Five Songs About Rain

I was listening to the rain the other night. Lying in bed while a heavy downpour hissed against the pavement and torrents of cold water poured out of the gutters.

 Here's a random fact about me: I like rain (or at least I do when I'm not out in it.)  Always have.
 I know rain makes some people sad but I've always found it strangely soothing.
Sometimes I open my kitchen window and lean out to watch the rain coming down on my garden. Then I go and curl up on my couch with a big mug of tea and something with unhealthy levels of sugar.

  That's where I got the idea for this post. "Why not post some songs about rain" I thought "I can share some music I like and maybe talk a little about the bands and the songs. Brilliant!"

So today I present for your approval and entertainment Five Songs About Rain. As we shall see, rain is a perfect tool for songwriters wanting to establish a mood of sadness.

I'm going to begin with the only song in this group that was a UK hit. 

The Cult - Rain (1985)

  The Cult are one of those bands where I know the singles and that's about it. Then again, Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury always wrote great singles.

  "Rain" is from the "silks & scarves" period before they went full-on Hard Rock and shows how The Cult could write songs with a sweet groove that you could dance to, but with enough rock drive for headbangers too.

  On this performance the backup singers  from Doctor And The Medics  have come along to add their support. It works.

The next three tracks are all from bands I found by accident. 

Saga- Images (Chapter One) (1980)

  There used to be a really good second-hand record shop in Stafford in the yard just behind the Astra Cinema. I must have spent hours in there shuffling through box upon box of LPs looking for anything that might be "Cool".  That's where I discovered this LP Canadian Pomp Rock maestros Saga. 

 I took it home, played it...and was immediately baffled. Saga's quirky Prog/AOR was so far away from what I was listening to at the time that I just couldn't get them.

 Six months later I dug the LP out again and this time it clicked. I've been a fan ever since.  

  As you can tell by the title "Images" is part of a song-cycle that Saga have been working on for their entire career. One of these days I plan to sit down and listen to it all in the correct order. 

 In the meantime, sit down and let Michael Sadler's rich vocals and the synths of this majestic, poignant track wash over you like the rain. 

Dragon - Rain (1986)

 Somewhere in the mid-90s I found a small shop that sold old LPs in the back room. I came home with a bagful, including "Dreams of Ordinary Men" by Hunter. I was quite impressed. Hunter were good slick, 80s AOR with a more-than decent vocalist and the standout track was a ditty called "Rain." 

  Years and years later I discovered that Hunter were really a New Zealander/Australian band called Dragon who had been around since the late 70s and the LP I'd picked out of that dusty pile was cobbled together from tracks off at least two Antipodean albums.  Maybe the suits had decided that Dragon sounded too "metal" when time came for a US/UK release. Either way, I wasn't half confused when a Youtube Playlist led me to this song, only under a totally different band name. 

  So, here's Dragon aka Hunter in action. Whatever the name, this is good AOR. Enjoy. 

Platinum Blonde- Sad, Sad Rain (1983)

  Platinum Blonde might have been big stars in Canada but never made any impact in the UK - which might explain why I'd never heard of them until I found an import LP at a record fair.  

 As I tended to do back then, I was willing to risk a quid or two to see if the band were a rock outfit or not.  They definitely had Rock haircuts.  

  Turns out that Platinum Blonde were a rock band but more the spiky, New Wave sound that was popular in North America at the time. Sort of like The Police minus the reggae filtered through a Canadian lens. 

 "Sad, Sad Rain"  is one of my favourite tracks on the "Standing In The Dark" album. A solid drum riff leads into the memories of an  unhappy youngster that hint of heartbreak.

Queensryche- Another Rainy Night (Without You) (1990)

  The Queensryche brand has taken a bit of a knock over the years. Underwhelming albums and interband tensions leading to one of the nastiest band splits I can remember have tarnished their legacy.

 Back in 1990 it all seemed so promising. The Seattle quintet had followed up their political masterpiece "Operation: Mindcrime" with "Empire" - an album that merged slick, melodic hooks with power, dynamics and intelligent lyrics, topped off by Geoff Tate's incredible vocals. There's a reason why he's mentioned in the same breath as Bruce Dickinson add Rob Halford.  

 For a brief while Queensryche were showing the way forward for Heavy Metal and the future was smart.  

  I rediscovered this song recently and I've had it on heavy repeat ever since. Those guitars. The chorus. The drums powering the song along. The way Geoff Tate gets so much emotion into his singing. Listen and marvel.
  Then watch the rain outside and think about the future we never got to see.   

That's all folks.