Artist Spotlight: Survivor

Uh, would you believe this was the biggest picture I could find of them?

One of my favorite music blogs, Jefitoblog, went away a little while ago which sucked because it was a great place to find snarky humor about music minutae. Another great public service that site performed was providing an "Idiots guide" to one of the greatest bands to hail from the Windy city...Survivor! I have been a huge fan of this band for years, at one point I was so much of a fan that my wife grew to hate the ultimate Rocky soundtrack group. This will be my first Artist Spotlight, where I follow an artist's career on completely subjective terms.

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Survivor was formed sometime in the mid to late 70's and was given it's name because the musicians had "survived" the Chicago rock scene. Led by former Ides of March keyboardist Jim Peterik and guitarist Frankie Sullivan, Survivor was originally signed to the Scotti Bros record label.

Survivor (1979)

The first album featured beret happy lead singer Dave Bickler and a rhythm section who I can't remember. I hardly ever played this record because the rhythm section was much looser than the Marc Droubay (drums) and Stephen Ellis (bass) era that followed. None of that familiar repetitive "thump thump" beat. I later came to like "Somewhere In America" but overall it was forgettable, generic rock. I've heard rumors that it's Kim Bassinger on the album cover but never bothered to check into it. I don't think it looks like her.

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Premonition (1980)

With Droubay and Ellis in the band, this is the first true Survivor album to me. It lead's off with one of their best tunes, the hard charging "Chevy Nights". "Take You On A Saturday" was the B side to, like, every Survivor 45 they put out so I had no choice but to hear it. Not a bad bit of strutting hard rock. Of course, the song that won them their spot on the Rocky III soundtrack is featured here, "Poor Man's Son". Sly Stallone reportedly liked the attitude of "Poor Man's Son" and it featured that trademark lock step rhythm. Plus they were doing the Safety Dance on the cover! Survivor...so ahead of their time.

Eye Of The Tiger (1982)

Sadly, some things in record jackets get lost transitioning to CD (if you look in the Tiger's eye, you'll see the band standing there) as does fashion (Um, beret's anyone? Because when you think of Rock, beret's are the first thing to come to mind. Apparently).

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But "Eye of the Tiger" was the song that made the band the top one hit wonder of the '80's. It's awesome tie in with Rocky III, "Tiger" made everyone feel like the guy who could do one arm pushups and beat Mr. T. Stupidly, they picked the dull as hell "American Heartbeat" as the follow-up single and watched their momentum crawl to a halt. Too bad, the rest of the record had some killer songs like the Foreignerish "The One Who Really Matters" or the first rate power ballad "Ever Since The World Began". "Began" is so good that Survivor recorded it twice and even Tommy Shaw has a version of it. You know when ex-members of Styx are covering your songs, you're onto something.

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"Feels Like Love", basically a rewrite of "Chevy Nights", blasted along to a fast beat and became a frequent concert opener for the band. The dramatic ballad "I'm Not That Man Anymore" let everyone stretch out and show their chops. Eye of the Tiger sold well and led people to believe that this was the start of something big.

Caught In The Game (1983)

Feeling good coming off a successful year, the band returned with one of their best albums. Caught In The Game featured strong songwriting and sharp performances. The blend of keyboards and guitars never got better than here. Yet, Game featured absolutely zero hits. Zip. Nada. The title track featured one of the best Arena rock riffs of the decade. The ballad "I Never Stopped Loving You" was a capable sequel to "Ever Since The World Began". The fast paced rock of "It Doesn't Have To Be This Way" and the wistful, epic "Santa Ana Winds" also caught fire.

And nobody cared. Was it the dopey video game inspired album cover? Was it the lack of Rocky? Were people tired of the beret? Whatever it was, Survivor had seen their time in the sun. The champs were down for the count. Or so we thought...

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Vital Signs (1984)

While recording the next album, singer Dave Bickler developed throat problems that forced him to leave. Meanwhile, Sullivan and Peterik sat down with a real producer (Ron Nevison) to write deliberately commercial material. The band was paired up with ex-Cobra singer Jimi Jamison. Jamison sang like Steve Perry post pueberty and with a little swagger. Like Rocky himself, focus, determination and a willingness to sell out led to a fantastic comeback.

The comeback started with babysteps, Jamison's first assignment was "The Moment Of Truth" for the Karate Kid soundtrack. Despite the way cool image of seeing Survivor rock out in Mr. Miyagi's back yard, the song placed Jamison's voice in an uncomfortably low register and failed to land the winning crane kick on the charts.

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But they could not be denied their comeback as their first single, the magical power rock of "I Can't Hold Back", went into the top 20. It was and is one of the best songs I've ever heard, from the acoustic guitar / piano opening to the rushing finale with backing vocals by Starship's Mickey Thomas. And a video inspired by the movie Risky Business! Because there's a time for playing it safe and there's a time for...Risky Business!

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The second single, with it's Frankie Valli inspired keyboard melody, was the Top 10 hit "High On You". But it was the bombastic power ballad "The Search Is Over" that brought the band all the way back. Despite being recently rated as one of the most awesomely bad love songs ever, "Search" put Survivor back in the Top 5 for the first time since "Tiger".

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The rest of the album featured classic power balladry and anthemic arena rock on par with anything Journey or Toto were putting out. It was a flat out classic record.

When Seconds Count (1986)

Initially, Survivor was able to keep up the momentum this time by recording their second Rocky anthem, "Burning Heart". Described by the band as "Eye of the Tiger" played sideways, "Heart" went all the way to #2 on the charts. It featured blistering guitarwork from Frankie Sullivan and clumsy lyrics about East vs. West and spiers, yet it all worked out.

In '86, they released the proper follow up titled When Seconds Count. A classic on par with Vital Signs, Seconds combined the songwriting of the last album with the musical performance of Caught In The Game. The first single, the "High On You"ish "Is This Love" went to the Top 10. Everything looked good in Survivorville.

Then for a second time, the bottom fell out. The equally "High On You" ish second single "How Much Love" failed to reach the Top 40. Then the "Search is Over"ish power ballad "Man Against The World" missed too. That was a shame, 'cause "Man" had Jamison's best vocal-a heroic American Idol worthy performance. Another power ballad, the album track "In Good Faith" ranks as one of my favorite Survivor tunes. And "Oceans" is a great piece of moody songwriting to a pure AOR feel.

Too Hot To Sleep (1988)

After I spent some time in the hospital, the first CD I bought was Too Hot To Sleep. My reaction? Did Survivor have to copy Journey to the point that they felt the need to fire their rhythm section? The answer was a resounding "Yes".

The switch to studio musicians did give the band some freedom in their arrangements, no longer forced to do the "Tiger" beat. The lead single "Didn't Know It Was Love" was catchy but at this point they were too wussy for the charts. Still, the wanna be pop metal of "She's A Star" has real kick and the weighty "Rhythm Of The City" had some balls.

Following Sleep, the band went through two decades of lineup changes and turmoil. Jimi Jamison recorded a solo album then toured under the name Survivor. Sullivan sued Jamison. Jamison sued Sullivan. Dave Bickler came back. Jamison sang the Baywatch theme. Sullivan sued the tv show Survivor. Jamison replaced Bickler. Jamison recorded the album Reach (2006) with Survivor then left again. And other than me, nobody cared.

Except for one shining moment, when some marketing genius decided Survivor would sound good in a Starbucks commercial. Here it is. Enjoy!

Survivor - "Glen"