Twenty Years Ago: The twin sons of Ricky Nelson, Gunnar and Matthew, burst onto the hair metal scene in 1990 with their long blond hair and a catchy hit single that lit up MTV and became a Billboard #1 hit:
"(Can't Live Without Your) Love & Affection" was also listed at #96 on VH1's Greatest Hits of the 90s list.
Although Beavis & Butthead thought "these chicks look like guys," from top to bottom, "After The Rain" was a really well-crafted pop gem. Gunnar and Matthew harmonize brilliantly, as only siblings can; the title track, a follow-up single and video, was a big hit as well.
I love almost all the songs on here; "Only Time Will Tell" and "Everywhere I Go" are beautiful, albeit schmaltzy, ballads that could have been hits.
With the collapse of hair metal, the Nelsons vanished from the mainstream; their second record, 1995's "Because They Can," entered a very different pop music landscape and was largely forgotten. They kept recording music, including a 2000 tribute album to their father, but never came anywhere near the heights of their debut.
Note: The band also released two acoustic versions of their biggest hit. The first, an early B-side, is a straight acoustic version. This one, which twists the original a bit, appears on the VH1 "Metal Mania: Stripped, Volume 2" compilation:
Today: The Nelsons are back! They signed with Frontiers Records, and announced that they are planning a live album and a set of all-new material as well, hopefully in 2010 or 2011. The brothers have made regular appearances on several of the VH1 "flashback" shows, and joined fellow hair metal veterans Mark Slaughter, Eric Martin (Mr. Big), and Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger) in a band called Scrap Metal that tours occasionally.
