Max Headroom
Mr. Richard D. Coreno | Berea, Ohio USA | 08/18/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The second album with the lineup of Peter Goalby (v), Mick Box (g), John Sinclair (k), Bob Daisley (b) and Lee Kerslake (d) again found the band attempting to claw its way into the 1983 AOR mix that was dominating FM radio stations. The 15th studio album reached #159 on the U.S. chart, which describes the mixed bag in the 10 original tracks - this release is bolstered by three bonus cuts - that clocked in at 37:21.
A pair of solid numbers - Other Side of Midnight and Weekend Warriors - bookend the single, Stay on Top, and an interesting cover of a 1981 Bryan Adams song, Lonely Nights. The progressive rock instrumental Roll-Overture dips back to the early years of the group, but at 2:18 is fading out before it can get rolling, while numbers like Straight Through the Heart, Love is Blind and Sweet Talk strain at trying to be too radio friendly. Red Lights and Rollin' the Rock scamper away from being too formalistic, which is a plus.
Seven of the 10 songs were written by band members, which demonstrated a stability that had been missing for some time. Former bassist Trevor Bolder would replace Daisley for the tour to promote the album, which marked the only lineup change for several more years. But disappointing sale figures found Uriah Heep being dropped by the label.
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