There is nothing more emotionally powerful than rock ballads. Before I discovered 60s and 70s "classic" rock, I had been listening to songs like "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner and "She's Gone (Lady)" by Steelheart. Both great songs, by the way. That is, until one month ago, I went back to where I started and explored more about 80s and 90s rock music. Today, however, we are focusing on the three "rains" of rock and roll, aka the three most defining rock ballads in their own right. These three rains transcends genre, instrument and culture, to the point where they (in my opinion) have changed people's perception of the rock scene forever.
Before we get started, I want to talk about the motif itself and how it relates to rock. Rain has always been a common motif in arts. Caillebotte's 1877 painting "Paris Street, Rainy Day", Chopin's "Raindrop Prelude", the rain at Nick's tea date in The Great Gatsby, the Tears in Rain monologue in Blade Runner (1982)… just to name a few. I could spend my entire day naming motifs off the top of my head. Would love to get into those when I have the time and energy, but before I go off-topic, let's just say that rain had always played a part in painting that a bittersweet, picturesque imagery in our heads throughout Western culture. In rock music, rain is usually used in a very sentimental, grievous way, perhaps about ending a relationship or finding the way in life. While it is true that rain is never linked to ecstatically pleasant things, the idea of the uneased, unpredictable weather inside of our hearts is there. Songs describe the harshness of facing reality and coming to terms with their situations, with the rain cleansing the hate and sadness deep within. The three songs I am examining are all fitting to the above description. Without further ado, allow me to introduce them to you. There is a storyline to where the three songs lead, listen to all of them in one go for the enhanced experience.
What a strong opening to the saga. Unfortunately, I only got to Prince and his music after his death, what a shame. Prince is a great singer and an even greater guitarist, I was truly astonished by his effortless style and skills during the tribute performance of George Harrison's (from the Beatles of course) While My Guitar Gently Weeps. And then I got to his half-time show, and his other songs… rest is history. Prince is a very versatile artist, and I think his charisma is as powerful as MJ's. If Michael Jackson is the King of Pop, Prince is the King of R&B.
Purple Rain should be the defining song of Prince's R&B rock style. It is also the oldest song on the list, released during the height of 80s R&B era, 1984. Purple Rain is the title track of an album of the same name, which is the film soundtrack of the same name. While the film, the music video and it's gorgeous visuals are definitely worth looking at (ICONIC outfit), we will be looking at the song itself for the time being. This song is the most sonically distinctive among the three, and I find the ballad perfect for a late night in (if you know what I mean). The intimate sentimentality and unapologetic sexuality adds so much volume to the 8 minutes, as if you could tell Prince singing this in the streets of New York or something. Prince himself described, "Purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/god guide you through the purple rain."(See? When a piece of music is good, you don't even need the visual media to imagine the painting of the song.)
Though the singing makes up a large part of the song, the guitar solos are even more powerful. The recurring riff 4.5 minutes in sounds very sorry to me. Dunno, like he is wandering down the streets looking for the answer to a relationship. It is a song for you to be vulnerable, to be alone and thinking (contrasting to the later twos). At one point, I think the backup music outside of Prince's vocals and guitar just fades into the background, like some kind of atmospheric pressure to keep you in the same place. This song does not feel 8 minutes, it is inciting you to get into the world of Purple Rain, sentimentality and vulnerability. R&B brings out the soulfulness and hidden power of rock ballads, something we will not be getting later in this journey. A perfect beginning tin setting the mood for the whirlwind of emotions you just experienced, or just about to experience.
This is the first song on the list that I listened to, yet the least I know about. I had a period of stanning Guns N' Roses, but now as I look back I do not understand why I thought Axl Rose was hot. Lana could relate to that I think. Released in 1992, November Rain is very ambitious, and I have to give GNR the credit for bringing the rock ballad subgenre to its peak. November Rain could be also considered as Guns N' Roses' pièce de résistance, as in their top song next to Welcome to the Jungle. The song has a large part contributed to Axl's vocals, and if I were to compare other aspects of this piece, he plays the weakest part of the group project. Slash's guitar work? Very nicely done. Love the solo. The music video to the song? Best of all three. The post-climax "everybody needs somebody" tune is my favourite part of the song, it puts aside on the feelings of lost and betrayal to put emphasis on getting back a lover. The main point of this song is to say that everything dies in the end, even Axl's gf. Hearts can change. Time can change, the rain can change. You could tell that the singer is still in the deep pit of regret and anger in the song, towards himself but not to the lover.
Brokenhearted, the idea of November Rain washing away the dream and leaving him cold and lonely is similar to Purple Rain, but this time stronger and angrier. Personally, I think this song could be further elevated if the lyrics are deeper, but the song makes up for it. The orchestration, orchestrated by Axl Rose, takes the song to the next level though. I think songs by Guns N' Roses have the special quality of fusion-ing hard rock with emotional ballads, in the most 90s-masculine-rock way possible. I do not think I need to further explain the song anymore, it is the first video to hit 1 billion on YouTube and it is pretty well known. I would just say that November Rain, just as a stand-alone song, proves how insanely popular rock ballads could get. It redefines rock music with sentimentality and balances between the "hard rock I am a rock star I smoke cigs I drink alcohol and I get girls haha" and the "babe I am so sorry please take me back I cannot live without you" narrative, allowing the music to have a life of its own. With November Rain, personally, I see this more as a cultural phenomenon in its own unique, fussy way.
Finally, you've almost made it. This song, often overlooked, is the most personal and powerful rock ballad to me among the three. I guess before introducing the song, I might need to introduce the band. Unlike the two songs preceded, "Endless Rain" is a symphonic metal rock ballad by Japanese visual-kei band X Japan. Written in Japanese by the leader of the band Yoshiki in 1989, Endless Rain describes the narrator coming into terms with his life and a possible breakup, ultimately letting the rain "fall into his heart" and washing the pain away. Sonically, it has similar drum beats and vibes to November Rain, but once you get to the chorus you'd understand why this song is so powerful in conveying the emotions. I’d get more into X Japan and their discography, but for the time being, all you need to know is that Yoshiki composes the songs, the vocalist Toshi got brainwashed and the guitarist hide accidentally killed himself. This song holds a lot of weight to people that are familiar with the band, mainly because it is their first rock ballad and the audience during the chorus sings along with the band. The song describes how as the dream is shattered and memories of an ex-lover scars the person, once the rain washes you clean you will be okay. This is technically not a break-up song as it focuses more on the course of processing pain, but "Endless Rain" has overloaded the listener with so much inexplicable emotions, that I am not sure how to explain with words except to tell you that I cried 5 times listening to this song.
If this is your first time hearing about this song and X Japan, you may not understand the emotional context. And it is not required to be a stan to understand this song, because everything you need to understand is included in the following video. This clip of Endless Rain live was recorded at X Japan's breakup concert "The Last Live", where the five members gather together at Tokyo Dome for their last performance, for the fans. You should also know that the guitarist hide, dressed in his flamboyant yellow suit and short red hair, passed away six months after this performance, meaning this was his last in Tokyo Dome. That's all you need to know before experiencing Endless Rain. That was all I knew when I watched it for the first time, and it brought 500 mLs of tears to my eyes. When the entire 50k audience sang along to the lonely piano of Yoshiki's, I genuinely felt the pain and loss they felt back in 1997. As I am writing this while listening to the song, I had the urge to lay down and cry all over again. It is touching in the sense that you could feel their emotions without even trying, and isn't that what music is all about?
I just realised I spent a lot of time talking about a piece of visual media to this supposedly "song" introduction. At least you now understand how I feel for the last 2 months. I invite you to download these three songs now and listen to them in order, next time when it rains. Thank you very much for reading. It is 1AM and I'm tired. Bye.