Glam Rock
Glam Rock (or, roots of Punk, Alternative, 80s Metal, and more).
Glam Rock (or Glitter Rock, as it was known in the US) was a conscious counter reaction to the complexities and hetero-normative values of art rock and much of the mainstream rock of the 1960s. We've already encountered some of the offshoots of the glam rock movement in the UK in earlier units. Specifically, Elton John was all about the costumes and sequins and glamor, but also wrote what should be considered "mainstream" sounding songs. Similarly, Queen dabbled in the glam rock with onstage theatrics and the like, but again, their sound was complicated and sophisticated, and not really in the genre of glam rock. Alice Cooper (the man and the band), who(m) we've already listened to, straddled the line between glam, metal, and goth. As we can see, it can be hard to separate out Glam Rock from some of the other styles of the time.
But we can try - Glam rock itself was generally about glamorous appearance, blurring the lines between masculine and feminine, and getting back to simple 3ish chord song forms. It was a rejection of commercialization, a rejection of appealing to the masses, and more individualistic. Lots of shiny costumes, sequins, make-up, long hair, anything that was non-conservative in appearance.
The first real glam rock breakout was the band "The Sweet", who rose to prominence in the early 1970s.
Here's a video of a "live" (i.e., lip synced) version of their best known song "Ballroom Blitz":
Audio-only link: Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet
Links to an external site.
As a side note, compare the drum beat in this tune with the drum beat from the Paul Simon song "Obvious Child" (starts about 28 seconds in). Lots of similarities, at least in the beginning. Just caught my ear.
Anyway, back to Ballroom Blitz - you can also hear one of the hallmarks of glam rock is the imprecise vocals. Instead of hitting exact notes, there's a lot of "sort of hitting the note" and being very un-centered. Usually a "softer" style of vocals, coupled with occasional "hard" or "edgy" style of vocals. This is also a style that uses sliding into high and low ranges to blur the line between typical male and female voices.
T.Rex
With that same style of vocals, we have a predominantly two-chord verse of "Metal Guru" (pronounced in this song as one word) from the band T.Rex.
Audio-only link: Metal Guru - T.Rex
Links to an external site.
Slade
Another really big British band in this time frame was Slade, who rose to prominence in the era, but were more of a mix between punk and early metal than glam style, as you can hear in the very repetitive "anthem rock-style" song below:
Audio-only link: Cum On Feel the Noize - Slade
Links to an external site.
Gary Glitter
Perhaps the most recognizable hit from this glam rock era was Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 1 & 2", which has been used in sports arenas around the world ever since it was released, mostly because of a simple guitar line and no real lyrics, just shouts.
Audio: Gary Glitter - Rock and Roll Part 1 & 2
Links to an external site.
And, as one of the biggest stars of the glam rock era, I feel compelled to add his fall from grace in one of the biggest rock scandals of all time. Gary Glitter (real name Paul Gadd) was arrested in 1997 for child pornography and criminal child sexual abuse, amongst other charges. He is currently back in prison in the UK. More details if you care to see here
Links to an external site., but I'd rather just leave it at that.
Suzi Quatro
As a testament to the blurring of gender lines in the glam rock movement, Suzi sounded a lot like the androdgenous male glam rock voices. Lots of chorus effect, voice doubling, edgy rasp, and all the other affectations of the glam rock style. It's actually quite interesting to see how these two different instruments (male vs female voice) sounded so alike in this style. And the drum beat intro here should sound somewhat similar to the Gary Glitter tune from above.
Audio only version: Can the Can - Suzi Quatro
Links to an external site.
David Bowie
The biggest name from this offshoot, however, was David Bowie. He integrated a lot of theatrical elements in his performances, and was described as a "musical chameleon" where he was able to change his sound almost endlessly. His first big success was with the album "The Man Who Sold the World" in 1970.
The Man Who Sold the World
Links to an external site. (I first encountered this song as a Nirvana cover, but more on that later)
As the press started describing his style as glitter or glam rock, he embraced the style and created a character called "Ziggy Stardust" and his album shifted musical gears many times.
Rock 'n' Roll Suicide (as Ziggy Stardust in the studio had an almost Bob Dylan delivery, the live one is a bit more hardcore)
Studio version: Rock 'n Roll Suicide - Ziggy Stardust'
Links to an external site.
Live version:
With his stage acting and theatrical androgyny, David Bowie helped change the "masculine" image of rock at the time, and influenced follow on artists like Boy George and even Kiss to present themselves as characters with lots of makeup and theatrical costumes. He was one of the most influential in the grand tradition of rock pushing the boundaries of what's acceptable. He was quoted as saying "I consider myself responsible for a whole new school of pretensions".