Loverboy's 1983 album, Keep It Up wasn't one that was on my want list. Instead, I came across it in a used CD shop one day, it was relatively affordable, and as such it came home with me. It would be the fourth of their five 80's albums, and yet oddly, knowing this at the time, I still didn't pick up the "missing" one.
By this time, the band was living high on the success of their previous two records, their 1980 self-titled debut, and 1981's Get Lucky. Both had gone a combined total of seven-time platinum across Canada and the USA. Additionally, both spawned major hits on the mainstream rock and Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Unfortunately, with the release of their third album, sales would drop drastically. Granted, to people like us, selling four-times platinum would still be a major accomplishment. However, when you're Loverboy, or more specifically, the label supporting the band, that's a considerable red flag.
The album would once again perform well in the USA and Canada, and this time even chart in Germany, something which its predecessors had failed to do. Though in achieving this, it also had the opposite effect in Australia and New Zealand, where it didn't chart at all.
With it did come the Billboard Hot 100 hits, Hot Girls In Love, which peaked at number eleven, and Queen Of The Broken Hearts, which landed at number thirty-four. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Hot Girls, and prior to hearing it, I didn't even know Queen Of The Broken Hearts.
This one definitely takes a step down from previous records, and I can see the massive decline. I found myself not necessarily interested in Keep It Up as it played through, and the hits are definitely ones I could take or leave. Basically, they're just not that impressive as compared to the other hits they've churned out.
I really wanted to find a hidden gem tucked on this one, and while I will give a nod to Prime Of Your Life, it's not going to be something I remember by the end of the day. As such, I didn't end up coming away from this one with anything, which was disappointing.
Had you asked me two days ago, I would have said there was something to Loverboy, and I was quickly becoming a new fan. Today, not so much. I still have two albums to get through from them, so who knows, that may flip flop as those come into play. I mean, I certainly hope it does. I want to like the band.
They wouldn't actually release another album until 1985's Lovin' Every Minute Of It, which as many of you reading that already know was a major hit for them, so there's potential. However, before getting to that, they stopped off in 1984 to record the USA's team theme for the Olympics that year. This was compiled on the album, The Official Music of the XXIII Olympiad, which included Foreigner, Toto, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Christopher Cross, Philip Glass, Paul Engemann and Giorgio Moroder. That in and of itself sounds pretty hot, and I may need to track down a record.
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