With its iconic sleeve, Loverboy’s sophomore album ‘Get Lucky’ catapulted the Vancouver based band into the big leagues, selling over four million copies and keeping the group on the charts for two years.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: Loverboy
ALBUM: Get Lucky
LABEL: CBS
SERIAL: FC 37638
YEAR: 1981
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canads
LINEUP: Mike Reno – lead vocals * Paul Dean – guitar, vocals * Doug Johnson – keyboards * Scott Smith – bass, vocals * Matt Frenette – drums
Additional Musician: Nancy Nash – backing vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Working For The Weekend 02 When It’s Over * 03 Jump * 04 Gangs In The Street * 05 Emotional * 06 Lucky Ones * 07 It’s Your Life * 08 Watch Out * 09 Take Me To The Top
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
With its iconic sleeve, Loverboy’s sophomore album ‘Get Lucky’ catapulted the Vancouver based band into the big leagues, selling over four million copies and keeping the group on the charts for two years.
In hindsight their 1980 new wavey pop rock debut was just a taster of things to come and following a gruelling tour supporting Prism, Cheap Trick, April Wine, ZZ Top and Kansas.
Alll this while riding the success of their first top ten hit ‘Turn Me Loose’, Loverboy primed the pump and went straight into the studio, again with Bruce Fairbairn to create what I think is their hands down masterpiece.
The Songs
The expression ‘all killer, no filler’ more than applies to ‘Get Lucky’ which incredibly boasted no less than four charting singles.
‘Working For The Weekend’ kicks-off the album at an unstoppable pace, becoming a blue-collar anthem for the ages right out of the box and coupling the top notch mid-tempo ballad ‘When It’s Over’ with the pumping out of your seat rocker ‘Jump’, you’ve clocked-in for what is arguably some of the most exhilarating twelve and half minutes in the history of AOR.
‘Lucky Ones’ serves as an incognito title track and a good one at that and while the boulevard smarts of ‘Gangs On The Street’ and the driving power popper ‘It’s Your Life’ are lesser known, in my opinion the pair are two of the record’s finest moments not forgetting the light and fluffy ‘Watch Out’, an obvious throw-back to their Streetheart prairie rockin’ roots.
Last but far from least ‘Take Me To The Top’ with its BTO-ish riff is the set’s peak, mid-tempo, under-the-skin catchy and a cherry on the top of a melodic rock classic that few could even attempt to replicate.
In Summary
A coveted spot on Journey‘s ‘Escape’ tour followed by an unbelievable headlining schedule that would kill most bands by today’s standards, Loverboy became red leathered platinum-plated superstars who could do no wrong outside the snobbish rock establishment.
Of course sadly like headbands and spandex all good things come to end and by the time ‘Wildside’ long boxes hit the shops in 1987, the band was finished, temporarily of course. A couple of lackluster studio discs and milking the graying classic rock circuit for all its worth Loverboy are still active.
Although why they haven’t received as much mileage from reuniting as Foreigner, Journey did or even Night Ranger is a question their management should be answering.
Loverboy on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
