|Band}} (mid- to late-eighties output)
57	* Music/CityBoy
58	* Music/{{Dakota}}
59	* Roger Daltrey (eighties-to-early-nineties output)
60	* Music/DangerDanger
61	* Music/DefLeppard (also HairMetal)
62	** 1983 - ''Music/{{Pyromania}}''
63	** 1987 - ''[[Music/HysteriaAlbum Hysteria]]''
64	* Music/DireStraits (eighties era)
65	** 1980 - ''Music/MakingMovies''
66	** 1982 - ''Music/LoveOverGold''
67	** 1985 - ''Music/{{Brothers in Arms\|Album}}''
68	** 1991 - ''Music/OnEveryStreet''
69	* {{Music/Doucette}}
70	* Music/{{Eagles}} (post-''One of These Nights'')
71	* Music/{{Europe}}
72	* Music/JohnFarnham (mid-eighties-to-early-nineties output)
73	* Music/FleetwoodMac (Buckingham/Nicks era)
74	** 1977 - ''Music/{{Rumours}}''
75	** 1979 - ''Music/{{Tusk\|1979}}''
76	** 1982 - ''Music/{{Mirage}}''
77	** 1987 - ''Music/TangoInTheNight''
78	* {{Music/FM}}
79	* Music/{{Foreigner\|Band}} (one of the few "arena rock" acts critics would grow to love right away, 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)
80	* Music/PeterFrampton
81	* Music/{{Gamma}}
82	* {{Music/Giant}}
83	* Music/{{Giuffria}}
84	* Music/{{Gowan}}
85	* {{Music/GTR}}
86	* {{Music/Hardline}}
87	* Music/HaremScarem
88	* {{Music/Harlequin}}
89	* Music/CoreyHart
90	* Music/HeadEast
91	* Music/{{Heart\|Band}} (mid- to late-eighties output)
92	** 1985 - ''Music/{{Heart\|Album}}''
93	* Music/HoneymoonSuite
94	* Music/{{Icon}}
95	* Music/ImagineDragons
96	* Music/DonnieIris
97	* Music/JeffersonStarship
98	* Music/{{Journey\|Band}} (from ''Infinity'' onwards)
99	* Music/{{Kansas}} (with more of a ProgressiveRock bent than usual)
100	* Music/{{KISS}}
101	* Music/LegsDiamond
102	* Music/LeRoux
103	* Music/LittleRiverBand (mid-eighties-to-early-nineties output)
104	* Music/KennyLoggins (eighties output)
105	* Music/{{Loverboy\|Band}}
106	* {{Music/Magnum}}
107	* Music/BennyMardones
108	* Music/RichardMarx
109	* Music/MeatLoaf
110	** 1993 - "Music/IdDoAnythingForLoveButIWontDoThat"
111	* Music/MichaelStanleyBand
112	* Music/MikeAndTheMechanics
113	* [[Music/MrMister Mr. Mister]]
114	* Music/KimMitchell
115	* Music/EddieMoney
116	* Music/GaryMoore (eighties output)
117	* Music/{{Muse}}
118	** 2006 - ''Music/BlackHolesAndRevelations''
119	** 2009 - ''[[Music/TheResistanceAlbum The Resistance]]''
120	** 2012 - ''[[Music/The2ndLaw The 2nd Law]]''
121	** 2015 - ''Music/{{Drones}}''
122	** 2018 - ''Music/SimulationTheory''
123	** 2022 - ''Music/WillOfThePeople''
124	* Music/{{Nelson}}
125	* Music/NightRanger
126	* Music/AldoNova
127	* Music/TedNugent (eighties output)
128	* Music/JohnParr
129	* Music/{{Petra}}
130	* Music/{{Phenomena}}
131	* Music/PinkFloyd (after ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'')
132	** 1975 - ''Music/{{Wish You Were Here\|1975}}''
133	** 1977 - ''Music/{{Animals\|1977}}''
134	** 1979 - ''Music/TheWall''
135	** 1983 - ''Music/TheFinalCut''
136	** 1987 - ''Music/AMomentaryLapseOfReason''
137	** 1994 - ''Music/TheDivisionBell''
138	** 2014 - ''Music/TheEndlessRiver''
139	* Music/PlanetPProject
140	* Music/PrayingMantis
141	* Music/{{Prism}}
142	* Music/{{Queen\|Band}} (especially ''News of the World'' and onward)
143	** 1977 - ''Music/{{News of the World\|Queen}}''
144	** 1978 - ''Music/{{Jazz\|1978}}''
145	** 1980 - ''Music/{{The Game\|Queen}}''
146	** 1982 - ''Music/HotSpace''
147	** 1984 - ''Music/TheWorks''
148	** 1986 - ''Music/{{A Kind of Magic\|1986}}''
149	** 1989 - ''Music/TheMiracle''
150	** 1991 - ''Music/{{Innuendo}}''
151	** 1995 - ''Music/MadeInHeaven''
152	* Music/{{Rainbow}} (starting with ''Difficult to Cure'')
153	* Music/RedRider
154	* Music/REOSpeedwagon
155	** 1980 - ''Hi Infidelity''
156	* Music/{{Roadmaster}}
157	* Music/{{Rush\|Band}} (mostly on their synth-heavy records in TheEighties)
158	** 1981 - ''Music/{{Moving Pictures\|Album}}''
159	** 1982 - ''Music/{{Signals}}''
160	** 1984 - ''Music/GraceUnderPressure''
161	** 1985 - ''Music/PowerWindows''
162	** 1987 - ''Music/HoldYourFire''
163	** 1989 - ''Music/{{Presto\|Album}}''
164	** 2012 - ''Music/ClockworkAngels''
165	* Music/{{Saga}}
166	* Music/KenjiSawada (his four--three studio, one live--albums with [=Co-CoLo=])
167	* Music/BobSeger (''Live Bullet'' and after)
168	* Music/{{Sherbs}}
169	* Music/ShootingStar
170	* Music/RickSpringfield
171	* Music/BruceSpringsteen (post-''Nebraska'')
172	** 1984 - ''Music/BornInTheUSA''
173	* Music/BillySquier
174	* Music/{{Starship}}
175	* Music/TheStorm
176	* Music/{{Strangeways}}
177	* Music/{{Streetheart}}
178	* {{Music/Streets}}
179	* Music/{{Styx}} (also {{Progressive Rock}})
180	** 1983 - ''Music/KilroyWasHere''
181	* Music/{{Supertramp}}
182	* Music/{{Survivor\|Band}}
183	* Music/{{Toto}}
184	* Music/{{Triumph}}
185	* Music/{{Trooper}}
186	* Music/BonnieTyler (mid-eighties-to-early-nineties output)
187	* Music/UriahHeep (late-seventies-to-early-nineties output)
188	* Music/VanZant (eighties output)
189	* Music/JohnWaite
190	* Music/RogerWaters
191	** 1992 - ''Music/AmusedToDeath''
192	** 2017 - ''Music/IsThisTheLifeWeReallyWant''
193	* Music/WhiteSister
194	* Music/TheWho (to a slight degree from ''Tommy'' onwards, but mostly their 80s work)
195	** 1969 - ''Music/{{Tommy}}''
196	** 1971 - ''Music/WhosNext''
197	** 1973 - ''Music/{{Quadrophenia}}''
198	* Music/{{Yes}} (post-''Drama'')
199	* Music/{{Zebra}}
200	* Music/ZZTop (post-''El Loco'')
201	** 1983 - ''Music/{{Eliminator\|ZZTopAlbum}}''
202	[[/index]]
203
204	%%!!Common Tropes
205	%%* AudienceParticipationSong:
206	%%* EpicRiff:
207	%%* EpicRocking:
208	%%* PowerBallad:

Context Main / ArenaRock