Hey everybody, this is Sean Faust, and you are
listening to my weekly mixtape with one of my
oldest and dearest friends, Brian Colburn. So
what you gotta do now, stop listening to me,
listen to his show, like, subscribe, definitely
join that Patreon. It'll be very, very, very
Verkalehigalum. Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape,
a podcast that takes the classic mixtape approach
to building a modern playlist. I'm your host,
Brian Colburn. Joining me for tonight's collaboration
is good friend and fellow musician, Sean Faust.
Sean, thank you so much for joining me on the
show. You know, Brian, you're welcome for having
me on your show. I hope that you're feeling the
grace of my presence, knowing that Sean Faust
took time out of his day to be here with you.
Brian? Brian? Hey, Brian, are you there? Brian?
Brian? We're doing my weekly mixtape today, bro.
Yes, we are. But seriously, thanks for having
me on, man. Thank you so much for having me on.
I've been addicted to your show. So every time
it comes out, I'm like, all right, hey, put me
in one of those isolation rooms to clean so I
can listen to this podcast. So the cats are getting
used to your voice as well. And I'm just loving
it. I love this show. So honestly, thank you
for having me on and gracing me with your presence
because we haven't really talked in a while anyway.
So this is pretty awesome to do. Seriously, it
feels like forever. Well, I'm really excited.
And I'm going to start by asking you the same
question I ask everybody. And being you listen
to the show, I know you know what's about to
come. But Sean, what does the word mixtape mean
to you? My good friend Brian started a podcast
called My Weekly Mixtape. And I mean, I never
heard of mixtapes. Until Brian started this show.
And I thought it was, wow, that's a pretty cool
idea. So what I did was I headed over to the
local drugstore. I won't say its name because
apparently it's anti -woman now. And I'm not
pro that drugstore anymore. But I bought some
TDK D90 cassettes. And I've got them ready to
go. And they're type 2, by the way. So type 2,
that was with Chrome. And you always wanted to
record on type 2 because you got a better sound
out of it. Not that I know anything about cassettes.
I'm talking out of my butt here. But I used to
make mixtapes. Oh, my God. After I saw Dream
Theater for the first time, of course I'm going
to mention them, right? I'm Sean Faust. I had
about 10 90 -minute cassettes of different set
lists that I would love to hear from them. Because,
I mean, at the time, it was Images and Words,
Awake, Change the Seasons, and When Dream and
Day Unite. So I must have made 10 mixtapes just
of Dream Theater. But I did it with Pink Floyd
one time. analog let me let me blow your mind
with this breathe i cut out time went right to
the breather pre's it felt seamless so when they
did it in 2005 i was like oh my god did you guys
get a copy of my pink floyd mixtape that's phenomenal
so i used to do stuff like hard rock i was into
or like you know you know i would just put a
cassette in and uh it was it's a cheap mixtape
because what i would do is i would hit record
on 1480z rock Oh, yeah. Just let that go. And
that's how I got turned on to so much cool stuff
around 1991. So I'm really looking forward to
making a mixtape with you based on some of the
music that we were listening to around that age.
Oh, God. Yeah. A lot of the songs that I have
on my list for tonight came from discovering.
these bands on 1480z rock and to a certain extent
89 .5 wsou those were a little bit heavier than
some of the bands we're going to talk about tonight
yeah yeah but there was some overlap every now
and then but a lot of the stuff 1480z rock was
my station and the songs we are going to be curating
tonight all center around power ballads and for
the sake of tonight's show We did not tie this
episode to a decade because there were a ton
of amazing power ballads that came out in the
early 90s that would musically fall under the
quote unquote 80s hard rock power ballad. But
because 90, 91 and 92, these bands were still
part of the active rotation. they would have
been cut out of an 80s power ballad playlist.
But for the sake of an argument, you know the
songs we're talking about. Those are a slow rock
song with a strong, emotional vocal delivery
and typically a grandiose production. That was
the Oxford language's definition of a power ballad.
So, Sean, taking the dictionary out of the equation.
Yes, let's please do that. What were you looking
for in the power ballads that you brought to
the table this evening? I mean, it's pretty much,
let's ignore that dictionary and just go for
like, when we heard power ballads when we were
kids, the first thing that came out of our pockets
were our cigarette lighters. Yes. And just, you
know, put them in the air. It's just a mellow
togetherness kind of thing where like, even bands
got hip to the whole power ballad thing where
like, they would start songs off slow. Just to,
like, kick it into rock and roll. Like, the first
thing that comes to mind is Come Undone from
the first Damn Yankees album. Or Just for the
record, let's get the story straight. Uncle Tom's
Cabin. That was the one I was going to go for.
So, like, you know, here's this acoustic or piano
slow intro and then, like, bam, rocker song because
they wanted to get people listening to the tune.
And power ballads were the thing for the longest
time. So I just think, like, Some mellow and
then bam, big power coming in at you. I'd start
naming song titles, but then I'd be screwing
up our tape. Well, let's get down to business
then. Tonight, as I mentioned earlier, Sean and
I will be curating the ultimate power ballads
mixtape and we'll use the old cassette deck approach,
meaning our mixtape will be broken up into two
sides, side A and side B. Sean, as the special
guest, will begin side A with his first song
choice, and then I'll add a song that I feel
best follows up his choice. We'll then flip -flop
choosing songs until we've mapped out 10 songs
for side A. We'll then give our mixtape a proverbial
flip, and we'll map out side B, only this time
I'll kick the side off, and Sean will choose
second. Our overall goal for the episode is to
craft the best power ballads mixtape possible
through only 20 songs. At the end of the show,
you could take our conversation to the next level
by visiting the Power Ballads page at myweeklymixtape
.com to give our final mixtape a listen via the
embedded playlist. Finally, if you like what
you're hearing on the show, please consider becoming
a Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash
myweeklymixtape. And I'd like to welcome this
week's newest Patreon mixtaper, David Owens.
David, thank you so much for supporting the show
and being a part of the mixtaper family. Speaking
of Patreon mixtapers, a few have chimed in with
some of the songs they would kick off their Power
Ballads mixtape with. Kicking things off with
David, he chimed in with Night Ranger's Sister
Christian, the Too Vague podcast chimed in with
Guns N' Roses' November Rain, and Cactus Pete
chimed in with Cinderella's Don't Know What You
Got Till It's Gone, Warrant's Heaven, Poison's
Until You Suffer Some, Fire and Ice, Bad Companies
If You Needed Somebody, and Bon Jovi's Bed of
Roses. Elsewhere in the socials, we've got a
ton of mixtapers who sent in tracks for this
one via my Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
TikTok, which you can find at myweeklymixtape.
And I'm going to go through some of them now.
Deep breath here. Steve Moore chimed in with
Tesla's Love Song. Jim Santora chimed in with
Great White's Save Your Love. Derek Carabue chimed
in with Babylon AD's Desperate. Chris Agar chimed
in with Firehouse When I Look Into Your Eyes.
We had two for Bon Jovi. Psychic Mike chimed
in with Always. And Amy Borchin chimed in with
Never Say Goodbye. Ryan Pack at the Soundtrack
Your Life podcast chimed in with Prince's Purple
Rain. Amanda Walsh chimed in with Mr. Big's To
Be With You, which, if you haven't heard my recent
episode with Mr. Big Bassist Billy Sheehan, I
highly suggest you go back and give that one
a listen after this episode. Carlo at the Movie
Loot and the X Radio X podcast both chimed in
with Farner's I Want to Know What Love Is. Jen
Cohen and Tim McKay both chimed in with Faster
Pussycat's House of Pain. Michael Citro at Michael's
Record Collection chimed in with Scorpion's Still
Loving You. We had three from Cheap Trick. John
Gross chimed in with She Only. The Shane and
I Show chimed in with The Flame. And Seeker 11
chimed in with If You Want My Love. We had two
from Skid Row. Lazy Supper chimed in with 18
and Life. And Lynn Davidson, Matt Kennedy, and
Jamie Lynn Howe all chimed in with I Remember
You. We had two from Van Halen as Rob from the
Great Song podcast chimed in with Not Enough.
And Dave Zalatouris from the Beer in Front podcast
chimed in with Love Walks In. Prisoners of Rock
and Roll chimed in with Steel Hearts' I'll Never
Let You Go. Gary Ratcliffe chimed in with Aerosmith's
Angel. Rick Peden chimed in with Slaughter's
Fly to the Angels. Tony R. chimed in with Def
Leppard's Love Bites. My Podcast Link chimed
in with Starship's Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now.
We had two from Warrant as Michael Turner chimed
in with Heaven. And Hutch chimed in with Sometimes
She Cries. Eric S. chimed in with Ozzy Osbourne's
Mama, I'm Coming Home. Jay Hall at the Okie Bookcast
chimed in with Bad English, When I See You Smile.
Rob Jones chimed in with Gerard McMahon's Cry
Little Sister. Chael chimed in with Damn Yankees
High Enough. We had Two From Heart as Bobby Schultz
chimed in with Alone. And both Tamara Armstrong
and Tony Watson chimed in with What About Love.
And finally, Mass Beer Buddy chimed in with L
.A. Guns' The Ballad of Jane. And now that we're
two and a half hours into the Power Ballads episode,
I guess there's no better time now than to put
those lighters down, press the record button
on this mixtape, and get things started. Sean,
what Power Ballad are you kicking off tonight's
festivities with? Now, I want this tape to start
with something that's just going to grab you,
but kind of like ease you into it as well. So
I'm going to go with, it's not very well known,
but it was kind of big at the time. And it was
one of those songs that people would be like,
oh my God, they would go to MTV and they'd have
to video, like, you know, put the VCRs on to
like get it. And then they would like, you know,
put their like cassette player, like cassette
recorders up to the TV to record it. Because
nobody bought this band's album for some reason.
I don't know why, but I'll tell you. The song
I'm going with is I'll See You In My Dreams by
Giant. Big, grand, huge, awesome chorus, great
musicianship, and just that mellow intro that
kind of leads you into where it's going. What
a fantastic, dude, I love Giant. I actually would
have thought the song Chained, but that's a little
bit more of a mid -tempo rocker. But again, it
starts with that slower opening, like you said,
to kind of pull you into the song. And that was
a big part of it. Dude could sing, man. Oh, absolutely.
I absolutely love that group. And you know what?
I already know the perfect song to follow that
up with. And we're going to start this kind of
on a deeper end here. This is a band that I discovered,
believe it or not, at the Garden State Plaza.
They had several record stores around the 89,
90, 91 range. And I think it was Record Town.
It was in the far corner of the other end of
the mall. It certainly wasn't Sam Gooden. That
was Record World. Record World. It was Record
World. Record Town was the Bergen Mall. Bergen
Mall. Yes. Okay. So Record World had a bin. They
had a cutout bin in the front of the store. And
my buddy and I were in the store flipping through
CDs. And they had this band in there called Baton
Rouge. And the album was called Shake Your Soul.
And the album cover looked interesting enough
for us to buy it. Sight unseen. Never heard of
the band before, but the album cover looked like
a rock album. And we said, hey, I'll kick a dollar
and you kick a dollar and let's give it a try.
And it turned out to be a fantastic band. The
singer has a voice similar to Sammy Hagar. It's
that typical late 80s, early 90s bravado style
of rock. And we both fell in love with this band.
Two years later, they released The Sophomore
Effort, 1991's Lights Out on the Playground.
And the song I'm going to go with is from that
album. And it's a song called Desperate. Might
sound familiar right now because at the beginning
of the show, Derek Carreview chimed in with a
song from 1989, Babylon A .D., Desperate. It's
the same song. So I want to give a second shout
out to Derek because I love the track. But because
of the connection I have with the band Baton
Rouge and those memories I have, I had to go
with their version instead. It is that grandiose,
the entire, there's not a lot of vocal harmonies
in the chorus, but the whole band sings the chorus.
So it gives you that feeling of just that sing
-along type song. And it's just a fantastic power
ballad. So following you up, Baton Rouge, Desperate.
I mean, Brian, leave it to you to choose the
cover song, right? Even back in 1990. I'll be
perfectly honest, though. In 1991, I had no idea
it was a cover song. It wasn't until about two
or three years later when my buddy gave me Babylon
A .D. on cassette. And he goes, you got to check
these guys out. And I started because I knew
the one single they had. And I listened to the
whole tape and I went, wait a minute. What the
hell are they doing desperate for? And I would
open up the J cards and realized the song that
I had liked already for a few years was a cover.
So I guess it was already in my DNA. You didn't
know just the 30 seconds of The Kid Goes Wild
from RoboCop 2? Well, there you go. From the
arcade? Come on, man. Come on. Well, you know,
I got to say, you're saying covers. We're getting
in the cover zone. And I kind of, I think I'm
going to steal a band from you. Uh -oh. Because
for me, I spent 11 years of my life playing covers
of this band. The band, of course, being Bon
Jovi. And you cannot have a power ballad mixtape
without some Bon Jovi. Am I right? Of course.
Yes. I mean, come on. You and I are from New
Jersey. I spent, like I said, 11 years of my
life playing these songs. You'd think I'd never
want to hear them again. But let me tell you
something, man. I'm going to make a power ballad
mixtape. The choices from Bon Jovi are crazy.
Like, how many power ballads do they have? For
a while there, they were almost the power ballad
band. But when I think of them... I think, I
swear to God, I already screwed up the lyric.
But anyway, I'm going to go with Bon Jovi's I'll
Be There For You from the 1989 New Jersey album.
It's a perfect power ballad. I could not agree
more. It is my favorite Bon Jovi power ballad.
It was on my list. The other song I had from
them that was hovering in my list was obviously
their biggest hit song ever, which was always...
But if I'm being honest with myself, I'll Be
There For You is just a better song. I love the
minor chord progression in the opening. It just
feels a little bit more bluesy, and it brings
a little bit more of what Richie Sambora brings
to the band, to that song, where Always was more
of just your straight -up Jon Bon Jovi pop -style
ballad. I feel like I'll Be There For You brings
a little bit more Richie into the fold here.
It's also from New Jersey, which is arguably
their best album. Yeah, I would have to agree
with that. But now coming out of that, you can
go a lot of different directions. And I think
I'm going to go with something that is another
band that was massive in the 80s. They were massive
in the 90s. They were massive in the 2000s. They
were massive in the 2010s. They're massive now
in the 2020s. And they were massive in the 1970s.
So this is a band that's had 50 years of longevity.
But this was the time in their career where they
stripped off the makeup. And I'm talking about
Kiss. And I'm going to bring Michael Bolton into
the fold here because you can't have a power
ballad playlist without talking about Michael
Bolton. I have two Kiss songs in my bank right
now. I kind of was debating I Still Love You
from 1982's Creatures in the Night, but I feel
like when you're talking power ballads, you have
to go with 1989's Hot in the Shade, and you have
to go with Forever. It's forever. I love that
song. What a choice. I mean, let's be honest.
I think that is one of Paul Stanley's best ever
vocal performances. Oh my God, yes. It is absolutely
fantastic. Absolutely. My God. And you know,
a lot of people, and I know a lot of KISS fans
right now are probably like, I know, I know.
He just mentioned Hot in the Shade. Well, folks,
yes, he did. He just mentioned Hot in the Shade,
but he also mentioned Forever, a great song.
And if you don't like Forever, you're just not
a fan of music. No, I'm not going to be that
guy. I'm just kidding. But seriously, I understand
in the KISS. lexicon where this album would be
an outlier where especially this song being an
outlier however in this mixtape of power ballads
it's a perfect fit especially coming out of Bon
Jovi because those are two songs where everybody
knows word for word because the first two songs
we did let's just be honest here Giant and Baton
Rouge are not household names. Right. So you
and I looked like we were being the music snobs.
So what I was trying to do is counterbalance
that with two songs where everybody knows. So
that way it's not just a whole 90 minutes of
you and I rattling off bands where everybody's
going, who? Because at the end of the day, power
ballads are the ones that everybody in the room
knows. Yes. So. Absolutely. And then you say
forever. And I think forever. And there's a song
from that era that is always kind of reminded
me of forever, but it's, I'm going to say this.
And I know like kiss fans that hate hot in the
shade are going to hate me for saying this anyway,
but like, but this song I'm thinking of, I like
it. I love it. It's actually one of my top, like
favorite power ballads ever. And it kind of has
the same flow. So like if I'm coming out of forever
by kiss, I kind of want to. Keep it at that same
vibe. You know what I'm saying, Brian? And I
want to go with another band. I think they're
still around today. Big in the 70s. Huge in the
70s. But their big 80s power ballad is The Flame
by Cheap Trick. One of my favorite songs ever.
I think I might have stolen this from you just
judging by the reaction on your face. Of course
you did, man. This song was 1988. lap of luxury
i mean i know they did the don't be cruel cover
on the same album which i had the 45 of and when
this song came out you could not put on any new
york radio station z100 95 .5 even the classic
rock station at the time which was 92 .3 was
classic rock 1027 they all played it. This song
crossed rock radio, pop radio, and every, you
couldn't escape it. You could not escape it.
And it is an amazing song. So now coming out
of that, I want to kind of do something that
might be considered a little bit of a deeper
cut. It's not an artist that people will automatically
think of when you think power ballads. I want
to bring a female into the list now because we
had some great female power ballads. But this
is not the one that everybody's going to go to.
It was a hit song, and Desmond Child wrote it,
so you know damn well when Desmond Child had
his name on something in the 80s. It had a key
change at the end for the chorus? It most certainly
did. Okay. And I am going to go off of 1988's
Up Your Alley, and I'm going to go with Joan
Jett. Little Liar. It was a hit, but it's not
like she doesn't play. I'm not holding my nose
saying ooh. No, she doesn't even play it in concert
anymore, but it's such an amazing. Her gruff
voice was so powerful against that Desmond Giles
backdrop. It almost on paper doesn't sound like
it's going to work. This song, even when I was
a kid, I liked that song more than I Hate Myself
for Loving You, which was the massive hit from
the album. Dude, I'm finding myself in a place
here where I don't know how I'm going to follow
this. So I'm thinking, while we're on great female
vocalists, why don't we stay there for a bit?
And I'm thinking, not rock, not hard rock, not
quite pop pop, but pop. And this is a band that
got their name from a Star Trek character. And
I'm talking about T 'Pau's Heart and Soul. Wow.
Oh, my God. I friggin' love it. That is such
a perfect pop song to fit in this category because
that is not one that would make you automatically
think lighter in the air power ballad. But when
you get to that chorus, it's got all the workings
of a perfect power ballad. It's got a little
bit of that beat where it's, I'll tell you, I'll
use the word, the song, the verses of that song
are sexy. And I'm talking specifically about
the vocal delivery during the verse here. But
then you've got that chorus, which is big and
bombastic. Because you've got to think about
the way they're singing those verses in kind
of the deeper octave. It's got a sexy vibe to
it. But then when you hit the chorus, there's
your power ballad. I will accept money now. Well,
I am going to stay with where we are going on
this. Cool, I'm liking this. We talk about this
on this show all the time. We have our bank of
songs. We're not just sitting here picking our
one, two, three, four, five. We're making this
up as we go along. And now that you mentioned
T 'Pau, there's only one song that you can follow
it up with. And this is going to make it a trifecta
of female singers. I think I know what it is.
It's pop, but it rocks. I am shocked. Shocked,
shocked that to this day, Eminem is the only
person that's tried to cover the song for hip
hop. No rock band has ever turned this into a
modern hard rock song because it would be a perfect
song for Hailstorm, a perfect song for The Pretty
Reckless, a perfect song for Eva Under Fire.
And I am going with 1989, the artist Martika
and the song Toy Soldiers. What a choice. It
seems like I stole the flame from you, and you
stole Martika from me. Brian, I just want you
to know, it wasn't my intention to mislead you.
I just didn't know how long you'd stay. What
could I say? I just didn't see that coming. How
could I be so blind to music addiction? If we
don't stop. I just might have to pee. And the
next one will be me at that point. Well, wow.
The floor is yours now. Oh my God. So we've got
big, we've got bombastic. I'm going to keep it
in this almost theatrical realm. And I'm going
to go with something more. The band was kind
of straight up metal for like their first few
albums. And then their lead singer keyboard player
saw Phantom of the Opera, and he told his co
-writer Paul O 'Neill, I kind of want to go into
the more theatrical realm of things. And I believe
the album came out in 1988. And same theatrical
big hugeness, but starts off little piano with
the minor seconds, bing, bing, almost like Days
of Our Lives -ish. And from the 1988 album Gutter
Ballet. I'm going to go with When the Crowds
Are Gone by Savatage. Wow. I love it. Now, Sean,
we have a history with Savatage, me and you,
because our bands played together in the late
90s, early 2000s all the time, and you guys covered
Believe. I had that in my bank of songs because
I absolutely love that song. It's a little bit
more of a theatrical tune than a power ballad.
But I will say, you know, when I talk about cover
songs, that is one that I have hoped for years
that you would record a version of because I
always loved watching Money for the Toll play
that song. I think you guys did just an unbelievable
job of it. I absolutely love hearing you sing
it. I love the original. But what a pick on this
one. I love where you went with this. I feel
it begins the trilogy because you've got when
the crowds are gone and then you've got. Part
of the course of that ends up in Believe, and
then you get part of Believe ending up in Alone
You Breathe, which also brings in some of When
the Crowds Are Gone. So there's this nice trifecta
that Sabotage did over the course of six years
that this is the one that started it all. Well,
I have to end this very interesting side of power
ballads here. And I want to go with something
where Sabotage is a little bit of a deeper cut.
Let's just be honest. They were. Oh, absolutely.
Metal fans, 1480 Z rock fans will know this song.
However, this was not a mainstream MTV hit. So
what I want to do is end a side with one of those,
one that everybody knows. And I'll be honest
with you. This song could very well be in my
top 10 favorite songs of all time. It is a super
group. They only had two albums. The first album,
I will never forget getting it on Christmas morning
in 1990, along with Black Crow's Shake Your Money
Maker. My parents got me those two cassettes.
I didn't get to Shake Your Money Maker until
New Year's Eve because this tape did not come
out of my cassette deck. And that was 1990s damn
Yankees. And I'm going with the gorgeous power
ballad. Some of the most beautiful harmonies
ever. High enough. That guitar solo is perfect,
too. That's the nicest thing I'll ever say about
that. I almost called him a gentleman. But that's
the nicest thing I'll say about that, guys. Everything
about that guitar solo, the harmonies, as you
mentioned, just, man. Every time I hear that
song, it just brings me back to the innocence
of youth. And just, like, you know, like, you
study music, and things sound different after
a while. But, like, that's one of those songs
to me that's just... It's never changed the way
it sounds to me because it's just perfection.
What a choice, sir. It's timeless. Absolutely
timeless song. And that, mixtapers, concludes
side A of our Power Ballads mixtape, which consists
of Giant, I'll See You In My Dreams, Baton Rouge,
Desperate, Bon Jovi, I'll Be There For You, Kiss,
Forever, Cheap Trick, The Flame, Joan Jett. Little
Liar, T 'Pau, Heart and Soul, Martika, Toy Soldiers,
Sabotage, When the Crowds are Gone, and Damn
Yankees High Enough. Now, I'm doing some math
here. And this is a TDK 90 -minute cassette.
Oh, of course. So 45 minutes. And I see we've
got about... A minute and 12 seconds left, so
I would like to interject. I'd like to fill in
this space, because I've never heard you talk
about this on this show, but my go -to sometimes
was, if it was about a minute, it's always Waiting
for 22 from Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche.
Nice. But earlier today, Brian, I'm listening
to There Can Only Be One podcast, and you mentioned
the whole thing about... filling up the side
with stuff by sod what the hell man the first
time you mentioned talking about this isn't even
on your show i'll be honest with you there are
girlfriends i am sure ex -girlfriends of mine
from high school who have Love song mixtapes
from me that include Hey Gordy, Diamonds and
Rust, The Ballad of Jimi Hendrix, and then The
Descendants All and All Know All. And my door
just opened and my wife just shot me a look.
Thankfully, by the time we were dating, I had
mixed CDs, so I didn't have to put those on the
end because I probably wouldn't be married right
now. Oh, you put them in the middle. Well, Sean,
the songs that are actually on this mixtape,
for the mixtapers listening, head over to MyWeeklyMixtape
.com to hear all the songs we've discussed in
this mix through the playlist embedded on the
episode page. Now, Sean, before we flip over
and start Side B, I'd like to talk about some
of your music for a while because you've recently
released a brand new live EP called Live Volume
4, 50 -50. 9 -18 -22. And you took what I consider
to be a very unique approach to this live release.
Can you tell the listeners a little bit about
it, please? Oh, of course, because if there's
one thing I love talking about, it's me. But
seriously, folks, you can't drown a fish. I kind
of got the idea of doing this from the mix from
live volume two that John Mosco of 60 Miles Down
did for me. He had added some harmonies on New
Love Song. And I was like, wow, that's pretty
cool. I didn't do that. He had added that in
the mix and it sounded great. So I was like,
oh, one of these days I'd like to do something
different like that. And it was always in the
back of my mind. And then when I was recording
this set for Laszlo for a blow -up radio performance,
I opened up with Settle In, which you can't do
solo. You need that second guitar part playing
that melody. And I was like, I'm going to do
this. I'm going to cut these songs. So I played
my full set, about a half hour, but I extended
little sections. So I could just, a week later,
plug my Strat in and just do some lead guitar
over stuff. Or like for Settle In, you know,
play the... Except in the right key. And I just
thought it would be something different where
it's kind of like, look, people like acoustic
music, but nobody wants to hear somebody strumming
every time they like... Put something on. So
I wanted to just try something different and
just send it out there to the ether. And so far,
the response has been pretty good. So thanks
for bringing that up, man. Oh, of course, dude.
You mentioned one of your songs that, to be honest,
whenever we do get a studio version of it, New
Love Song would have been a perfect song to include
in this mix. But for the sake of power ballads,
I went to a song from one of your earlier EPs
that, with your permission, I'd like to play
a small clip from. Sure. This is a clip of Sean's
track, Second Verse. to know what it's about
this denim jacket says the name we're in this
together and tonight we feel the same well it's
a hard time it's getting right for you and it's
such a sweet So, Sean, obviously you weren't
going for a power ballad with this one, but I
really love the story you're telling in the song.
So why don't you tell people a little bit about
this one? All right. Karma has gotten me back
for this after these years and probably for writing
that song. But as I had mentioned earlier, I
was in a Bon Jovi tribute for 11 years. Slippery
When Wet New Jersey. From New Jersey. Rocking
for you wherever they're rocking for you. They
got a website, jovitribute .com. Check it out.
All kinds of stuff. When and where they're playing.
I have to plug my boys. I love them to death.
So we're playing a gig one night and we're just
on fire. The crowd just kept feeding it to us.
We kept feeding it to the crowd and it was just
so good. So we have our openers and we're going
through our openers. And like 20 minutes later,
we stop our big opening. Cause it's like wild
in the streets, bad medicine and out of love.
Raise your hands. Bam. Done. So we start, it's
my life. And it's just, we're going great. We're
going great. And the singer is like, just, he's
into it. He's like, this is for ones who stood
their ground. And we were just like, Oh no. Oh
no. I mean, thankfully. He picked it right back
up, but it was like he started with the second
verse. And just a lot of what that song is, is
just stuff like that was about being in Slippery
Room. Like that whole thing, like it's a hard
time getting it right for you. And, you know,
Mike would always say at the end of the night,
you know, if we would you never say goodbye,
he'd always say like, hey, man, you know, you're
what makes it happen. And we never want to say
goodbye. So I had to incorporate that into the
song and just. That song to me, you say power
ballad, and for me, and it took years for somebody
to point it out, but it's got a night shift vibe
to the chorus. Gonna be some sweet sounds. A
little bit, a little bit, yeah, yeah. But yeah,
I mean, I'm always going to have that part of
my life. It's always going to find its way into
a song somehow. Awesome, awesome. Well, now we
have flipped over our power ballads mixtape,
and we are going to start on side B This side,
I get to kick things off, and I'm going to go
with another one of my personal favorite power
ballads from one of my favorite bands of the
80s, hands down. This is a band that was unfairly
lumped into the hair band scene. However, when
you look at the cover of their 1986 album Night
Songs, that would be Cinderella, you can kind
of understand. why they were lumped into hair
bands. But Cinderella was never a hair band.
They were always a bluesy, southern, hard rock,
Rolling Stones with a little bit more oomph,
Aerosmith, ACDC type group. And they put out
a ton of great ballads when you think of stuff
like Nobody's Fool and Don't Know What You Got
Till It's Gone. The second one there being a
massive, massive hit. But no ballad they ever
did touched my heart. As much as the title track
to 1990s Heartbreak Station. An absolutely beautiful
composition. Amazing guitar work. One of my favorite
acoustic guitar riffs to play. But then you've
got the middle section where Tom Kiefer just
opens up to his signature growl. Singing over
this bridge leading right into the solo. It's
just a perfect power ballad. I know it's not
their biggest hit. But how in the hell was Heartbreak
Station not their biggest album? Because to me,
it's easily my favorite. Musically, there's not
a dud on it. Not that they had many duds across
any of their albums. But to me, it feels like
the most perfect body of work they ever put out.
And this song is kind of the centerpiece of that,
obviously being the title track. So I'm starting
off side B with Cinderella, Heartbreak Station.
Well, before I go on to my... Next track. I got
to say, I'm with you with that song. I'm with
you with that band. That's also my favorite album
from that band. And Tom Kiefer is just one of
my all -time favorite musicians. The first time
I saw Cinderella Live, I'm like, this guy just
played everything but the drums. And he played
everything proficiently. And what a unique voice.
If you heard anybody else trying to sing like
that, you'd be like, dude, get... the hell out
of here. But for some reason, Tom Kiefer is like,
that voice, only he can do that. There's no Cinderella
tributes. Why? Show me somebody that can do that
and be convincing doing it. He's unique. But
you mentioned a band getting lumped in with the
whole hair thing. My favorite. Not just of that
era, but I'm going to go with one of my top 10
favorite bands of all time. My first rock and
roll concert. I will say. But I'm not going to
go with Love Song by Tesla. I am not going to
go with Love Song, which is fantastic. But, you
know, power, right? And Love Song does have power,
but it doesn't go by that definition of like
start mellow and then bow, right? But What You
Give from 1991's Psychotic Supper does exactly
that. I think it's just as long as love song.
So this is going to take up the right amount
of space for us to have short, but sweet at the
end of this cassette. Absolutely love that song,
man. I'm so glad there is no other band. Can
you imagine a Tesla Cinderella tour? How, how
has that ever happened? I would be at every show.
I saw Cinderella open up for poison. I'm like,
that's awesome. Cause poison puts on a great
show too. Yeah. I mean, Cinderella and Tesla
together. I'd go to every show. How has that
never been a thing? I don't know. Maybe they
don't get along, and that's sad if that's the
fact. But, I mean, Tom, Brian, guys, get together.
Make this happen. I would be front row center
for that one. Oh, not you, Brian. I'm sorry.
Brian Wheat. Sorry. Oh, well, you know. If I
could do something about it, I certainly will.
Make it so. All right. You mentioned Poison.
Let's just go to Poison now. Oh, okay. Poison.
Poison. Power ballads. I mean, I've seen Cinderella
and poison several times on tour together. I
saw cheap trick and poison together. And there's
always one song that poison does that moves me
to tears in every show. And it actually isn't
every rose has its thorn. I know that's the one
that everybody's thinking of, but 1990s flesh
and blood is my favorite poison album. I actually
went on records or visited to do an episode about
this album. I think it is the. band's finest
hour, including as much as I love Native Tongue
with Richie Cotsen. I feel like Flesh and Blood
gets the edge because CeCe's in that kind of
transition. And CeCe is more of a part of Poison's
history than Richie was. And the song Something
to Believe In just tugs at my heartstrings. My
father is a Vietnam veteran. This was a song
that the first time he saw the video, he said,
I'm not a big fan of a lot of the music you listen
to, but this song is effing perfect. And this
was one that when I would make him mix tapes
of stuff to listen to when he'd be out working,
I would always include like the songs he wants
and then stuff that I knew that he liked of mine.
And this was one that I always put on there.
He still loves it to this day. Last time I saw
Poison with Cheap Trick in, I want to say it
was 2018. They did this song. I recorded the
whole thing for my father and Brett Michaels
had brought out a bunch of veterans onto the
stage. Oh, the man. That's awesome. And it was
just like, I'm getting literally the hair on
my arms are standing up just telling this story.
And I showed it to my father the next day and
he said, just unbelievable. And this song doesn't
really tug at your heartstrings like a love song.
But nowhere in that Oxford definition did it
say the lyrics had to be about love. And Something
to Believe In is about losing somebody important
to you and kind of dealing with that. And it's
a beautiful, heartbreaking song. And you know
what? It shows that Poison was much more than
the glammy party band that everybody took them
to be. This song was a mature, well -thought
-out, beautiful composition. So Poison, Something
to Believe In. Another thing that song is, is
one that you stole from me. Oh, really? You had
that too? Oh, yeah, absolutely. That's my favorite
Poison tune. I used to perform that live when
I was doing an acoustic duo with Ronnie, who
was currently now the bass player in Bonfire.
So he was in Slippery When Wet. We did an acoustic
duo. Now he's out touring Europe with Bonfire.
And since I'm going to mention Ronnie, I'm going
to go a little deep. For my next choice. Because
this is a CD I got when I was in like a mall
rat hanging out at the Garden State Plaza. Back,
you know, like everybody wearing denim jackets
with patches on them, smoking cigarettes by the
food court, which is not really there anymore.
But this band Cleavage, everybody was handing
out their CDs and stuff like that. And the song
is available still to this day, but... The first
song I ever heard from Cleavage was on what they
called The Demo, and it's not Goodbye Forever.
Awesome ballad. It's out there. It's been re
-released, I think, in 2013, the album was re
-released. But Ronnie was the guitar player of
said band, and the bass player of said band is
none other than Mike, the singer from Slippery
When Wet, who I had mentioned earlier, talking
about my song's second verse, and just... Talking
about Bon Jovi, when I think about Bon Jovi,
I think about Mike and Ronnie a lot. And It's
Not Goodbye Forever is just that perfect power
ballad. And those guys were like right there,
man. And everybody in this North Jersey area
definitely knew the Cleavage album. So that's
my next choice. Wow. You've got me set up here
to go really deep as well. And I think I'm going
to take that. This is where I think you and I
are going to lose a lot of the outside of New
Jersey listeners. But there was a band that one
of my friends growing up, his cousin was in this
group. And this group was set to do some very,
very big things. And their lead singer was a
guy, Tommy Lee, not the Tommy Lee from Motley
Crue. But they were a band called Sitting Pretty.
And they were getting very, very popular in the
New Jersey, New York, Brooklyn. metal scene.
And unfortunately, the lead singer died in a
car accident, but they had a power ballad on
their album called China Died that was so perfect
for the New Jersey hard rock metal scene. This
is kind of where 89 .5 WSOU comes into play.
They got some play on there. I know 1480 Z Rock
played these guys. They just never had that chance.
And the song is obviously up on Spotify. So when
I make a mixtape for people, I always like to
kind of throw songs in where as they're singing
along with the ones they're oh so familiar with,
they get some new songs that maybe they could
take something away. So I'm hoping that China
Died is something that listeners tonight take
away and rediscover a band that I loved so much
growing up and that was Sittin' Pretty. That's
awesome, brother. That's very awesome. And it
seems like side two is that weird side because
we're in that mood. And, you know, I know when
you made mixtapes, if you were just driving around,
you make one for driving around. The first side
was like, all right, my friends are going to
have to deal with this. So like the first side
is everything that like they would know mostly
for the most part, not a lot of deep cuts. And
the second side is where you really started getting
deep. I'm going to stray away from that a bit.
And I'm going to go with something. It's a song
about. being cheated on but witnessing it i'm
just kidding i'm not going deep from the 1990
album cherry pie i'm gonna go with i saw red
by warrant oh wow you went with i saw red you
see i had warrant on my list and it was not heaven
either i went with the one that hutch chimed
in with and sometimes she cries from 89's dirty
rotten filthy stinking rich but my god i'll tell
you right now You take the song Cherry Pie off
of the album Cherry Pie, and people view Warrant
differently moving forward. Absolutely, because
you've got Mr. Rainmaker, you've got Uncle Tom's
Cabin, which the album was originally going to
be called, was Uncle Tom's Cabin. Yes, and if
Uncle Tom's Cabin started the album, people take
Warrant more seriously as a band. But instead,
the label pushed him. He probably wrote the song
while he was on the toilet. On a pizza box. Yeah,
24 hours later. And then they bring in CeCe DeVille.
It was literally a label contrived, but it became
what the band was known for. And I think that's
a shame because they're much better than the
Cherry Pie band. And now you say sometimes she
cries and I'm kind of like, oh, I want to change
my answer, but I'm not going to. I'm going to
stand my ground with I Saw Red. All right. And
I'm going to stick with the New Jersey love we've
been kind of throwing around in this mix. And
I'm going to go with another one that. Huge hit.
Everybody knows it. Everybody loves it. And it
is probably another one of my top favorite power
ballads. I'm just scrolling through my list.
Started to get upset because there's at least
a dozen bands there's no way in hell we're going
to get to tonight. Yeah. And I can already feel
the emails coming in. How the hell can you do
a power ballads playlist and not include? So
this is one of the songs I know would be on that
list. But it's also one of my favorite power
ballads. The Ataris do an amazing punk rock cover
of it. And I'm going from 1989 Skid Row, I Remember
You. New Jersey and Canada uniting to give us
Skid Row. I could have went with 18 and Life
as well because that was a power ballad. However...
With the theme of some of the lyrics of the songs
that are on like side to like Heartbreak Station,
what you give, I know something to believe in.
I mean, I could have probably went with either
or, but I think I remember you. I'm trying to
kind of steer the ending of this playlist a little
bit towards kind of the big finale. And I think
I remember you takes us there a little better.
Yeah, but I don't think I'm going to be the guy
to give you the big finale or something that
everybody knows. I'm Captain Deep Cuts. And it's
not because I think, oh, that's the popular song.
People need to know the deeper cuts from these
bands. It's not that. It's just that I've heard
the popular song so many times that I appreciate
the deeper cuts more. How many songs do I have
left? Two, right? You have two songs left, and
I've got one. I'm sorry. It's harder than it
looks, isn't it? It is. All right. All right.
I got to follow Skid Row. And that's probably
the biggest power ballad ever, I think. It's
probably one of the top five biggest power ballads
ever, I would assume, right? Mm -hmm. I'm going
to go with another one that I know is huge. Huge.
And it's from my favorite era of the band because
they started out as kind of a Led Zeppelin meets
Fleetwood Mac. And in the 80s, they became something
just so big and grand. And I have to go from
the album Bad Animals. I'm going to go with Alone
by Heart. Yes. Okay, well, thank you. Because
that was going to be my track nine. Obviously,
it's my love of cover songs. This song is so
good. It's a cover song. And when people go back
and listen to the original. they immediately
realize how iconic Hart made it. Ann Wilson's
voice on this song is one of the greatest vocal
performances in a rock song ever. Bar none. And
there's a reason why every American Idol hopeful
sings this damn song to a not -so -good effect.
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's not the easiest
tune to sing. I know for a fact I can't sing
it. Nor would I ever try, but man, even everything
about that song. And you got to give Nancy heard
you as well. Cause the guitar work on that is
beautiful as well. It's gorgeous. It's absolutely.
And then you take it into the nineties and you
strip it down to the acoustic version from the
road home with John Paul Jones on bass. And it
goes from this grandiose power ballad to this
delicate, gorgeous song. The harmonies. Oh my
God. I could have used either version, but power
comes from the studio version. I am torn, though.
Well, torn is technically a power ballad. Yeah,
true. Yes. I have two songs that I would like
to have in this spot now. Because you chose heart.
My decision, had you not chosen Heart, was easy
because Heart was going to be track nine. Now
you've chosen that and I am torn between two
songs that we need to follow up alone with. So
they need to be massive power ballads. And I
have two and I'm completely undecided. All right,
I'm going to go with one that is a re -recording.
Of a hit. The original was a hit. The re -recording
was a hit. They both charted. And the version
I'm going from. Is off of 1991's Decade of Decadence.
Oh alright. And I'm going to go with Motley Crue's.
Home Sweet Home 91. Where Tommy Lee's playing
on the grand piano. It kind of strips away. A
little bit of the 80's sheen. That the Theater
of Pain version has. And it is. A true. hard
rock power ballad. And I feel like it was Motley
Crue's best version of it, bar none. But it was
really hard for me to choose between that and
another song. But I'm not going to say what that
one was because you might even have it for your
closing song of the night. But Home Sweet Home
91. I know you're a fan of Motley Crue. Be curious
where you think this one fits compared to the
original on Theater of Pain. I like both versions
a lot. And while I like where you're going with
your choice, the original just, it's the original.
And I'm going to go with the original. So like
a band covers themselves. It's a cover song.
So you automatically choose it. Is that what's
happening here, Brian? Not at all. It's because
believe it or not, I just love the grand piano
sound. No, I got you. Of the opening versus the
keyboard. I feel like the grand piano sounds.
It's more timeless to me than the original, which
does take me right to 1985. And I'm nitpicking
here because both versions are great. But to
me, 91's version just feels still a little bit
more modern in 2023 versus the 80s keyboard of
the original on theater. Fair enough. No, that's
fair enough. But now you have the hardest decision
of them all, sir. I really do. I'm sitting here
thinking of all these songs, like all these songs,
like deep cuts, like Only My Heart Talking by
Alice Cooper that also has Steven Tyler on it.
I mean, me, I like Dream Theater. Another Day
falls into that power ballad. Winger, Miles Away.
These are songs that, man, right? But I'm going
to end this tape with a song from a movie, from
a sequel. Not from a hair band. From a guy who,
when he joined his band, changed the sound of
them. Then he went solo. And I'm going to go
with one that is so glorious. Little hint for
you there. Uh -oh. That I have to go with Peter
Cetera's Glory of Love. That's a huge, huge song.
And it ticks every single box. And I was like
thinking to myself, man, you don't have anything
from movies yet. And you love movie soundtracks.
Yes, I do. Glory of love. Gomez is standing up,
slow clapping that choice. The Karate Kid 2.
What a great pick. Peter Cetera had so many,
even Chicago had power ballads with Look Away.
He was like kind of one of those guys where Kenny
Loggins was your... Kenny Loggins also had Meet
Me Halfway that could have very easily fit this
too. I need to change my answer now because that's
one of my favorite songs ever. In a lifetime.
Yeah, I guess. Wow. Sean, we make up the rules
here on My Weekly Mixtape. I will give you the
choice. You have... You put the Gloria Love in.
People are probably cheering for that. But then
Kenny Loggins got brought into the mix. I will
allow you a mulligan to cross it off and meet
me halfway for the close. Let me think about
this, though. Am I going to go with drum technique
to defend yourself? Or am I going to turn my
hat backwards and become a completely different
guy? I have to think about this, Brian, because
meet me halfway. That's a beautiful song. And
it also does have that big, bam, meet me halfway.
But, oh, Brian, Brian, this is going to be a
really long episode because I need to sit here
and dissect. Pros and cons list. These are the
pros and cons of song choosing. I'm going to
stick with Glory of Love by Peter Cetera. However,
how much time is left on this cassette? Ooh,
could be seconds. Because I'm thinking Dalav
Nikifesan could also fit. NFB from Anthrax. I'll
allow it. I'll allow it so much. I'm going to
put it at the end of the playlist just so people
could hear the awesomeness. That is Anthrax's
NFB. Brian, give me some tissues. I used to end,
I kid you not. And there's probably a reason
they are exes. I have ended a few power ballad
mixes with that song. Because you could tell
which people actually listen to it. Because for
the first verse of the song, it is a power ballad.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the second verse that
shows if she's really paying attention or not.
We fell in love at first sight. Can't explain
the feeling when I first saw you. We were so,
so happy. Then our lives changed. Son and child,
you'll always be mine. And then your second verse.
Then I played the fool. Oh, you're right. I never
meant to hurt you. I'll sleep with all your friends.
Oh, this is a family show. It's a sleepover in
pajamas eating popcorn watching Nickelodeon.
Yes. Yes. Well, there you have it, folks. Side
B of our Power Ballads playlist starting off
with Cinderella, Heartbreak Station, Tesla, What
You Give. Poison, something to believe in. Cleavage,
it's not goodbye forever. Sittin' Pretty, China
Died. Warrant, I Saw Red. Skid Row, I Remember
You. Heart, Alone. Motley Crue's Home Sweet Home
91. Peter Cetera's The Glory of Love with the
bonus track Anthrax NFB for a little fun at the
end of the playlist. I could tell you right now
to everybody. There will be a volume two. Sean
will be back because I still have 25 songs of
bands we haven't touched. Yeah, yeah. We need
to do a part two. We have to do a part two because
where's Night Ranger? Where is Chicago, right?
Where's Nelson? Who's that other REO Speedwagon?
And I almost had Only Time Will Tell. Aerosmith,
Def Leppard. Aerosmith, right. Faster Pussycat,
Guns N' Roses. Part two of Power Ballads will
be coming your way this fall. Mark my words,
we will make it happen. However, to hear about
the songs we've talked about on tonight's episode,
head over to myweeklymixtape .com, visit the
Power Ballads page, and listen to all of the
songs we discussed in this mix through the embedded
playlist. Sean Faust. I know you're working on
some stuff. So what does the rest of 2023 have
in store for you? Is there any new music on the
horizon? And then most importantly, where can
people connect with you to hear your music? There
is plenty of new music on the horizon, Brian.
I'm working on a full length studio album. I'm
also re -recording my original demo from 1995
because I kind of want to give that. I like recording.
I like layering. It's your home sweet home 91,
isn't it? It kind of is, except for songs that
nobody's heard and probably still won't, except
for Mountains. But I'm looking at re -recording
that, which is also an original recording of
Believe before Money for the Toll, even though
I was calling myself as a solo artist Money for
the Toll. So I'm going to be re -recording that,
and I'm just going to do some more live stuff.
But I can be found at seanfaustmusic .com or...
wherever else you might want to find me and buy
my music. And I will suggest if you are going
to purchase it, bandcamp .com. They do the monthly
Bandcamp Fridays. I don't want to tell people
to wait to purchase your music. However, as a
musician who does this full time, I would rather
see you get the lion's share of it. So when there
is Bandcamp Friday, support Sean's music then
because Sean gets a bigger cut from the proceeds
of that song, which... helps him create more
new music. This is true. And if you're going
to go to Bandcamp, only use it for purchasing.
Streaming does nothing. I don't even get a fraction
of a penny. So please, purchase there. Stream
elsewhere. Sean Faust, 20 -something year friendship.
Always great to have you on. I apologize for
booking you for a part two without even asking
your permission, but this has been an absolute
blast. Love, dude. I can't wait to do it. And
I'm already starting my next list. All right.
As always, mixtapers, remember you can find my
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to myweeklymixtape .com to check out the full
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myweeklymixtape. That's all for this week. Thanks
again for listening, and until next time, enjoy
the tunes.