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The AOR-side of Prog
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Awesoreno View Drop Down
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Points: 2898 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Awesoreno Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2024 at 00:38
^I think Greg's post sort of hit the nail on the head. This restates it from the opposite angle. Clearly, there are two different (but occasionally overlapping) definitions of AOR. Regardless, this topic references the "adult" variant, a phenomenon popularized mainly by bands from the US/Canada, though clearly not exclusive to that region, and prominent from the late 70s through most of the 80s.

I would concur that a "Big Six" of North American AOR would include Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Toto, and Boston. Other bands of this category (that also have material that could be described as glam rock, hair metal, power pop, or arena rock) would be Asia, Survivor, Europe, and even sometimes 10cc, Genesis, and Queen.
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Cristi View Drop Down
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Points: 41444 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cristi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2024 at 00:54
Originally posted by Awesoreno Awesoreno wrote:

^I think Greg's post sort of hit the nail on the head. This restates it from the opposite angle. Clearly, there are two different (but occasionally overlapping) definitions of AOR. Regardless, this topic references the "adult" variant, a phenomenon popularized mainly by bands from the US/Canada, though clearly not exclusive to that region, and prominent from the late 70s through most of the 80s.

I would concur that a "Big Six" of North American AOR would include Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Toto, and Boston. Other bands of this category (that also have material that could be described as glam rock, hair metal, power pop, or arena rock) would be Asia, Survivor, Europe, and even sometimes 10cc, Genesis, and Queen.

I don't see Queen and Europe especially as AOR. Not even pop Genesis. Confused
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Moyan View Drop Down
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Points: 543 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Moyan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2024 at 06:28
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

From the all-knowing Wikipedia: 

Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.[1][2]

US radio stations dedicated to playing album tracks by rock artists from the hard rock and progressive rock genres initially established album-oriented radio. In the mid-1970s, AOR was characterized by a layered, mellifluous sound and sophisticated production with considerable dependence on melodic hooks. The AOR format achieved tremendous popularity in the late 1960s to the early 1980s through research and formal programming to create an album rock format with great commercial appeal.

From the early 1980s onward, the abbreviation AOR transitioned from "album-oriented radio" to "album-oriented rock", meaning radio stations specialized in classic rock recorded during the late 1960s and 1970s.[3]

The term is also commonly conflated with "adult-oriented rock", a radio format that also uses the initialism "AOR" and covers not only album-oriented rock but also album tracks and "deep cuts" from a range of other rock genres, such as soft rock and pop rock.

(...somehow, mixing the terms "adult" and "rock" seems somewhat incongruous!)

'Album-oriented rock' refers to a style of FM radio programming that emerged in the late 1960s in the United States. 'Album-oriented rock' stations focused on playing full rock albums rather than just individual hit singles, catering to a more mature audience interested in deep cuts and album tracks. This format emphasised a diverse range of music genres within the rock spectrum, including classic 'Rock', psychedelic/space-rock, hard rock, and progressive rock. 
However, the UK's regulatory landscape was more restrictive for FM radio programming during this period. Up until 1991, radio broadcasting in the United Kingdom was governed by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). A small number of commercial radio stations with very commercial pop music and light entertainment content were licensed by the IBA in an effort to reach a wide audience. The aforementioned rock music genres were given far less airtime on these commercial stations, which prioritised popular music that would draw a wider audience. This is one more reason why the British term 'adult-oriented rock' has nothing to do with FM radio programming but with a certain style of rock music that was believed to be attractive to a part of the rock audience that was in its twenties in the mid-to-late 1960s, but in the mid-to-late 1970s, that audience was close to or already in their thirties.
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Points: 15087 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote verslibre Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2024 at 09:00
Originally posted by Awesoreno Awesoreno wrote:

Other bands of this category (that also have material that could be described as glam rock, hair metal, power pop, or arena rock) would be Asia, Survivor, Europe, and even sometimes 10cc, Genesis, and Queen.


Even at their worst, I wouldn't throw the hair metal tag at Europe, though the single and video for "Carrie" did them no favors.
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Awesoreno View Drop Down
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Points: 2898 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Awesoreno Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2024 at 22:51
^I didn't mean that each of those subgenres necessarily applied to each of those examples.
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verslibre View Drop Down
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Points: 15087 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote verslibre Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Yesterday at 08:32
Originally posted by Awesoreno Awesoreno wrote:

^I didn't mean that each of those subgenres necessarily applied to each of those examples.


I know, but Europe.
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