Mess hall I need your help!

**Zirconium Blade** · May 31st, 2008, 07:33 PM

Basically its dissertation time at college and since I'm doing a music degree I'm going to do my dissertation on Power Ballads.

The idea came around when I was laying around stoned out of my face watching 'VH1 Classics's top 20 power ballads.' After watching the whole thing I decided that most of the songs weren't power ballads at all, well at least in my opinion.

So I'm going to do my dissertation on what constitutes a 'Power Ballad.' Since this is a research project I put this question to you:

What do you think a Power Ballad should have to separate it musically from other styles of ballads?

**Burris** · May 31st, 2008, 07:38 PM

Power Ballads are an 80s phenomenon. Hair metal bands needed accessible music for females as their record sales dropped. It reflects the talent of most bands of that era.

**divium** · May 31st, 2008, 08:02 PM

A power ballad should tell a story (to a degree) in a manner that is energizing, and feature a kickass guitar and/or drum solo to emphasize said story's epicness.

[edit]

Oh wait, apparently power ballads are pretty much regular ballads, but performed by more hard rock/heavy metal groups. I must've been thinking of rock epics, silly me.

**Stellar** · May 31st, 2008, 09:19 PM

Bohemian Rhapsody being one of these?
One by Metallica?

**Welshy** · May 31st, 2008, 10:15 PM

Ballad is more of a serenading thing I'd have said. Something like Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss A Thing.

**Ginger Lord** · May 31st, 2008, 11:39 PM

Our Uni said that unless you got a couple hundred responses minimum to a question like this, you could not use it in your dissertation.

They're dead strict on stuff like that, at least my Uni was.

Edit: Rocking Guitar Solo.

**Cheeto** · May 31st, 2008, 11:46 PM

I would say something that starts off singing slowly about how much you love some girl, and then goes into a power driving electric guitar solo about how kickass your new hairdo is.

**CrazyTalk** · Jun 1st, 2008, 05:55 AM

anything by Journey. nuff said

**Zirconium Blade** · Jun 1st, 2008, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Ginger Lord

Our Uni said that unless you got a couple hundred responses minimum to a question like this, you could not use it in your dissertation.

They're dead strict on stuff like that, at least my Uni was.

Edit: Rocking Guitar Solo.

Aye this isn't the only place I'm asking and I could probably make up the answers anyway. We were actually told that that was fine.

Got about 26 songs now for reference including Journey, Foreigner, pretty much all of Bon Jovi's back catalogue, Bryan Adams, Aerosmith, Berlin etc etc.

If you can think of any awesome power ballads let me know.