Today's my birthday, I'm at one of those "life begins at..." ages. My wife has made a great breakfast and is going out of her way to make the day special. I'm going to our traditional place for birthday meals, Todai, an all you can eat Japanese restaurant where you get your birthday meal free. I look forward to having a fantastic day with my lovely wife.
I was going to review the new Radiohead, but felt a different CD would be more suitable (Radiohead tends to be a little mopey sometimes). Who better than one of my highschool faves, Loverboy?
Now to be accurate, they should be Lovermen or Lovergeezers because these guys stopped being boys a long time ago. I think one of them has white hair now while onetime teen idol Mike Reno has gotten beefier. Still, that's not slowing down the Canadian quintet who have released a new disc, Just Getting Started.
Like many veteran bands, they are at the stage where they no longer want to sound exactly like they did 20 years ago but still retain enough of their original flavor to hold on to their longtime fans. It's a difficult balancing act and most bands err on change to the point you don't recognize who's playing. Loverboy gets close to that point but wisely keeps from teetering over the edge. Fortunately, their focused performance and the fact that Reno's voice has aged better than any other arena rock singer helps amp up the power.
Just Getting Started takes the classic Loverboy sound of tight playing, party atmosphere and fired up enthusiasm and layers on a sheen of modern pop rock. Some of the grooves and particularly the choruses are reminiscent of what you would hear on a Kelly Clarkson or Rascal Flatts (in their less twangy moments) CDs. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but once Loverboy passed Get Lucky (1981) their music wasn't terribly individualistic anyway. What easily could have been stiff and forced comes across as a natural progression in their music.
In one aspect, Started is reminiscent of Get Lucky in the crisp, fresh approach to their material. The band sounds energized and excited on their first album in a decade. Half the album is rock, the other half ballads. On the rock side, the title truck burns with modern guitars and a vintage 80's Loverboy melody. "One Of Them Days" is a bluesy swaggering rocker like Aerosmith while "As Good As It Gets" stomps like Hysteria era Def Leppard.
For ballads, the band comes up with a range of midtempo tunes like "Fade To Black" and "I Would Die For You" which are pleasant and effective. But it's the towering power ballad "The One That Got Away" that kills. Done in the classic power ballad format with an almost Modern Country chorus, this is easily the best song on the album.
This late in the game, the band can't be relying on album sales to drive their career so this is music they really wanted to put out there. It could have been a sad joke, but instead Loverboy sounds as vital as ever. It makes for the perfect CD to put on Mr Mike, because like them I'm Just Getting Started.
I was going to review the new Radiohead, but felt a different CD would be more suitable (Radiohead tends to be a little mopey sometimes). Who better than one of my highschool faves, Loverboy?
Now to be accurate, they should be Lovermen or Lovergeezers because these guys stopped being boys a long time ago. I think one of them has white hair now while onetime teen idol Mike Reno has gotten beefier. Still, that's not slowing down the Canadian quintet who have released a new disc, Just Getting Started.
Like many veteran bands, they are at the stage where they no longer want to sound exactly like they did 20 years ago but still retain enough of their original flavor to hold on to their longtime fans. It's a difficult balancing act and most bands err on change to the point you don't recognize who's playing. Loverboy gets close to that point but wisely keeps from teetering over the edge. Fortunately, their focused performance and the fact that Reno's voice has aged better than any other arena rock singer helps amp up the power.
Just Getting Started takes the classic Loverboy sound of tight playing, party atmosphere and fired up enthusiasm and layers on a sheen of modern pop rock. Some of the grooves and particularly the choruses are reminiscent of what you would hear on a Kelly Clarkson or Rascal Flatts (in their less twangy moments) CDs. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but once Loverboy passed Get Lucky (1981) their music wasn't terribly individualistic anyway. What easily could have been stiff and forced comes across as a natural progression in their music.
In one aspect, Started is reminiscent of Get Lucky in the crisp, fresh approach to their material. The band sounds energized and excited on their first album in a decade. Half the album is rock, the other half ballads. On the rock side, the title truck burns with modern guitars and a vintage 80's Loverboy melody. "One Of Them Days" is a bluesy swaggering rocker like Aerosmith while "As Good As It Gets" stomps like Hysteria era Def Leppard.
For ballads, the band comes up with a range of midtempo tunes like "Fade To Black" and "I Would Die For You" which are pleasant and effective. But it's the towering power ballad "The One That Got Away" that kills. Done in the classic power ballad format with an almost Modern Country chorus, this is easily the best song on the album.
This late in the game, the band can't be relying on album sales to drive their career so this is music they really wanted to put out there. It could have been a sad joke, but instead Loverboy sounds as vital as ever. It makes for the perfect CD to put on Mr Mike, because like them I'm Just Getting Started.
Loverboy - "The One That Got Away"
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