Favorite "City" Songs #4 - "Jet City Woman"

@teamfreak16 (43685)
Denver, Colorado
January 27, 2019 12:28pm CST
I have a buddy, who, because he was involved in a long distance relationship, once lived by this song. I am counting down my favorite songs with "Town," "City," "State," and "Country" in the title, and we are at the "City" edition of today's discussion. We are at #4: "Jet City Woman" by Queensryche. SPIN Magazine once featured Queensryche on their cover, calling the Seattle band "Thinking Man's Metal." After making a splash with two really, really good albums, The Warning and Rage for Order, Queensryche broke through in 1988 with their concept album, Operation: Mindcrime. With a knack for making radio-friendly heavy metal without sounding like every other band out there, the group built upon Mindcrime's momentum, following it up with the wildly successful Empire in 1990. All that album did was achieve triple platinum status, spawn six singles (one of which, the ballad "Silent Lucidity," was nominated for a Grammy Award,) and chart in ten countries. One of those six singles, "Jet City Woman," performed well in it's own right, reaching #6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and #39 in the UK. The tune itself, written by guitarist Chris DeGarmo and vocalist Geoff Tate (neither of whom are still in the band,) is about Tate's first wife, who was working as a flight attendant at the time (with "Jet City" being one of Seattle's nicknames due to the large presence of Boeing.) And if you follow these little music series' of mine, you know that I am going to use Queensryche every time I have the opportunity. It's not my fault that they are such a great band! (Info verified by Wikipedia)
Music video by Queensryche performing Jet City Woman.
7 people like this
6 responses
@spiderdust (14756)
• San Jose, California
27 Jan 19
I thought Chris DeGarmo went back? Oh, now I see that he returned briefly to finish an album with them in 2003, but didn't stay.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43685)
• Denver, Colorado
27 Jan 19
Yeah, the Tribe album. I had it on CD. A good album, actually, but since it wasn't Mindcrime or Empire, no one bought it.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43685)
• Denver, Colorado
28 Jan 19
@spiderdust - Chris DeGarmo was very important to the band. Great guitarist, and wrote or co-wrote the majority of the songs. Too bad that they all couldn't just get along.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14756)
• San Jose, California
27 Jan 19
@teamfreak16 I think I didn't get it either. I bought Promised Land and Hear in the Now Frontier, but Hear was pretty disappointing. By the time Q2K came out, DeGarmo had left and I didn't bother buying it. Operation: Mindcrime II was released while I was still working at the radio station, so I own a promo copy, but it just... wasn't Queensryche anymore, despite Geoff Tate's vocals. I think I've played that album once.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Jan 19
Those guys know how to rock.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43685)
• Denver, Colorado
27 Jan 19
Indeed. Without the whole "bang your head" mentality.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (86950)
• United States
28 Jan 19
Yeah, that ain't no Barry Manilow stuff.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43685)
• Denver, Colorado
28 Jan 19
Maybe if they had found a way to work Rico and Tony into the lyrics!
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
27 Jan 19
This one I know. YAY! for me. LOL.
1 person likes this
@Ronrybs (21492)
• London, England
28 Jan 19
Not heard of this lot or the song. Not super keen on this one
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43685)
• Denver, Colorado
28 Jan 19
One of Seattle's all-time great bands!
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
27 Jan 19
Another new song. Have to add this one... Stevie Wonder - Living for the City
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43685)
• Denver, Colorado
27 Jan 19
I got you beat! That was #7!
2 people like this