I’ve always looked on this album as the runt of the family. Initially, it didn’t shake my tree as the first two did. The vibe was a lot more rootsy and blues, and the glam took a back seat. The album was still platinum selling, and the two singles, Shelter Me, and The More Things Change, did quite well. This album feels a lot more at home listening to it today than it did upon the release, as the whole retro thing is big right now.
The More Things Change gets things off and grooving, and there is a big Steve Earle feel to it. Love’s Got Me Doing Time has a great funky vibe, and is very reminiscent of Aerosmith. Shelter Me starts with a stripped down country blues groove that leads into an almost gospel chorus. Heartbreak Station is a ballad with a rootsy blues vibe with some nice slide playing. Sick For The Cure feels like I’m listening to a beefed up version of The Faces. One For Rock And Roll is pure barn burning country.
Side 2 kicks off with Dead Man’s Road, and we are still deep in country blues territory. Make Your Own Way is about as glam as this album gets, but with a big country rock feel. Although Electric Love starts like the Byrds, but the groove is seventies with a hint of RnB. Loves Gone Bad has a very seventies classic rock feel with a killer hook and chorus. We close out the album with Winds Of Change, a big production ballad with a heavy Americana vibe.
I still feel as though the album is a poor relation to the first two – it’s like listening to a different band but with the same singer. The obvious change in style from hair rock to a rootsy blues band was maybe a wrong move, but a year later grunge would wipe out most bands anyway, so I guess you go with what you feel.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
