When Rock Bands Jumped the Shark
10 Songs Where Bands Compromised Their Integrity and Wasted Their Talent
Jumping the shark. Everyone knows the phrase. Some, not all, know that it derives from a 1977 episode of “Happy Days” in which Fonzie, on water-skis, jumps over a shark.
Jumping the shark is typically applied to TV shows which are losing their audience, or have run out of creativity. A new character is introduced, or a ridiculous story line is developed, in order to try to stay edgy and relevant.
While it pre-dates the “Happy Days” episode, I would argue that the original act of jumping the shark was the introduction of Cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch. Many others have called this an act of shark jumping; I think it was the first of its kind. Other shows had added babies or children well into their series run, but none featured the annoyance of Cousin Oliver. I’m still annoyed by it.
I’ve long thought the jumping the shark concept applies well to other entertainment forms as well. I hope to establish here that it applies to classic rock.
I would define jumping the shark for classic rock as the point when a successful classic rock band, adapted a new, inferior sound in order to increase their audience, to jump on a new musical trend, or simply because they had run out of good song ideas.
The following is my summary of the most egregious behavior. Note that I was a fan of all these groups before their critical misstep. In some cases, they recovered to produce good music afterward, and we had a reconciliation. In other cases, not so much.
1. Styx-Babe
The worst of the worst. “Babe” gave Styx their first and only number one hit. It’s hard to imagine now, but in the mid 70s, Styx had some credibility as a prog-rock band with some respect from the heavy metal crowd, due to the axe work of James Young and Tommy Shaw. However, they were still stuck with Dennis DeYoung.
As DeYoung’s writing descended into schlock, the hits kept coming, but they regressed in quality, from the reasonably graceful “Lady”, to the slightly cringy but still fun “Come Sail Away”, and landed in the basement with “Lady”.
Cheesy electric piano and verses about “heading for the west” set the tone immediately for this one, but the best is yet to come: the chorus resolves the song with “Babe I Love You”. Perfect.
Why it happened…
All three 45s from the previous Styx Album, Pieces of Eight, had been written and sung by Tommy Shaw. One can only surmise the DeYoung wanted the big 45 for the next album to come from him. He got it. And Mr. Roboto still lay in the future.
2. Genesis-Invisible Touch
Originally, Genesis started as a prog rocker group led by Peter Gabriel. Filled with ambition, many of their early songs were long and unwieldy, but at least they had aspirations to make serious music.
With the departures of Gabriel, in 1975, and guitarist Steve Hackett, in 1977, Genesis lost their artistic drive, and gained pop-sappiness with every new album. By the time “Invisible Touch” appeared as the title cut of a 1986, it shouldn’t have come as any surprise. As Genesis had added pop touches, their chart performances had improved. This one screams 80s pop hit: cheesy synth, fast drumming that sounds completely electronic, , lacking soul, and nothing lyrically to communicate. This was to be their peak: #1 single, from an album that went to #3.
Why it happened…
This was the end result of a lengthy journey downslope. In many ways, it mirrors vocalist/drummer Phil Collins’ solo career: acceptable beginning, then more hooks, then more cheese, increasing sales.
3. The Clash-Rock the Casbah
For about a year, circa 1979–1980, The Clash were credibly billed by their label as “The Only Band That Matters”; it seemed that way at the time to many of us. London Calling, a 1979 double album had raised the stakes very high. The Clash, an original punk band, suddenly seemed capable of taking on numerous musical styles and bending them to their will.
When the triple album Sandanista! appeared in 1980, some concern and confusion sprouted among Clash fandom. While the album could be viewed as an extension of London Calling, it was not as successful. The highs weren’t as high, and it was woefully inconsistent. Many of us hoped and believed they’d do better next time around, on a single album.
The follow-up was indeed a single album, Combat Rock. It took them until 1982 to get the album out, and it demonstrated that the peak of London Calling was unlikely to repeat. Strangely enough, though, they got a Top 10 hit out of it.
“Rock the Casbah”, unusually for the Clash, is largely piano based. The bass is mixed high, and the song features electronic treatments. Guitar is reduced to a minor rhythm element. The lyrics by guitarist Joe Strummer were apparently an attempt to comment on the dangers of fanaticism, although I suspect most listeners missed the point.
Why it happened…
The musical track was largely written and performed by drummer Topper Headon, as opposed to most Clash tracks, which were written by guitarists Strummer and Mick Jones. This largely explains why it sounds so different from the rest of their catalogs. Whether or not most listeners could even decipher the lyrics, it is unlikely that many were able to parse out what Strummer really meant to say.
#4 Steve Miller-Abracadabra
I resisted the temptation to put “The Joker” on this list. While its constant repetition on classic rock radio is painful, it actually was a good song, 40 plus years ago.
“Abacadabra” is an interesting case. It went to #1, the third such hit for Miller. Its synthesizer driven hook was a new direction for Miller, who had based his previous hits upon guitar hooks, frequently recycled and modified from other classic rock songs. His past synthesizer use had been primarily for atmosphere; here it’s placed right up front.
While one can credit Miller for trying something different, sometimes a change isn’t a good thing. This song was all over the radio in summer 1982, and most of my friends seemed to like it, while I never did, despite being a major Steve Miller fan. It’s notable that he never had another top 40 hit after this, so maybe I wasn’t the only one who was turned off to his music by this.
Why it happened…
The only comments I can find from Miller on this song basically state that he really liked the musical track he had assembled, and that the timing was challenging to achieve. At least he tried something different.
#5 Van Halen-Jump
Created after Eddie Van Halen decided to expand into keyboards, this song singlehandedly took a band famous for fast crunching rockers, and expanded their catalog to include boring mid tempo synthesizer washes.
It’s an understatement to say that this is not the best type of song for David Lee Roth to work with. His lyrics, profoundly banal, do not work effectively with the meter of song.
Why it happened…
Eddie Van Halen had an unused synthesizer line which was about two years old, and had already been rejected by the band. In 1983, after repeated playbacks of the synth track, Roth was inspired to write the lyrics. Apparently, he wasn’t very inspired.
#6 Journey-Don’t Stop Believing
Famous for the lyric “…born and raised in South Detroit”, (there is no south Detroit), this song is still unavoidable on classic rock radio. It also contains the timeless thought that “some will win, some will lose, some are born to sing the blues.” A lot of people like this song. For those seeking a good rocker by Journey, I would recommend “Stone in Love”. If you want a good ballad, try “Too Late”.
Why it happened…
The album Departure, which spawned “Don’t Stop Believing”, was the first Journey album to feature keyboardist Jonathan Cain. Along with vocalist Steve Perry and guitarist Neil Schon, Cain would become the third leg of Journey’s new songwriting juggernaut. Previously, Journey singles had been fairly rocking in tone. Going forward, the schlock factor would increase.
#7 REO Speedwagon-Keep on Loving You
“Keep on Loving You” made stars of REO Speedwagon. They had already spent a decade slogging around the American touring circuit, doing reasonably well, but never approaching mainstream success.
This song changed everything for them. The band was initially uninterested in recording the song, which was much softer than their prior output. They finally buckled down and recorded it. Gary Richrath, a most underrated rock guitarist, laid down an anthemic solo, slightly redeeming the song.
The result, while alienating many of us who loved REO as a Rock Band, virtually invented the power ballad, and REO lived off the momentum of this song for most of the 80s.
Why it happened…
REO’s previous album, Nine Lives, had been a solid, rocking album, which sold less than their preceding album, and its relative commercial failure must have felt like moving backwards.
The answer? Write something that radio will want to play. Hopefully, the number of new fans you gain will exceed the number of old fans that you lose.
That’s exactly what happened.
#8 J. Geils Band-Centerfold and Freeze Frame
The J. Geils Band story is similar to that of REO Speedwagon. This gritty R&B based band, featured harp player Magic Dick and vocalist Peter Wolf. They were not a platinum act, but their albums sometimes went gold, and they were well established. In 1980, they released an album called Love Stinks, which produced two minor top 40 hits. Love Stinks was a bit more radio friendly than their previous albums, but most of the band’s R&B swagger was intact. Then came the Freeze Frame album.
Suddenly, for months on end, J. Geils Band suddenly was a maker of hit singles. Mind-numbingly catchy, “Centerfold” was difficult to escape from in early 1982, when it topped the singles charts for six weeks. Once it left, “Freeze Frame” appeared, similarly unavoidable, reaching #4.
It was a strange sensation for those of us who had loved their raw, bluesy rave-ups. It was nice that they were popular, but there was very little that was bluesy in this new music, and nothing that was raw. To their old fans, it just sounded like a sellout.
Why it happened…
I have never found any compelling explanation for the change in J. Geils Band’s sound. This was the last studio album with Peter Wolf made with them-he used the momentum to go solo. They persevered without him for one bad album, then quit. First they lost their integrity, then they were gone completely.
#9 ZZ Top-Gimme All Your Loving
See #s 7 and 8. Another band that lost their edge, lost their sound, and made a ton of money doing it. Revered in the 70s as “That Little Old Band From Texas”, ZZ Top was a ruling entity in the John Lee Hooker influenced blues rock niche.
Primary weapon Billy Gibbons played slashing guitar over a spare, simple bottom of bass and drums. It wasn’t terribly original, but it sure was fun. Come 1983, and ZZ Top discovered synthesizers. This song was only the beginning. The accompanying album, Eliminator, sold enormously, along with three successive, boring albums, each less successful than the previous as the novelty wore away.
The rawness of ZZ Top was gone. It would return somewhat on a 1996 album when they were long past their prime, but for too long, the simple thud and crunch of “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers” had been replaced by boring synthesized sludge on “Sleeping Bag”. They didn’t break up; they just stopped being relevant.
Why it happened:
Prior to the Eliminator album , ZZ Top’s concerts had begun to feature canned synthesizer backing in in order to fill out their sound, as Billy Gibbons embraced new technological capabilities. During the recording of Eliminator, drummer Frank Beard was not in adequate playing shape to provide reliable rhythm. Without his knowledge, Billy Gibbons replaced many of his drum parts with a drum machine. The result was a dehumanized mess, the new ZZ Top sound.
#10 REM-Stand
It seemed like REM did a lot better when they were a relatively unknown indie band on an indie label. Once they became major label artists with Top 10 albums, their songs assumed an an air of self consciousness to them, as if they could no longer spontaneously create the magic they they wielded early in their career. They were no longer naturally quirky, they were trying to be quirky.
“Stand”, a top 10 hit in 1989, begins with a fairly pleasant circus keyboard intro, but that’s virtually the end of the pleasure. The guitar riff isn’t terrible, but it’s not enough to counteract the annoying vocals. The backing vocals deserve an entry on this list by themselves. A decent wah-wah guitar solo passes by acceptably, but as the song nears the end, the chorus modulates up, twice, until you can’t Stand it.
Why it happened…
Vocalist Michael Stipe claims that “Stand” emerged from a group discussion of 1960s bubblegum groups, which prompted Stipe to intentionally write the most inane lyrics he could write. Mission accomplished.
