All Mixed Up – A Musical Trip To Chicago, Plus New Eddie Vedder, Toad the Wet Sprocket

This morning on All Mixed Up, there's a musical trip to Chicago, plus new music from Eddie Vedder, Toad the Wet Sprocket (with a pair of cool guest singers), and more.

The Democratic National Convention is being held this week in the Windy City, and it's bringing with it memories of a tumultuous time in American history.

From November 1963 to August 1968, in a span of less than five years, President John Kennedy, his brother Robert, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King had all been assassinated.

In January 1968 the war in Vietnam had taken a turn with the Tet Offensive, basically a series of surprise attacks throughout the country. While the United States and its allies would ultimately claim a military victory, in the aftermath of Tet, it was obvious that public sentiment was turning against our involvement in Southeast Asia.

Veteran CBS News reporter Walter Cronkite, upon his return from a trip to Vietnam, would tell the country in late February 1968 that the United States could only hope to negotiate a peace treaty.

President Lyndon Johnson was said to have remarked, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

A month later, Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection, setting the stage for political chaos inside the Convention, and fueling the flames of unrest (the war, the draft, voting rights, civil rights, the actions of some police, and more) throughout Chicago during that last week of August.

It would ultimately culminate with events during which the whole world was watching.

So that's where we started this week on All Mixed Up.

Opening Theme - "Signe" by Eric Clapton

Chicago/We Can Change the World - Graham Nash
Someday (August 29, 1968) - Chicago
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Here In '68 - Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers

Right Words, Wrong Song - James Mastro
Words - Bee Gees
Louder Than Words - Pink Floyd

Chimes of Freedom - Christian Parker
Life Is Large - Kennedys
Better Man - Pearl Jam
Save It For Later - Eddie Vedder
Where the River Flows - Collective Soul
I Should Get Up - Teddy Thompson
Always Come Home - Deni Bonet
Lady Picture Show - Stone Temple Pilots

This World Is Your World - Steven Keene
Something's Always Wrong - Toad the Wet Sprocket
Everybody's Talkin' - Gerry Beckley
Better Days - Staind w/ Dorothy
.
Tell Me Straight - Rolling Stones
Room At the Top - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
The Sad Cafe - Eagles
Part of Me - Tedeshi Trucks Band
Trapped Again - Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
All About You - Jellybricks
What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band
Heart Full of Soul - Yardbirds
Make It All Right - Offspring

Driver 8 - Glen Phillips, Robin Wilson, Matt Scannell
Cinnamon Girl - Neil Young
Desire - U2
All the Cash In the World - Weeklings

Bedside Manners - Black Crowes
Stone Free - Jimi Hendrix Experience
We Love You - Grip Weeds

Closing Theme - "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet

Thanks for listening this morning.

Power Ballads, who doesn't love them? As we fondly remember the 1980s, we remember love songs, oversaturated with heavy guitars and BIG hair.

This list however features UNDERRATED Power Ballads - Those that were overshadowed, overlooked, underappreciated and underrated.

We all remember the obvious Power Ballad Champs- Def Leppard- Love Bites- Poison- Every Rose Has It's Thorn, Night Ranger- Sister Christian- Motley Crue- and Hime Sweet Home- BUT there are some fantastic underrated rock ballads, that may not have made MTV's "Heavy Rotation", but surely made the 80's mixtape for our boom boxes.

A beautiful love (or sexy) song with powerful guitars and quite a bit of PUNCH!

I always think of "Power Ballads" as an 80s thing, but the 70s had some great ones too. Aerosmith was notorious for with songs like "You See Me Crying" (Toys In the Attic) and "Home Tonight" (Rocks)

In the 1980's you didn't have a rock album without a power ballad somewhere on it, they were everywhere. And it seemed every guitar player was rocking their solo high atop a mountain!

I LOVE the underdog! That's why!

Some of the songs on my list below (especially numbers 1, 3, 4, and 6,) are some of my favorites and I want to give them some TLCD (tender loving -get out your CD) and bring them back for my 80's lovers!

And I'm featuring Underrated Power Ballads for the WDHA Coffee Break this week, so it's perfect

As you know I am all about New Jersey too, so for more of my Jersey content stories check out the links I hope you enjoy the list below!

Rock On Jersey Family! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZrwysCjnnU 1987 gave us "Once Bitten" - From "Great White" and "Save Your Love" was the album's second single. "Save Your Love" has dynamic vocals from the late Jack Russell, and the angst that makes a power ballad great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeM3CmMA9K0 Not only is the song underrated, but the band Kix is criminally underrated! 1988 gave us this incredible Power Ballad which wasn't the biggest rock love song of the decade- but man...it was solid!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuegke22rdA I am still "squeaking" this one in,  even though it came out in 1990. NOW- "Cinderella" has had so many awesome Power Ballads.- "Don't You Know What You Got Til' It's Gone", "Nobody's Fool" and more - however this one- the title track from their 3rd release is quite the masterpiece, showing off Tom Keifer's fantastic songwriting talents and bluesy influences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HjC6T2HDI4 From the highly underrated 7800 Fahrenheit, Silent Night is a beauty and I could never understand why it wasn't a massive 80's hit. Jon shows off his songwriting chops on this one, predicting how many awesome hits were to come.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoStxN3EXMQ Ozzy and Randy together- This is a stand out track from "Blizzard Of Ozz" and Ozzy delivers a beautiful, poignant vocal, which makes this song special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGSrv1GnXMM This is one if my personal favorite power ballads of ALL TIME! Guitar legend Adrian Vandenberg had his own band (before joining Whitesnake) in the early 80's and this tune is so great. Much in part due to the phenomenal vocals of Bert Heerink.

Journey are the kings of 80's Power Ballads. "Faithfully", "Who's Crying Now", included, but the lesser known "Send Her My Love" from Frontiers is my favorite. It's gorgeous and Steve's vocals mixed with Neal's guitar is phenomenal on this one.

I LOVE the Scorpions and "Wind Of Change" wasn't their only downtempo masterpiece- Check out "Holiday" from "Lovedrive" if you haven't already. So GOOD!

Tawny Kitaen made her Whitesnake video swan song, in this beautiful love ballad. She had often said it was her favorite Whitesnake song too.

"Waiting For  A Girl Like You", "I Want To Know What Love Is", the incredible Foreigner is no stranger to dynamic Power Ballads, but this sleeper from the brilliant "Foreigner 4" is a beautiful, eerie song that many may not know or have forgotten about.