Search - Billy Squier :: Don't Say No

Excellent melodic hard rock

John Alapick | Wilkes-Barre, PA United States | 12/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't Say No is Billy Squier's best album and an early-80's hard rock classic. This was released when heavy metal was getting very little airplay and the hard rock bands that were huge, like Journey and Reo Speedwagon, were scoring primarily with power ballads. Billy Squier proved you can have commercial success playing melodic hard rock and staying true to your roots. This album, along with his next release Emotions In Motion, paved the way for the melodic metal movement of the mid-80's which spawned bands like Ratt, Bon Jovi, and Def Leppard.Every track here is a winner. The singles "The Stroke", "My Kinda Lover", and "In The Dark" were all big hard rock hits and still sound great today. Other great tracks including the hard-driving rockers "You Know What I Like" and "Whadda You Want From Me", the mid-tempo rocker "Too Daze Gone", and "I Need You", which is carried by Mark Clarke's excellent bass line. The ballad "Nobody Knows" is also a strong track. "Lonely Is The Night" is probably the best track here, one of the great hard rock riffs of the '80s. Although there are keyboards featured throughout the album, they're only added for color, and don't overwhelm the guitars like on other hard rock albums. His next album Emotions In Motion was pretty good, but the rest of his albums were inconsistent, including 16 Strokes, his greatest-hits album. If you want to hear the best of Billy Squier, this is the album to purchase. Highly recommended."

People Don't Know This Guy!!!

Nick T | CA | 10/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I loved every single song on this album and I am wondering how he wasn't more than an opening band. This CD has great and original songs. The guitar playing is really great and he started a guitar company! Here are my ratings for the songs.



1. In the Dark (10/10) --Great introduction to a great album



2. The Stroke (9/10) --I wasn't alive back then, but this had to be a 80's hit, right?



3. My Kinda Lover (10/10) --Not only one of his best songs, but one of my favorite songs ever.



4. You Know What I Like (10/10) --Good song after good song.



5. Too Daze Gone (10/10) --One of the best tracks here. At first i just liked it but then i re-listened to it and the lyrics started making more sense to me. I think it's a song many people can relate with.



6. Lonely is the Night (10/10) --At this point I'm wondering...Is this a best of or something???



7. Whadda You Want From Me? (7/10) --Okay, okay. Good song but definitely not the best.



8. Nobody Knows (10/10) --Sad song dedicated to John Lennon.



9. I Need You (10/10) --One of my favorite rhythms ever.



10. Don't Say No (9/10) --Good song. At this point, I think...WHY ONLY TEN SONGS!!! I NEED MORE OF THIS!!



Average song rating: (95/100) (9.5/10)"

Missing In Action.

Jason Stein | San Diego, CA United States | 09/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Squier's bestselling cd overall and for good reason. It contains three hits "In The Dark", "The Stroke" and "My Kinda Lover". The rest of the cd is nearly as solid as those three tracks with "Too Daze Gone" and "Lonely Is The Night". Unfortunately, Capitol records has deleted all of his catalogue except "Don't Say No", which is ridiculous because he had other great cds like 1982's "Emotions In Motion", 1984's "Signs Of Life" and 1989's "Hear & Now" (I have his entire catalogue on cd before they went out of print). Highly underrated artist, and as far as I can tell, still underappreciated. If you want hits, the buy the "Reach For The Sky" anthology, otherwise you'll have to be content with this, his only available cd (out of the 8 he recorded with Capitol records). You can also buy 1998's "Happy Blue" to see what Squier has been up to lately if you didn't catch him on tour with Styx and Bad Company this summer."