Retro Spins: Vixen - Vixen

Vixen hit the scene in 1988 with their hit, Edge Of A Broken Heart, then seemingly disappeared overnight. While this appears to have been the case on the surface, the band actually continued on, releasing three more album, 1990's Rev It Up, 1998's Tangerine and 2006's Live & Learn. However, it would only be their first two albums which contained the original lineup of Janet Gardner, Jan Kuehnemund, Share Pedersen and Roxy Petrucci.

A little interesting history on the album are the number of tracks. Vinyl aficionados will find themselves shorted one song. Charmed Life, AKA track eleven, could only be obtained by purchasing the cassette of CD version.

Edge Of A Broken Heart starts up the album nicely, and would ultimately become the song most people remember from the band, despite it not being their highest charting track. While the song would eventually go to number twenty-seven, their follow up single, Cryin' would peak at number twenty-two. Regardless of the numbers, I think what leads to Edge being a stronger track lies within the writers behind it - Richard Marx and Fee Waybill (of The Tubes). It's a solid song, perfectly crafted to be a mainstay on the airwaves.

Unfortunately, the rest of the album tries, but doesn't find a foothold. Of all of them, Desperate, was the only other one to really stand out. Even then, as much as I wanted to add this song to my shuffle, I didn't see the longevity in it. It was just okay. The best of mediocre, if you will.

At a run time of forty-three minutes, I think what also hurts this album is that it's too long. Debut albums should be fine tuned, removing filler, cutting to the chase, getting to the point and delivering only the best the band has to offer. It should establish the band's sound, highlight their strengths, and most importantly, leave us wanting more.

When you shovel it in to the point of overflowing, and worst of all, it's just okay, it not only becomes too much, but kills my desire to hear more. By track seven, the only thing I really wanted was for the album to be over. It's because of this that I ended up giving the remaining songs sixty seconds to hook me or be skipped.

The final nail in the coffin was that of the eleven songs, only four have any writing contribution from the band. Never a sign of a strong group when they can't even write their own material. Equally, and as mentioned above, it doesn't highlight the band's own personal style when, in essence, they're just a mouthpiece for someone else.

Overall, Vixen is a band you can skip on.

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