| Album-oriented Rock |
Website Links For Rock |
Information AboutAlbum-oriented Rock |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ALBUM-ORIENTED ROCK | |
| radio formats | |
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HISTORY Similar to the origin of the Progressive Rock radio format, album-oriented rock took advantage of the new availability of stations on the FM Spectrum in the 1960s and the growth of albums as opposed to singles as rock's main artistic vehicle for expression in the 1960s and 1970s. Indeed in many places the AOR format was a conservative evolution of the progressive rock format. In some markets the term ''AOR'' was re-positioned as Adult-oriented rock, implying that 'adults' were more likely to buy albums rather than singles. Album-oriented rock went through many stylistic changes on commercial radio in North America, including the United States, throughout the 1980s to add Glam Metal bands such as Warrant and Poison , expanding the Classic Rock playlist on such stations, and adding New-wave acts such as The Alarm and The Church until Nirvana 's sudden ascent with the album '' Nevermind '' in '' 1991 ''. After the aforementioned album's success, album-oriented rock drifted into several current-based hard-sounding formats. One of these was active rock (euphemism for today's mainstream album rock, and playing acts such as Stone Temple Pilots , Guns N' Roses , and Linkin Park ). The active rock format was pioneered by the formerly broadcast (now internet only) KNAC - FM out of Long Beach, California in 1986 and expanded upon by WXTB - FM out of Tampa, Florida in January, 1990 . Another format spun off from AOR was Classic Rock (mostly spanning the decades from the late 1960s through today, with emphasis on the earlier hits). Since then, hundreds of such Rock Music Radio Stations have been playing both current-based Active Rock and the decades-spanning Classic Rock to much commercial ratings success across the United States and Canada . In the mid-to-late 1990s , AOR began to be associated with another concept called "melodic rock" which, most simply stated, is the sound of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Bands of the 1970s , 1980s , and early 1990s . It is seen as a throwback to those eras and a counter-reaction against the Grunge , Alternative , Bubblegum , Retro-disco , and Latin sounds of the mid-to-late 1990s . Many of these acts are bands, band members, and musicians from popular bands of the earlier eras, such as Toto , Foreigner , Van Halen , Styx and Europe , either regrouped or playing in new bands or reconfigured lineups. Several of the acts are British or European , and many albums are now recorded and produced in Europe and Japan , and are only available in the United States as imports. One of the most recent AOR releases was Place Vendome with ex-Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske joining with the members of Pink Cream 69. IMPORTANT WEBSITES Nowadays the AOR scene is held in respect by many followers, with important websites like http://www.westcoast-music.com, http://www.melodicrock.com, http://www.rockreport.be, http://www.glory-daze.com and http://www.strutter.8m.com being great sources to discover the new releases in the genre. Also check out http://www.AlbumRock.FM NOTABLE AOR BANDS
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