After a seemingly lackluster 1981 debut, Kix would stay out of the studio until 1983's Cool Kids. In between this, guitarist Ronnie "10/10" Younkins would leave the band, driven by substance abuse and addition issues. Brad Divens would replace him for the '83 album.
Cool Kids would just barely crack the Billboard 200, peaking at number 177. It would also begin the trend of the band working with other writers and including covers of other artists material. For Kids, this included the Spider's Burning Love, and Franne Golde's Cool Kids.
Right from the start, the production value of their sophomore album seem night and day in comparison to their debut. The music itself is clearer. I also noticed a hint of synthesizers, an aspect that wasn't present in their previous release. Overall, it just felt more commercial mainstream sounding, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Body Talk was the first real track to get my attention. However, I was immediately disheartened when watching the official video, and the first comment stating that it was the jam at the local skating rink. That just made me sad that this "hard rock" band was rink material.
As I continued through the album, and with my perspective changed on the above skating rink comment, I couldn't help but start to think that this wasn't the album that Kix really wanted to record. Instead, this was a product of label interference looking for radio hits. This became all the more apparent to me with the very synthpop Loco-Emotion, which was promptly followed by Mighty Mouth, a track which opens with thunderous drums, and a screeching below from singer Steve Whiteman.
I also kind of dug track eight, Get Your Monkeys Out. Not sure if it's a metaphor for private parts, or acting a fool, but either way, it's enjoyable. But, yeah, I think it's definitely not about acting a fool. This was followed by For Shame, a slower ballad like track, but equally good.
The sad part is that the mainstream sound actually made Cool Kids all the more appealing to me as a listener. I would definitely take more Kix like this, and frankly, I hope to get that in their 1985 released, Midnite Dynamite.
For that album, Divens would depart, making way for a cleaned and refreshed Younkins to return, restoring the classic lineup. But will his return see the band revert into old hard rock habits? Or will they take everything they learned with Kids, and build on it? I guess I'll find out tomorrow.
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