Unless you live in the US, its hard to describe just how big Billy boy was in the early eighties. It wasn’t just the MTV crowd that lapped him up, but Squier’s track, The Big Beat, was one of the most sampled drum grooves in rap music. Billy actually wanted Queen’s Brian May produce the album, but he was too busy so he got Queen’s producer at the time, Mack, to do it instead. It was probably the best decision for young Billy’s career as this album went through the roof.
I think five singles were taken from this album. The Stroke was played everywhere and catapulted young Billy into mega star status. It’s a good song, but album opener In The Dark is the better tune as it has everything that a pop rock anthem should have. A great melody, big sing-a-long chorus, and simple catchy music. In fact, this is the perfect pop rock album, it’s very commercial to keep the pop kids happy, and yet rockin’ enough to keep the rockers groovin’. Lonely Is The Night is the albums heaviest moment as the song shifts though the gears, until the big Led Zep moment towards the end. In fact, Side 2 is the better side, even though it has the least popular songs, but IMHO it rocks harder.
This is a really good album and gets the thumbs up from me.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
