Billy Squier peaked in 1981, with the Reinhold Mack produced, Don't Say No. He'd then have two more consecutive platinum albums with 1982's Emotions In Motion, and 1984's Signs Of Life. However, a steady decline was in motion, with sales and chart success declining between the two latter releases. Some would blame the over-the-top dancing showcased in his music video, Rock Me Tonight. Others would simply state it was his shift in musical styles from guitar heavy tracks to synthesizer driven ones. Whatever the cause, 1986's Enough Is Enough would only serve to see further sales and chart popularity declines.
As I dug through the catalog of albums from Billy when putting together my own personal want list together, I came the song, Love Is The Hero. Playing it, something immediately jumped out at me. That was Freddie Mercury singing! Well, yes, please!
Though Freddie isn't physically included in the video, his vocal track remains present, and overall, the song just rocks. It's not only a hidden gem for Squier, but one for the Queen legend. It's almost a shame that Billy's star had fallen so drastically by the 90's because it would have been awesome to see him perform this song at Mercury's tribute concert.
Speaking of concerts, Squier himself didn't set out on tour to promote Enough Is Enough. It raises an interesting question. Did the album fail because of his own continued decline from 1984? Or did it fail because he didn't support it with a tour? Regardless of the answer, the album would only peak at number sixty-one on the Billboard 200 and become his first since his debut to not sell enough units to gain any sales certifications. Love Is The Hero would also not perform as well as I would have expected, peaking at number eighty on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Things start out pretty okay with Shot O' Love, a solid rock track. What I noticed in it was that it seemed to take guitar heavy Billy from his earlier years, and blend it with his new synthesizer driven music. It's a good combination, and like I said, delivers a solid rock track.
This is followed by Love Is The Hero, the clear standout for the album. Mercury would also co-pen the track, Lady With A Tenor Sax. While Billy does a decent job on it, I must admit the original demo version from Freddie is far superior. I'll drop that version down at the bottom of this post if you want to check it out.
Unfortunately, I quickly found myself derailed by Freddie, which led me down a rabbit hole to the soundtrack for the film Zabou, which in turn led me to a random search of the Karate Kid limited edition scores on CD. So, that detour was...expensive. Further, it also took my attention from this album, and before I knew it, we were on track seven of ten.
I kind of blame Billy for all of this. If Enough Is Enough would have been worth listening to from start to finish, I would have never been sidetracked. The tune, Til It's Over did manage to refocus me on the album, but being the second to last song was a little too late. What I particularly noticed was that sections of the instrumentation sounded reminiscent of Stairway To Heaven. It's all the more disappointing that the album closes on a high note with Wink Of An Eye, a punchy rock track. Disappointing because the potential was clearly still there. Billy can deliver good music; it just seems to happen fewer and farther between as time goes on.
Time would continue to pass, as it would take Billy three years to finally produce what would become his final album of the decade, 1989's Hear & Now. It would also bring with it his last Billboard Hot 100 charting track and continue his downward slide in popularity and sales. My Billy Squier Bingo card gets filled up tomorrow, as I check that one off.
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