Every Billboard #1 Mainstream Rock hit discussion thread (1981 - present)

Cute? Even after reading what I said about it?

 

Quarterflash, Harden My Heart
Written by Marv Ross
Produced by John Boylan
Label: Geffen
Issued December 26, 1981; 3 weeks at #1
^9 weeks



Quarterflash was a rock group from Portland, Oregon formed in part by husband and wife duo Marv and Orinda Sue "Rindy" Ross. Marv played guitar and did most of the songwriting while Rindy sang... and also played saxophone. Guess that's one way to set your band apart.
Much like Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Harden My Heart was originally released when Quarterflash went by a different name and a different lineup. You can find the original version on YouTube and even watch the group perform it in their own one-hour TV special under their original name, Seafood Mama. Though it might be a bit weird in hindsight to hear how different it sounded from the version that became a hit, the original version of the song was actually a regional hit. For that reason, they were approached by a then-newly formed Geffen Records, who promptly signed them. Then it was decided they needed a name change and someone to guide them in the studio.
Enter producer John Boylan. Perhaps his greatest contribution to music was hand-picking the backup band for Linda Ronstadt's 1971 tour - a band that later became the Eagles. Suffice to say, he generally knew what he was doing. By the time Mr. and Mrs. Ross met Boylan, Marv had already written two songs: Find Another Fool and the one we'll talk about shortly. While staying at Boylan's house, they were reading a book and came across the Australian saying, “one quarter flash and three parts foolish" (it's about British immigrants).
So the Rosses had a new band name, and all it cost them was the band.
Boylan proposed that Marv and Rindy drop the rest of the band. One of the former members, guitarist/violinist Bruce Sweetman, did get to play on Quarterflash's debut, but he was credited as "additional personnel." At first, Marv and Rindy were recording the album with country musicians, including Linda Ronstadt's bass player. I assume that was also Boylan's idea. Then the Rosses saw another Portland band called Pilot (not the one that did 1974's Magic), who they liked so much that they wanted them to play on their album. So to wrap up the history section, Quarterflash's lineup on the self-titled debut was two people from one Portland, Oregon band and most of the members of another.
With all that out of the way, let's talk about the song.
Harden My Heart is about a woman trying to find the strength to leave a man. The song as you know it is more or less unchanged from the Seafood Mama original, save for a bit of instrumental flourish. Marv said in an interview that the song was written and recorded quickly. He had a friend who wrote poetry, and he handed him a bunch of his poems in the hopes that they would be made into songs. "Harden My Heart" was the title of one such poem, a title Marv assigned to the melody that would become the song's saxophone intro. Marv actually wrote that bit on guitar, but he thought (rightly) that it sounded cooler when Rindy played it on saxophone:

Quick aside, I looked it up, and I couldn't figure out what a Korsing unit is. If anyone knows, that would be great.
Anyway, the production overall is rather moderate as far as Eighties hits go. It's not exactly drowning in synths and drum machines, but the track is still unmistakably an Eighties song. Close your eyes and picture this song's chorus playing over someone with sunglasses riding a motorcycle, ideally at sunset. Tell me you couldn't fit that image snugly into just about any movie or TV show from the Eighties. But despite that, it does still hold up quite well.
Harden My Heart peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made it to #13 on the 1982 Year-End Hot 100. Its success put its parent album at #8 on the album chart, earning it a platinum certification from the RIAA in June 1982. Over on Top Tracks, it debuted at #55 on the week of Halloween and hit #1 on the very last week of 1981. This made Quarterflash the first female-fronted group to top the rock chart. Not bad for a debut single. Its B-side, Don't Be Lonely, is a fun little number that wasn't on the album, but it was on the soundtrack for Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The follow-up single, Find Another Fool, is an upbeat rocker that peaked at #16 on the Hot 100 and #12 on the rock chart.
Quarterflash were evidently at such a peak in 1981 and 1982 that they were one of the few acts to ever open for Sir Elton John. But after facing diminishing returns on their second and third albums, Quarterflash broke up in 1985. They reunited in 1990, but their time in the spotlight had long since passed by then. Their master tapes were among many destroyed in the 2008 Universal Studios fire, which is a shame because Quarterflash deserved better. Their first three albums are pretty good, the debut arguably being the best of them. Its closing track, Williams Avenue, is a great disco-ish song that probably could've been a hit single. 1983's Take Another Picture has some great moments too. Shakin' The Jinx and One More Round To Go are pretty cool. It Don't Move Me sounds like an early Eighties Linda Ronstadt song, presumably because the band decided to embrace their tenuous connections to her. Perhaps they were taking cues from Boylan, who used his Eagles connection to get our buddy Joe Walsh on slide guitar. Timothy Schmit also does backup vocals on the album. The third album, 1985's Back into Blue, has some good songs for an Eighties workout playlist. Closing track Welcome to the City might be my favorite off that one.
Bottom line, if you ever get the urge to give Quarterflash a deep dive, you'll find some gems.

And with that, we conclude 1981. Quite a solid first year for the rock chart, I'd say. Before we move on to the next year, I want to put in a few addenda:
Eric Clapton's I Can't Stand It and Foreigner's Urgent made the 1981 Year End Hot 100 at #67 and #37, respectively.
Foreigner's Waiting for a Girl Like You made it to #19 on 1982's Year-End Hot 100, and there was also this interview with Mick Jones that I found over the weekend. The part where he talks about the song is in the link here.

Okay then, that's all for 1981. See you in '82.

 

I really, really, really like "Harden Your Heart" but I can't place any other Quarterflash song. I did hear the debut back in the day but have no memory of it. I really rediscovered "HyH" about 15 years ago living in Costa Rica. There were some songs which still received lots of play on radio & this was one of them. I hadn't heard it in years, but that's my favorite memory of it.

 

The parent album of the song I'm reviewing next turns 39 today.
Consider the Harden My Heart review my gift to it.

 

One of two Quarterflash songs I'm most familiar with. The other is a few years off in the timeline. But yeah, the sax . . .

 

For the sake of organization, I'm going to start numbering these. Hope that's okay.
So anyway, that was 1981. We had two songs about waiting, and a whole bunch of songs about women. Here's another one in the latter category.

#12 J. Geils Band, Centerfold
Written and produced by Seth Justman
Label: EMI America
Issued January 16, 1982; 3 weeks at #1
^10 weeks



Ah, Centerfold by J. Geils Band. This is the biggest hit song - and as far as I know, the only hit song - about a guy who finds the sweet, innocent girl he crushed on in high school in the centerfold of a nude magazine and can't decide how he feels about it. The track reached #1 on both Top Tracks and the Hot 100, which helped its parent album, 1981's Freeze-Frame, top the Billboard 200. And none of it sounded a thing like what the band were known for up to that point. The band was known in the Seventies as a solid live band with a blues-based sound, and here they were making a synth-led new wave song on an album featuring backing vocals by... Luther Vandross and Cissy Houston? Interesting.
Well, it turns out there's a reason for the synths' sudden appearance. During their time at Atlantic Records, the band just couldn't afford synthesizers; they were always owing money to the label. They left after their seventh album and promptly signed to EMI America. According to singer Peter Wolf, their second album with EMI, 1980's Love Stinks, marked the first time the band made enough money to reinvest in themselves. Then came the follow up, Freeze-Frame. While the group was used to choosing their singles themselves (their first choice was either Angel in Blue or the title track), EMI picked Centerfold, giving the band their biggest hit. However, that turned out to be a mixed blessing, as internal disagreements over the group's musical direction led t-
Actually, we're going off track. Let's stick to the song.
So... Centerfold. Quite a few of the songs off Freeze-Frame, like the title track that became the band's second biggest hit, were co-written with Wolf. Centerfold, however, is very much the work of the band's keyboardist and songwriter Seth Justman. Heck, his brother Paul directed the music video. I want to say Wolf made his own connection to the subject matter, but I didn't find anything to confirm that. Remember The Police's Invisible Sun? It reminded drummer Stewart Copeland of his hometown of Beirut, which was being bombed at the time of the song's recording. I initially thought that maybe Wolf had made a connection on that level to his ex-wife, actress Faye Dunaway. If he did, he never said. Maybe he did feel that way, then watched Mommie Dearest and got over it. Who knows? What I can say for sure is that the "na na na" bit in the hook sounds like the narrator being taunted, and if you sing along, you're basically complicit.
But overall, Centerfold still holds up as a fun Eighties hit. In a good way, the whole album very much sounds like it was made in the early Eighties, and it goes in some surprisingly interesting directions. Some other notable tracks are Flamethrower, Do You Remember When and Rage in the Cage (the B-side to Centerfold).
And now, to close this out, a good friend has some thoughts to share on Centerfold. Play us out, @gooberdude:

 

Hey look, my quote. Neat.

 

One factor in its success was the band's appearance on - get this - The Joe Franklin Show on WOR-TV in New York. Though a mere indie station in that city, its profile had increased nationally because they were beaming to satellite as another 24/7 operation just like Superstation WTBS in Atlanta. The national exposure also would lead, a few years from this, to Franklin being impersonated on a network late-night sketch show.

 

Harden My Heart
Was not a favorite at the time, but has grown on me over the years.

Centerfold
Was fun at the time but lost its lustre pretty quickly

 

"Centerfold" is such a great song. I can't say as I've heard much, if any, J. Geils Band songs which I didn't like. Even with the screams of sell out, how can anyone feel anything but good for the band. They deserved the money. I wish I had had the opportunity to see them live.

 

The Police's Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic was released as a single on this day in 1981. I probably should have clarified that The Police had previously had piano on their songs. Andy Summers only said it wasn't "their sound" because he didn't like the pianist who played on the song.
But anyway, to celebrate this anniversary, here's a review of someone for whom that song title applies:

#13 Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, I Love Rock 'n' Roll
Written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker
Produced by Ritchie Cordell and Kenny Laguna
Label: Boardwalk
Issued February 6, 1982; 5 weeks at #1
^9 weeks



If I'm not mistaken, this was the first cover song to top the rock chart; there'll be plenty more to come. And yes, that does mean the first two #1 rock hits sung by women weren't written by them. Believe me, we will see more of those. On with the review.
I Love Rock 'n' Roll was originally by a short-lived band from London called The Arrows. Singer Alan Merrill (RIP) has spoken at length on the song and its history, so I had a lot to use. According to Merrill, the track was a "knee-jerk response" to the Rolling Stones classic It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It). It felt to him like Mick Jagger was hanging out with "bankers and international movers and shakers" and other people who weren't rock and rollers, which to Merrill made the statement "it's only rock 'n' roll, but I like it" seem apologetic. So I Love Rock 'n' Roll was written to be more declarative, and Merrill was sure it would be a hit for The Arrows.
Sadly, 'twas not to be. I Love Rock 'n' Roll was originally released as a B-side (you can listen to the A-side here), but the producer/head of their label was convinced by his wife to make I Love Rock 'n' Roll the A-side. For various reasons, it didn't catch on. But the band did get their own TV show between 1976 and 1977. Joan Jett watched them perform it on the show while her band The Runaways was touring England. She wanted to cover it, but the rest of The Runaways said no. So she released her own cover

...as a B-side in 1979 with Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols.

That version didn't go anywhere either. After the breakup of The Runaways, she and producer Kenny Laguna struggled to get a record deal. They ended up forming their own label, Blackheart Records, and it was after songs like Do You Wanna Touch Me and Bad Reputation started getting radio play that a deal was made with Boardwalk Records. As the saying goes, third time was the charm; Joan covered I Love Rock 'n' Roll once again on her 1981 album of the same name and the rest is history.
Merrill said he knew it would be a hit when he wrote it. As he once explained, the song had to have three chords, it had to have a "monumental" and "memorable" riff, and it had to be melodic in the verses with a chorus everyone could sing. Calling it a "hit within a hit," he imagined the girl in the original song singing along to the record machine. The hook from a fictional song it plays would be "coming out of the chorus with the kids singing it as their favorite song in the verse of the song." Though that made for a very simple song structurally, it's for that reason that I Love Rock 'n' Roll works so well. And Joan's version with the Blackhearts is perhaps the best out of the three mentioned here. There's the aforementioned effective simplicity of the song just by itself, right down to the subject matter. A song about picking up a girl and taking her home (regarding the Arrows original, that is) was a pretty standard topic for rock songs at the time. Then you have Joan's cool and confident singing. And then there's the instrumental, which is a little more polished than the original while still maintaining the simple but effective kick of the original.
Because of the success of the Blackhearts' version, its eponymous parent album sold ten million copies and peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200. The cover of Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells was also a big hit for Joan and co., peaking at #7 on the Hot 100 and at #6 on Top Tracks. In short, I Love Rock 'n' Roll is still a solid record. Both the song and the overall album are straightforward, but nonetheless memorable and fun.

 

I've long wondered if "I Love Music" by the O'Jays (written and produced by Gamble/Huff) from later 1975 was a "knee-jerk response" not only to "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll (But I Like It)" but also "I Love Rock And Roll" as the Arrows originally did it. Gamble/Huff acts, after all, did tour in London and a few put in appearances on the BBC's Top Of The Pops, so they had to have known of that one as well. The chorus itself makes one wonder: "I love music / Any kind of music / I love music / Just as long as it's groovin'." Listen to that and "I Love Rock And Roll" back-to-back, you tell me.

 

Rest in peace, Eddie.

#14 Van Halen, (Oh) Pretty Woman
Written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees
Produced by Ted Templeman
Label: Warner Bros.
Issued March 13, 1982; 2 weeks at #1
^6 weeks



Van Halen was constantly touring between 1978 and 1983, so because that gave them little time to write original songs, they would often put covers on their albums. Their 1982 album Diver Down had five covers. Most of them charted on Top Tracks, including Martha and the Vandellas' Dancing in the Street and the Kinks' Where Have All The Good Times Gone. Between that and You Really Got Me, I'm guessing Van Halen were big Kinks fans. Also charting were original songs Little Guitars, The Full Bug and Secrets.
But we're here specifically to discuss their cover of Roy Orbison's Oh, Pretty Woman, marking two cover songs in a row on this thread. Before we get to Van Halen's version, let's talk about the original.
The song has a fairly simple subject matter: a man sees a pretty woman and wants to spend time with her. You might wonder whether, like many classic songs about women, Orbison and his songwriting partner Bill Dees based the song on a real life person. And you would be right. Orbison was at his house one day with Dees when Orbison's wife Claudette said she would be going into town to buy something. Orbison asked if she needed money, which prompted Dees to say "Pretty woman never needs any money." With that inspiration, Orbison came up with the lyric "Pretty woman walking down the street." Dees later recalled:

Orbison's song was a #1 hit in the US and UK, and would be his last big hit for over two decades. It also foreshadowed Van Halen recording and releasing their version as quickly as possible.
The band members were having their first break from touring or recording in years when they released the single, hoping it would help keep them on people's minds in the meantime. Wanting to enjoy their vacations as soon as possible, they recorded a quick a cappella cover of the Roy Rogers theme song Happy Trails for the B-side right before their break started. Also, the video, directed by singer David Lee Roth, was shot in 23 hours. Ultimately, Van Halen's cover peaked at #12 on the Hot 100. It probably would've been higher if the video wasn't banned by MTV. It was, however, played on the channel's sister network VH1. I doubt I could tell you why, but it's not like the band was terribly concerned.
Diver Down was certified four times platinum in the United States. It's their shortest album, but while it isn't their most grandiose effort and it goes in some unexpected but nonetheless cool musical tangents near the end, it is still a pretty good record. Their cover of Orbison's hit didn't change much outside of removing a few lyrics and adding heavier guitar parts, so it is also still pretty good.

 

On this, I much prefer Orbison's.

 

Why's that?

 

To start I'll take Roy over Diamond Dave on this. Its the same thing in overdrive. It doesn't need overdrive.

 

My ears were locked in early on . . .

 

Starting with this post, I'm going to try uploading three times a week instead of two.
For now, the US election is finally over! Let's celebrate with a band from Canada.

#15 Prism, Don't Let Him Know
Written by Bryan Adams and James Vallance
Produced by John S. Carter
Label: Capitol
Issued March 27, 1982; 1 week at #1
^10 weeks



Prior to writing this, I'd never heard of the Canadian band Prism or this song of theirs, Don't Let Him Know. But it was somehow a #1 hit on Top Tracks, so we're gonna talk about it. To begin, let's talk about James Vallance.
Vallance was Prism's original drummer. He went by the pseudonym "Rodney Higgs" on Prism's self-titled 1977 debut out of fear that the album would flop so hard that he'd never get another recording contract. Fortunately, it sold well enough to be certified platinum in Canada. That meant the band had to tour for it. Vallance realized he hated life on tour so much that once the tour ended, he resigned as drummer. He stuck around to write a few songs, but he was primarily making a living as a session musician in Vancouver with the hope of becoming a full-time songwriter. All he needed was someone to help promote his songs. At the same time, a young Vancouverite named Bryan Adams (yes, THAT Bryan Adams) had left his band Sweeney Todd to embark on a solo career. Adams and Vallance met at a record store, hit it off quickly, and agreed to form a songwriting partnership. It would be a few years before Adams' commercial breakthrough, however. Until then, the first products of Adams and Vallance's partnership were given to Vallance's former band.
Adams wrote or co-wrote three of the songs on Prism's third album, 1979's Armageddon. The following album, 1980's Young and Restless, featured no writing contributions from Adams or Vallance, and was considered a critical and commercial disappointment. I'm not suggesting the two are connected, but clearly the members of Prism felt differently or else they wouldn't have brought Adams and Vallance back for 1981's Small Change. Vallance must've grown super confident by then because Don't Let Him Know, the lead single, was credited to him instead of his pseudonym. And that brings us at last to the song.
Don't Let Him Know is Prism's biggest hit, which is kind of sad considering how it charted. The song peaked at #49 on the Canadian Singles chart and at #39 on the Hot 100, making it their first and only (just barely) Top 40 hit. Regardless, Small Change became the band's most successful album on the Billboard 200.
So how is the song?
Eh, it's alright. Don't Let Him Know is a rock ballad in which a guy talks to the woman who's cheating on her husband with him. Vallance has said the song's feel and arrangement were partly inspired by Kim Carnes' cover of Bette Davis Eyes. I suppose I can hear the similarity. I don't know what it says about Vallance and Adams as people that they copied the biggest song of 1981; I'll leave the judgment to you. And yes, Bette Davis Eyes was a cover - the Jackie DeShannon original is much better.
Fortunately, the rest of Small Change is quite good. I've seen Prism labelled as AOR, so if you're into that genre, this album gets a recommendation. Highlights include Turn On Your Radar (a fun little sci-fi number that was also released as a single but didn't do nearly as well as it should have), Hole In Paradise (which charted on Top Tracks for two weeks after peaking at #55), When Will I See You Again, and In The Jailhouse Now. Although Small Change might not be the most unique album of its kind, I did enjoy it enough that I could see myself coming back to it.
Having said all that, if you want to blame Prism for Bryan Adams' career, go right ahead. You may as well get it out of your system now because we will be talking about Adams later.

 

Prism was pretty big in Canada with plenty of chart success. If I recall Prism mach I is more successful than this mach II version. "Young and Restless" was their biggest hit, but a lot of their songs were regular rotation here in western Canada at least. I didn't remember the song from the title, but upon hearing it, yeah, it received a lot airplay.

 

I.I.N.M., 'S' in John S. Carter's name stood for Shakespeare. He was once a big wheel in Britain in the '60's. Later went to producing Bob Welch, and on to this. What he'd later be known for producing was a few years off - and outside the scope of this thread.

 

#16 Tommy Tutone, 867-5309/Jenny
Written by Alex Call and Jim Keller
Produced by Chuck Plotkin, Geoff Workman, and Tommy Tutone (Tommy Heath, Jim Keller, & co.)
Label: Columbia (US)/CBS (international)
Issued April 3, 1982; 3 weeks at #1
^17 weeks



You know what's funny? I used to think Tommy Tutone was a person and not a band. Learning otherwise admittedly doesn't change anything, so let's talk about the band.
Contrary to popular belief, Tommy Tutone isn't a one hit wonder. Before 867-5309/Jenny, they had a Top 40 hit called Angel Say No. For the sake of curiosity, I checked out the song's parent album, the band's self-titled 1980 debut. It's quite good, actually. Singer Tommy Heath's voice sounds like a cross between Van Morrison and early Bruce Springsteen, but it fits the music. The record kind of reminds me of Elvis Costello if he leaned more into the rock aspect of his sound and didn't write slower songs like Alison. That might sound like I'm stretching to make the comparison, but I'm really not. One of the co-writers of 867-5309/Jenny was a fittingly-named guy named Alex Call, whose band Clover served as Elvis Costello's backing band on his 1977 debut My Aim Is True. With that connection established, let's get some numbers out of the way.
867-5309/Jenny peaked at #4 on the Hot 100 while its parent album, Tommy Tutone 2, peaked at #20 on the Billboard 200. You're probably wondering how the real Jenny felt about that. Probably better than the people unfortunate enough to have that actual phone number, right?
Well, keep wondering, because the people involved with the song have contradictory answers. Heath and lead guitarist Jim Keller both said Jenny was a real person, but Alex Call said he made up Jenny and the phone number.
Whether she's real or not isn't what we're here to discuss, though. The song itself is very much real. It's about a guy who gets Jenny's number off a bathroom wall. Honestly, if you read the lyrics closely, there's an underlying skeezy tone. Heath calls the guy in the song a stalker, going so far as to say it's the same guy from Angel Say No. In which case, that guy doesn't seem to be very good with women. The second line in 867-5309/Jenny goes "You give me something I can hold on to." And despite later admitting that he doesn't have the courage to actually call her (to the degree that he had to use his imagination until he was "disturbed"), he still thinks he can score on her. Geez, I was initially going to compare this to J. Geils Band's Centerfold, but at least the guy in that song actually met the woman. The guy in 867-5309/Jenny not only thinks he can score on a woman knowing only her name and her phone number - both of which he found written in a bathroom stall, mind you - but he's already jerking off at the thought of it.
Classy.
Despite all that, 867-5309/Jenny is still a fun little sing-along. The rest of the album is okay, though nothing to really write home about. They try to rhyme "another day" with "desperate" on Only One. Which Man Are You is pretty good, though.

 

That melody for 867-5309 is how I taught my sons their phone number.

 

For songs with phone numbers in their titles, I still prefer Wilson Pickett's "634-5789 (Soulsville U.S.A.)" over this. And I've heard both. (Can do without "BEechwood 4-5789" by The Marvelettes and all those who covered it over the years, though.)

 

How bout 777-9311 by the Time?

 

#17 Asia, Heat of the Moment
Written by Geoff Downes and John Wetton
Produced by Mike Stone
Label: Geffen
Issued April 24, 1982; 5 weeks at #1
^4 weeks
Issued June 12, 1982; 1 weeks at #1
^11 weeks



Asia's Heat of the Moment was #1 on Top Tracks for six non-consecutive weeks, hence the two "issued" stats above. It also peaked at #4 on the Hot 100.
Not bad for a debut single. But before we get to the song, let's take a brief look at the band behind it.
Asia is, in a non-geographical context, an English supergroup whose original line-up went as follows:

• Lead vocalist and bassist John Wetton of King Crimson (RIP)
• Guitarist Steve Howe of Yes
• Keyboardist Geoff Downes of The Buggles and Yes
• Drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Quick aside - I'm far from the first to point out the many British progressive rock musicians from the 60s and 70s who went on to make some of the most radio-friendly hits of the 80s, but it's still very amusing.
Anyway, Heat of the Moment was the lead single and opening track from the band's self-titled 1982 debut. The song starts with a guy apologizing to his girlfriend for hurting her. Then he tries to cheer her up by reminding her of the good times they used to have, though the gesture is undercut a bit by the last verse in which he says "Oh, but you'll be old and lonely someday." Here's Wetton talking to Songfacts.com about Heat of the Moment:

Huh... Joni Mitchell might be more influential than I thought. Also, Wetton really meant what he said about personal experience. According to Songfacts, he was singing on Heat of the Moment specifically about his then-girlfriend Jill. They were later married for ten years. Good for him, I guess.
So all that's left is to tell you what I think of the song.


...well...


Look, I don't know if I'm in the minority on this, but I was honestly never the biggest fan of this song. While I acknowledge the music is cool and the hook works very well, the overall product doesn't do much for me. I just felt the lyrics could've done a better job of expressing the emotions Wetton described. As for the rest of the album, Wikipedia says its reception has been mixed since its release, which was likely more to do with the notion of progressive rock musicians turning pop than the music itself. Judging the music on its own merits, I think the album is good but not great.
I've seen Asia in concert, so I know they have their fans. There will probably be at least one person reading this who loves them and will disagree with me. If that's you, don't get mad. The album spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 and was certified four times platinum by the RIAA before I was born. I doubt my opinion will hurt the band.