The Best Non-Album Song From 6 Big Hair Metal Bands

Sometimes the best songs written for an album inexplicably don't make the final cut — take our list of the best non-album song from six big hair metal bands as proof.

There are often a lot of people involved in the decision-making process for big-budget albums. Producers, label executives and the band members themselves all have a say in the final track listing. Factor in the need for single B-sides and other non-album opportunities (such as movie soundtracks), and it's easy to see how some great songs get left on the cutting room floor.

Thankfully, all of the bands on this list eventually released these excellent B-sides on deluxe reissues or compilations, and they're now readily available for your listening pleasure.

But just in case you haven't heard them yet, keep reading to see the best non-album song from six big hair metal bands.

Bon Jovi, "Edge of a Broken Heart"

Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet had no shortage of hits: A trio of singles — "Livin' on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" — propelled the album to more than 18 million U.S. sales. Still, it's baffling that the band chose to omit "Edge of a Broken Heart" from the album.

The song is textbook Bon Jovi with its anthemic, skyscraping choruses and poppy synthesizers, toeing the line between AOR and glam metal. Many Bon Jovi fans consider it one of the band's best songs, and for good reason. Had it not been relegated to the B-side of the "Livin' on a Prayer" single and the soundtrack for the 1987 film Disorderlies, who knows how high it could have climbed?

Luckily for fans, "Edge of a Broken Heart" became readily available on the 2004 box set 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong.

Motley Crue, "Toast of the Town"

Originally released as the B-side to their debut single "Stick to Your Guns," "Toast of the Town" highlights Motley Crue's early affinity for '70s glam rock and power-pop. The combination of raw, distorted riffs and sugary pop hooks helped lay the groundwork for the entire glam metal zeitgeist. Plus, Vince Neil's nasally "Come oooon!" following the solo is the best possible type of cheesy.

"Toast of the Town" goes toe to toe with the best tracks on Motley Crue's debut album Too Fast for Love. Thankfully the band included the song in all its unvarnished glory on the album's 2003 Motley Records re-release.

Poison, "Livin' for the Minute"

Written during the sessions for their sophomore album Open Up and Say … Ahh!, "Livin' for the Minute" finds Poison chronicling the life and times of "Two-bit Billy," a guitar-slinging ladies' man who flies by the seat of his pants.

It's a lean, mean, punk-tinged hard rocker that gets in an out in less than three minutes, full of raucous riffs and raunchy solos. Bret Michaels does his best Steven Tyler/David Lee Roth impression, ending the song with his raspy howls.

"Livin' for the Minute" eventually appeared on the 2006 reissue of Open Up and Say … Ahh! It's patently ridiculous, lighthearted fun — which is exactly how we like Poison.

Ratt, "Reach for the Sky"

Despite sharing a title with Ratt's fourth album, "Reach for the Sky" dates back to the sessions for the band's star-making debut full-length, Out of the Cellar. That's immediately apparent in the song's stomping rhythm section, dual-lead guitars and punchy production.

Although Ratt became one of the quintessential bands of the nascent glam metal movement, they were heavily influenced by the likes of Judas Priest in their early days. They wear that influence on their sleeve on "Reach for the Sky," which incorporates elements of trad-metal and streetwise punk while keeping its hooks front and center.

More than 40 years after Out of the Cellar hit shelves, "Reach for the Sky" finally received a long-overdue standalone release.

Skid Row, "Forever"

Skid Row recorded "Forever" prior to releasing their self-titled debut album in 1989. It didn't make the cut — perhaps because it's a little poppier than the rest of the record. But there's a youthful optimism to the song that makes it stand out from the rest of Skid Row's bad-boy boogie.

The percussive riffs and punkish tempo give "Forever" a relentless forward movement, while Sebastian Bach's powerhouse vocals lend an urgency to this story of two young lovers taking on the world.

"Forever" eventually appeared on 1998's 40 Seasons: The Best of Skid Row, and Bach revived the song in 2019 during his Skid Row 30th anniversary tour.

Warrant, "Thin Disguise"

Warrant's sophomore album was going to be called Uncle Tom's Cabin before Jani Lane scrawled the lyrics to "Cherry Pie" on a napkin in 15 minutes and unwittingly changed the trajectory of the band's career. Suddenly, the album was renamed Cherry Pie and the jokey cock-rock anthem became its new lead single, outshining band's smarter, more sophisticated songs.

Among those more sophisticated songs was "Thin Disguise," which got relegated to the B-side of the "Cherry Pie" single and removed from the album. That's a shame because it's another catchy, tightly constructed pop-metal anthem, featuring heartfelt lyrics and vocals from Lane amid chunky guitar riffs and soaring leads.

It's just one of many songs that proved Lane's remarkable and woefully overlooked songwriting chops.

Want more hair metal? Check out our list of the best hair metal band for each letter of the alphabet: