Yesterday’s Power Balladeers were roped into recording material by outside writers, and their career suffered accordingly. At the other end of the spectrum sat the post-rehab Aerosmith, gleefully lapping up the Top 40-ready works of writers such as Glen Ballard, Holly Knight, Jim Vallance, and Desmond Child, who co-wrote today’s honoree, 1987’s “Angel” (download). Many longtime Aerosmith fans thought “Angel” sucked, but it sounded great at high school dances, so everyone was powerless to stop it; in any case, when compared with the seemingly endless sewage pipe of one-word-named power ballads the band would record on future albums, it’s actually kind of cool.

Music, Power Ballads

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Jeff Giles

Jeff Giles is the founder and editor-in-chief of Popdose and Dadnabbit, as well as an entertainment writer whose work can be seen at Rotten Tomatoes and a number of other sites. Hey, why not follow him at Twitter while you're at it?

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