Great Rock Albums of 1985: Loverboy- Lovin' Every Minute of It

 

Possibly one of the best musical surprises for me in 1985 came in the form of Loverboy’s album, “Lovin’ Every Minute of It.” After the more keyboard oriented previous album, “Keep It Up,” I thought that Loverboy were heading down the path of more commercialized rock. That meant that one night when I happened to have had MTV switched on and the video for the bouncy, hard rocking title track came on, I was pleasantly taken by surprise. The fact that they rocked things up a bit made me give this album a chance and I was impressed.

The first five songs of “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” are true rockers. Hell, the third song, “Friday Night” could be a heavy metal song with the way the guitar opens things and how the song progresses after. All I keep thinking was, “Well done, boys!” That track follows on nicely from its predecessors, which include the title track and “Steal the Thunder” holds its own in the hard rock stakes. Even when they go to a power ballad with “This Could Be the Night,” one doesn’t get to thinking that things will go commercial with this one. I have to confess, this is a good power ballad here. The rock party continues further with “Too Much Too Soon,” which is another song which could be taken for a heavy metal song, maybe even more than “Friday Night.” I will point out that Mike Reno does a great vocal performance on that one.

With all of the above said, “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” is an album of two halves. After “Too Much Too Soon,” keyboards enter into things. This is not a bad thing although some of the tracks do sound 1980s new wave. “Lead a Double Life” sounds like it could have been used in a mid 80s comedy film soundtrack. “Dangerous” sounds like it could have been a Night Ranger song. “Destination Heartbreak” is a ballad but not as good as the power ballad mentioned previously. What redeems them in my view is that Paul Dean’s guitar can be heard along with all the keyboards and he does rip some really good guitar solos on the songs. In fact, this album could be called Paul’s album due to the way he solos all the way through it. It is a major contributor as to way the album is so good.

Track Listing:

1. Lovin’ Every Minute of It
2. Steal the Thunder
3. Friday Night
4. This Could Be the Night
5. Too Much Too Soon
6. Lead a Double Life
7. Dangerous
8. Destination Heartbreak
9. Bullet in the Chamber

Loverboy

Mike Reno- vocals

Paul Dean- guitar, backing vocals

Doug Johnson- keyboards

Scott Smith- bass

Mike Frenette- drums

In 1985, I stopped labeling Loverboy as a hard rock band who had sold out and gone commercial. While “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” was still a very successful commercial album, it went double platinum, it also proved that that success could be done without compromising musical integrity. So full marks to the band all around on that.

Next post: John Cougar Mellencamp- Scarecrow

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Rock Albums of 1983: Loverboy- Keep It Up

 

Before I begin, let me thank a gentleman named Damien for coming in with the big save. While my memory of the 1980s is pretty good or at least I like to think so, there have been some big albums I have probably missed out. If it hadn't been for Damien, I would have missed out on the live Pat Benatar album and the "Keep It Up" album from Loverboy.

The first two tracks from the album brought all of the memories flooding back to me. I remember "Hot Girls in Love" back in the day and thought it was a really cool song, it still is and I curse my memory for letting it slip. The same with "Strike Zone." This is one of the harder songs on the album and takes me back to their first album. I do like the guitar work on this song, praise be to Paul Dean on it. Probably why it's my favourite track on the album.

Many of the other songs on "Keep It Up" in my mind, attempt to straddle the line between 1970s progressive rock and 1980s synth pop. Take track three for instance. "It's Never Easy" has a really cool progressive style keyboard intro and has me thinking, well done. Then the song goes into that pop sort of feel and this seems to be accented by the vocals. I don't know if Mike Reno is trying to sing a ballad or a rock song here. Still the song is redeemed with another great Dean guitar solo and it ends with the progressive keyboards that match the beginning.

"Queen of the Broken Hearts" is another example. A good song but for me it's a case of Meatloaf's "I'll Do Anything for Love" meets Loverboy's own "Working for the Weekend" from the "Get Lucky" album.  It might sound like a strange combination here but somehow it works and works well. I think that's the theme of "Keep It Up." It is more keyboarded and not as hard rock as Loverboy's previous two albums but it's still enjoyable.

Track Listing:

1. Hot Girls in Love
2. Strike Zone
3. It's Never Easy
4. Chance of a Lifetime
5. Queen of the Broken Hearts
6. Prime of Your Life
7. Passion Pit
8. One Sided Love Affair
9. Meltdown

[caption id="attachment_2282" align="aligncenter" width="275"] Loverboy[/caption]

Mike Reno- vocals

Paul Dean- guitar, vocals

Doug Johnson- keyboards

Scott Smith- bass, vocals

Matt Frenette- drums

Loverboy's third album is not quite as good as the first two but it's still a good album nonetheless. While the attempt to straddle the line isn't completely successful, it's not a failure. If it wasn't for the over saturation of keyboards, this would be a good hard rocking album. Still, at least I got to rekindle the memory of "Hot Girls in Love."

Next post: Bonnie Tyler- Faster Than The Speed of Night

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Rock Albums of 1985: Loverboy- Get Lucky

Sometime halfway through my second deployment to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, while watching a backdated episode of America's Top 40 with Casey Kasem, I was treated to the Loverboy hit "Working for the Weekend." Admittedly, it didn't quite have the knock out punch I liked about "Turn Me Loose" but it was good enough to have me make a mental note on buying it when I either got to the PX in Rota, Spain or back to the States. It also brought back memories of the previous summer and the Driftwood, even though Twinkles had left a few months before the end of 1981.

True to my word, "Get Lucky" was the first new album I listened to when I returned that summer and I wasn't disappointed. It has just the right blend of progressive and hard rock to make it work. "When It's Over" is more proggy but the hard rock of "Jump" takes over nicely. Other good hard rock tracks come and go after leaving their own stamp on the album. "Emotional" reminds me of classic REO Speedwagon back when they were good in the 70s. "Lucky Ones" brings back fond memories of the first album and there's always has been something about "It's Your Life" that I liked. The album goes out on more a progressive note with "Take Me to the Top" but it's definitely the right closer for this album. Of all the songs on "Get Lucky," the one that stands well above the rest for me is "Gangs in the Street." I don't know if it's because it reminds me of my all time favourite film, "The Warriors" or because the video tries to make Loverboy look bad ass in an unconvincing way or probably just because I like the guitar solo. Whatever it is, the song works and is why this album is so good.

Track Listing:

1. Working for the Weekend

2. When It's Over

3. Jump

4. Gangs in the Street

5. Emotional

6. Lucky Ones

7. It's Your Life

8. Better Watch Out

9. Take Me To the Top

[caption id="attachment_2282" align="aligncenter" width="275"] Loverboy[/caption]

Mike Reno- vocals

Paul Dean- guitar, vocals

Doug Johnson- keyboards

Scott Smith- bass

Mike Frenette- drums

Loverboy seem to have been forgotten by many people now, not me, but back in the very early 80s, they staked their claim on the rock world with two very good albums. They were another reason why Canadian artists have never gotten the respect they deserved.

Next post: Asia

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Great Rock Albums of 1981: Loverboy

Most likely, I am repeating myself again, I have a habit of doing that. But I, along with the rest of my battalion, spent the summer of 1981 on air alert. That meant we couldn't go very far and for three of those nine weeks, when my company was the alpha increment, we couldn't even leave base. Therefore, most of my free evenings that summer were spent at the Driftwood watching Twinkles and her co-workers strut their stuff to some great songs both from that year or before. There was one song that seemed to get played a lot, no matter which of those ladies was up on stage at the time. That song was "Turn Me Loose" by Canadian rockers Loverboy. This was one of those songs that rocked my summer and would have done so even if I didn't have the Driftwood's juke box reminding me how good it was.

"Turn Me Loose" is simply the song that spearheads a great rocker of an album. There are plenty of other cool songs on the album on it. The follow up single, "The Kid is Hot Tonite" testifies to this and the same can be said of "Teenage Overdose." I am very sure that if I named any track on the album, at least one person would put it forth as a great track. The keyboard introduction on DOA might, at first, make you think that this is going to be a more progressive track, and maybe it is compared to the rest of the album but the hard rock vibe doesn't disappear. It is little wonder why this  debut album from Loverboy was present in the tape collection of many people I knew back in 1981.

Track Listing:

1. The Kid Is Hot Tonite

2. Turn Me Loose

3. Always On My Mind

4. Lady of the 80s

5. Little Girl

6. Prissy Prissy

7. Teenage Overdose

8. DOA

9. It Don't Matter

[caption id="attachment_2282" align="aligncenter" width="275"] Loverboy[/caption]

Mike Reno- lead vocals

Paul Dean- guitar, backing vocals

Doug Johnson- keyboards, backing vocals

Scott Smith- bass, backing vocals

Matt Franette- drums

I don't know about the rest of the world, but for me, a marine in North Carolina at the time restricted to going no further than 15 miles from the base, the debut album from Loverboy brought a much needed way to let off steam to me and my comrades in arms. I was glad to have this rocking album then and those memories still resonate whenever I listen to any song from it.

Next post: Pat Benatar- Precious Time

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London