This is a very different sounding band to the one that recorded their debut album Vices in ’83. Vices was a very British sounding rock album with gravelly voiced singer, Fin Muir. Fast forward 3 years to ’86, and America is the prime focus this time around. This is a very slick sounding record, and they recruited a very slick sounding singer to give the tunes the treatment they deserved. Unknown at the time, Danny Vaughan was a revelation as he breathed life into a flagging band. Of course he went on to form Tyketto and Vaughan to showcase his talents more with his own songs. He is not credited on any of the songs here as they are all Way/Chapman compositions.
This was by far the band’s most successful album and is held in high regard in the melodic rock community. Walls Fall Down is a great opening tune and rocks hard with a great vocal and guitar. Black And Blue and Singing In The Night are the next two tracks, and Journey was definitely the footprint for these two tunes as they are very melodic and the song is the main focus here. Hell Comes Home has that British/UFO vibe to it with a cool choppy riff. It has a great vocal from Danny showing what a powerful voice he has. Hero’s Die Young is the stand out track on the album and is the big production number. Slow build up with some great harmony vocals before the galloping riff and groove kick in. Great tune!
Side 2 starts with Heaven Tonight and this was the big single from the album (depending on which country you were in) and is an “all American hero” type of song. it has a super catchy chorus and melody – it’s easy to see why it did so well. How The West Was Won has that Springsteen vibe to it, and is the weakest song on the record. Wild Night is a kick ass glam metal tune and rips along at a great pace, with a great riff and a hard driving beat. Out Of Control has a slow dirty sleazy groove and is a nice change of pace. Album closer, So Long, was obviously written with a live performance in mind as it’s cigarette lighters in the air time folks. So what we get from this is Danny Vaughan is a killer vocalist, Tonka Chapman is a great player, and this is not a bad album.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
