Chubtone
Well-known member
And in 1983 liking Priest, Maiden etc was not mainstream. It was maybe like 10% of the high school were in to hard rock or classic metal. It wasn't underground or mainstream. Somewhere in between.
DanTravis62
Moderator
"mainstream" is not a zero sum game, like being pregnant - it's a scale
Compared to bathory or hellhammer, yes, priest and maiden were "mainstream" even then, Just the mainstream of heavy metal, not the mainstream of culture itself
Same with Yngwie. The time he was closest to the mainstream was the beginning of his career
Chubtone
Well-known member
Agree on 2nd sentence. Third sentence I guess depends on what beginning of his career means. He's been doing this for 42 years so maybe the first 5 years is the beginning of his career. This is what his career looked like in the USA:
Alcatrazz album reached #128 in the USA
Rising Force album reached #60
Marching Out reached #54
Trilogy reached #44
Odyseey reached #40. His highest charting album and the subject of this whole thread. To me this is not early Yngwie but in the grand scheme of 42 years, it probably is.
Like most of the older guys who lived it have posted in this thread, the peak Yngwie to us is Alcatrazz through Marching Out. It's cool that you like Fire and Ice as there is some great playing on there still but for me by even Odyssey it was enough already. I'd heard it all a billion times.
DanTravis62
Moderator
Given that his career is 42 years long, I would say generally "the 80s" is the beginning of his career, and the height of his popularity in the mainstream.
Fire and Ice is just where I think his music is at its best, especially compositionally. His early stuff is far more successful because obviously it fit into the zeitgeist at the time. I simply think more people who are into music more casually heard his early stuff when it was breaking through in the 80s, and therefore it was their memory of being blown away by it that they are attached to, not an objective look at what he was doing
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
He got top 40 with odyssey . He got closest there don’t you think ?
DanTravis62
Moderator
100%, thats why i think it's the peak of his mainstream popularity but not necessarily his best music
Chubtone
Well-known member
I wonder if we are all kind of coming from the same place? The very first Yngwie I ever heard was the Alcatrazz studio album and then when it came out the Alcatrazz live album. To this day I like them a little more than the first 2 solo albums. Was Odyssey the first Yngwie that Tech really ever heard? Was Fire and Ice the first Dan really listened to? If that's the case maybe the thread should be after my first exposure to Yngwie I was never the same?
DanTravis62
Moderator
Trilogy was the first one I heard, actually (on cassette tape!) but i think there's something to be said for that
I think trilogy is better than marching out, steeler, or alcatrazz too, and i have a feeling its because i heard it first
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
I love the rawness of marching out .
JerEvil
Well-known member
Facing the Animal is a killer album. Also Mats Leven is so good on vocals. He and Soto for me are Yngwie’s best vocalists followed by Boales
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
I’m actually listening to facing the animal now
mentoneman
Well-known member
johnny q
Active member
I don't know about Odyssey being YJMs "peak" but I did love the album at the time and thought pairing up with JLT was a great idea, to get his music to a more "accessible" state for the masses. And, that clearly worked with the song "Heaven Tonight" getting airplay on mainstream FM radio stations. With that said, I felt his lead playing was not quite as dexterous as it was up to/including Trilogy, and I think we have to attribute that to the trauma from the car accident.
I think once we get past the 80s, Fire and Ice, Seventh Sign, Facing the Animal and ESPECIALLY Alchemy are really strong performances. Attack is good as well. His self produced, self engineered, "one man band" releases these days are just horrible. He has become what he was so unfairly accused of in the early days - all technique and flash and no substance. Sadly, he shows no signs of ever forming a real band again for studio work or hiring an experienced engineer etc. so at least we have the legacy releases to cherish.
I think once we get past the 80s, Fire and Ice, Seventh Sign, Facing the Animal and ESPECIALLY Alchemy are really strong performances. Attack is good as well. His self produced, self engineered, "one man band" releases these days are just horrible. He has become what he was so unfairly accused of in the early days - all technique and flash and no substance. Sadly, he shows no signs of ever forming a real band again for studio work or hiring an experienced engineer etc. so at least we have the legacy releases to cherish.
C
Colt45
New member
I have on cassette. But take far beyond the sun as an example. That wasn’t something yngwie did or recorded in Sweden . Japan label asked him for instrumental, he pulled far beyond the sun out of nowhere and had the great Barriemore Barlow to play drums . Peak ? Listen to that performance ! It’s perfect !
C
Colt45
New member
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
Thanks . Fr !
