The 1980s. It was the era of excess. Bigger is better. A little just ain’t enough. It was a time when the musical and cultural ideals of rebellion and freedom of the great rock and roll of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s were taken to dizzying heights of neon excess. For those old enough to have lived, partied and rocked during that decade, we look back on those days fondly. But time hasn’t always been kind to the artists and bands of that gold and platinum era. The music often overlooked and ignored by critics with the focus more on what the bands looked like and less on the songs they wrote and recorded. In his book Don’t Call It Hair Metal: Art in the Excess of ’80s Rock, author Sean Kelly sets out to give these artists the respect they deserve. He analyzes the sonic evolution, musical diversity and artistic intention of ‘80s commercial hard rock through interviews with members of Twisted Sister, Def Leppard, Poison, Whitesnake, Ratt, Skid Row, Quiet Riot Guns N’ Roses, Dokken, Mr. Big and more and he’ll share some of what’s in his book in this episode!Purchase a copy of Don’t Call It Hair Metal: Art in the Excess of ’80s Rock through Amazon HERE Listen to a playlist of the music discussed in this episode HERE Visit the Booked On Rock Website HERE Watch exclusive video segments from the Booked On Rock podcast HERE Follow The Booked On Rock with Eric Senich:FACEBOOKTWITTERINSTAGRAMTIKTOK Support Your Local Bookstore! Find your nearest independent bookstore HERE Contact The Booked On Rock Podcast: thebookedonrockpodcast@gmail.com The Booked On Rock Music: “Whoosh” by Crowander / “Last Train North” by TrackTribe