The Toy Box: Billy Squier

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Retro Spins: Billy Squier - Hear & Now

Three years it would take Billy Squier to finish what would become his last album of the 80's, 1989's Hear & Now. Upon its release, it would be met with minimal fanfare. The artist had long since been on a steady decline, one I've talked about multiple times over the past couple of days.

Upon its release, the album would peak at number sixty-four, and mirror his previous release, "only" selling 300,000 copies. This low amount would also make it his second consecutive album to fail to reach any sales certifications.

With is would come the minor hit, Don't Say You Love Me. It would peak at fifty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and be his last charting single to date.

For me, Billy has been an artist that I've witnessed for myself the steady decline in quality and hits which have led him to this point. The disappointing aspect has been that as an artist he can deliver really solid rock tracks, but as time went by, they got fewer and further between. Mind you, I don't think this was a result of lack of trying, but rather a change in musical styles which perhaps couldn't keep up with the other contenders of the era.

Looking at 1984, when his popularity began to wane, it's easy to see how he could be lost among the biggest albums of the year, which included Michael Jackson's Thriller (yes, even though it was released in 1982), Bruce Springsteen's Born In The U.S.A., Huey Lewis And The News' Sports, Prince And The Revolutions' Purple Rain, and even the Footloose soundtrack. Fast forward to 1986, and he only continues to get lost among Janet Jackson's Control, Van Halen's 5150, Madonna's True Blue, Lionel Richie's Dancing On The Ceiling, Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, and the Top Gun soundtrack. Now sprinkle in the massive albums of 1985, a year where Billy was inactive, and you can easily see how people quickly moved on. He simply couldn't compete with the legends of those years.

The unfortunate side to all of the above is that in listening to Hear & Now, it's really not good. I would say it's tolerable. Mediocre at best. Forgettable through and through. Definitely a flat note to go out on for the decade.

Candidly, this album wasn't worth the time I allotted to listening to it. It makes me care less for Billy Squier than I initially did, and only serves to make me glad I'm done with his 80's discography.

Billy would release three more albums in the 90's, 1991's Creatures Of Habit, 1993's Tell The Truth, and 1998's Happy Blue. Since then, he has made appearances sporadically, and celebrated milestones in his career with anniversary and remastered additions of his previous work. However, he does tend to stay quieter than most 80's artists desperate for a resurgence from nostalgia driven audiences. I suppose with a net worth of forty to fifty million dollars, he doesn't exactly need to worry about working much.

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Retro Spins: Billy Squier - Enough Is Enough

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.

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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Retro Spins: Billy Squier - Signs Of Life

After his relationship with Reinhold Mack soured, thanks to Billy's inability to control his temperamental nature, he turned to Robert John "Mutt" Lange to produce his next album. However, Mutt would already be committed to producing The Cars Heartbeat City. Upon its completion, the producer would find himself burned out, and suffering a breakdown. Squier would then turn to Jim Steinman to fulfill the role.

On a side note, this would have a trickle down to Def Leppard. The band had also asked Lange to produce their forthcoming Hysteria album. They too turned to Steinman and would work with him on early tracks for the album in 1984, but this would be derailed by the accident which took drummer Rick Allen's arm by the end of that year. Allen wouldn't return until August of 1986, making his first appearance at 1986's Monsters of Rock festival. At that point, Leppard would return to the studio with Mutt to finish the album.

But let's get back to Squier.

The artist had long felt Steinman's work with Meat Loaf for 1977's Bat Out Of Hell had resulted in, "the most passionate and exciting rock record of our time." However, with him in the producer's chair, a change in musical style would also occur. Rather than be heavily guitar driven like his previous work, synthesizers would now take the lead.

The end result would be another platinum album for Billy, though sales were noticeably still in decline. Further, his chart success was too. While his past two albums had both peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, Signs Of Life would "only" reach number eleven. However, it was in Australia and Canada where the album would impress even less, showing a massive drop in chart success.

Some, including Billy would blame his music video for Rock Me Tonight, and its director Kenny Ortega for the rapid shift. The music video would feature Squier in a pink tank top dancing from room to room like nobody was watching. While MTV host Martha Quinn would later comment that she recalled the video being well received at the time, there was definitely a correlation between its release, and the artist suddenly not selling out shows. Though others would argue that it was perhaps the shift in musical styles which led the decline, and not the actual video. Take a look. You be the judge.

Regardless of what it was, Squier would dismiss both of his managers, and insult the director, stating he had misled and deceived him. Ortega simply dismisses the accusations, probably the best response. No sense in arguing with a fool.

The real shame in it all is that Rock Me Tonight is a really solid track, and the reason I bought Signs Of Life. Is it a goofy video? Oh, totally, but don't let that taint the song.

Yes, the album certainly sounds much different than its predecessors. The synthesizer work definitely takes the foreground, but this isn't necessarily a terrible thing. Tracks, All Night Long, (Another) 1984, and Can't Get Next toy You are pretty decent. Not his best work by any means, but not his worst.

What I will say is that I don't necessarily hear that flourish typical of Jim Steinman music. Had I not known he was the producer of the album, I don't think I would have picked up on it.

Overall, Signs Of Life is okay, and I can understand Squier's declining popularity at the time. I've been listening to it over the past four albums now. The songs are getting less and less appealing. He's just not capturing the energy of his debut, The Tale Of The Tape, and the hits of Don't Say No. What has been consistent is his unique vocals, which always shine through, regardless of whether the track is good or bad.

Billy would perform a series of shows in 1985, and contribute the song, Shake Down, for St. Elmo's Fire. Understandably, there was no music video for the song.

By 1986 he was back in the studio, working with producer Peter Collins on what would become Enough Is Enough. Despite featuring a duet with Freddie Mercury, the album would continue the decline of Squier's overall popularity, chart placement, and album sales. The peak was over.

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Retro Spins: Billy Squier - Emotions In Motion

There's nothing worse than an ingrate who bites the hand who feeds. However, that's exactly what happened with Billy Squier, who after his previous success working with Reinhold Mack, returned to the producer for his 1982 album, Emotions In Motion. Apparently, Billy was known for his short temper, and strive for perfection, which all began to clash with Mack. The end result was their relationship dissolving.

Despite this, the album would become Billy's second most successful of his career and also be his first collaboration of a few with members of Queen. Both Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor would provide backing vocals on the title track. Billy would also embark with Queen on their Hot Space Tour as an opening act. This in turn led to a boost in his own popularity, and as he began to headline his own shows, would bring in Def Leppard as his opening act for their Pyromania Tour.

But now we're just getting ahead of everything.

Emotions In Motion would reach number five in both the USA and Canada and provide Squier with his first number one rock charts hit, Everybody Wants You, which would also peak at thirty-five on the Billboard Hot 100. It would also become 2x platinum certified in the USA, and platinum in Canada. The title track followed as the next single, and reached number sixty-eight on the Hot 100, and She's A Runner, which stalled at seventy-five.

Like its predecessor, this album sounds very much so like a Queen album. Specifically, The Game. No surprise, again, being the product of Mack.

Everybody Wants You, is a solid starting point, and sets a good tone for the things to come. Unfortunately, those things are the title track, which despite the inclusion of Queen alums, is just okay. I dare say it would have been more successful with Freddie on lead. Its overall tone feels more so his persona than Squiers.

From there, the album gets a bit dull, and doesn't shine again until track seven, One Good Woman. Unfortunately, this was also the only other gem to be found, as the remaining songs didn't impress much. Overall, I'm definitely seeing the decline as it unfolds.

With Mack out, Squier turned his attention to Mutt Lange for his next studio album. However, the producer was already committed to The Cars for their opus, Heartbeat City, and was completely burned out, to the point he suffered a breakdown after its release. As a result, he instead looked to Jim Steinman for what would become 1984's Signs Of Life. It's the album I'm headed to tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Billy Squier - Don't Say No

Don't Say No is the first album from Billy Squier that I purchased. Specifically, for the track, The Stroke. It wasn't ever a song that I really dug. Instead, it fell under the category of, "Yeah, I know that song." However, this purchase would become instrumental, as in researching his music during this time, I discovered several more tracks I knew from him, and even a collaboration with Freddie Mercury. Before I knew it, my mild interest in one song led me to picking up four of his albums. Among today's Retro Spin, this included, Emotions In Motion (1982), Signs Of Life (1984), and Enough Is Enough (1986), the latter being the aforementioned collaboration with Mercury.

When Squier began working on his second solo album, he initially reached out to Queen guitarist Brian May to produce it. However, obligations had him tied up, and instead he recommended Reinhold Mack. Mack had previously worked on Queen's The Game, but prior to that had built up an illustrious career working with the likes of T. Rex, Deep Purple, Electric Light Orchestra, and The Rolling Stones, to name a few).

Upon its release, the album blasted up the Billboard 200, peaking at number five. To date, it remains Squier's most successful album of all time, going 3X platinum in the USA, and platinum in Cananda. Three singles would hit the Billboard Hot 100, The Stroke (peaking at 17), In The Dark (35), and My Kind Of Lover (45). The three tracks would also have music videos produced, which would see steady rotation on MTV.

The album also features Lonely Is The Night, which has become a fan favorite, and has been incorporated into Squier's live shows for decades. Despite receiving considerable airplay at the time, it was never released as a single.

In retrospect, and making sense now based on the above history, The Stroke sounds an awful lot like Queen's Dragon Attack. So much so, that the lyrics between the two songs could easily be interchangeable. While it may have been the song I purchased the album for, it's definitely not the best of the bunch.

Instead, I would consider In The Dark, and My Kind Of Lover, to be far superior. Depending on the day of the week, not necessarily in that order. Lonely Is The Night is also decent, but definitely at the bottom, in terms of favorability to me.

I went back and forth in my head with Nobody Knows. It starts out with a solid acoustic guitar intro, but then launches into a high pitched Squier, which sounds intriguing, while at the same time repelling the ears. The song does eventually break open, and his true voice comes through, and it's a unique journey getting there. It's simply both good and bad at the same time. This is followed by I Need You, which is a pretty solid tune.

Overall, it was a pretty good listening session, but I want to say I enjoyed his debut a little more. Perhaps it's because of how new to me everything was with said debut. Or perhaps it's because, like I said, the hits just overshadow everything else.

Based on the massive success, Mack and Billy would work on his next album, Emotions In Motions (1982), which would become another smash success for Squier. However, the two's working relation would dissolve shortly upon its release, and Billy's popularity and sales would drastically tank over the years which followed. The decline all starts tomorrow.

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Retro Spins: Billy Squier - The Tale Of The Tape

Billy Squier was an artist I discovered relatively late. Though I knew of a handful of his songs, I daresay I wouldn't have been able to tell you who sung them until stumbling across them around 2022. This would lead me to grabbing four of his six eighties' albums, and then in late 2025 filling in the remaining two. Though I owned them all, candidly, I never got around to playing them. So, it's time to rectify that.

Music began early for him. At the age of eight, he was learning the piano, but after three years, grew bored of it. His grandfather would step in and actually pay the now eleven-year-old to stick with it. Sometime thereafter, a classmate would sell Billy a guitar, leading to him forming his first band, the Reltneys, at age fourteen.

His first public appearance would occur the same year he graduated high school, 1968, forming the band, Magic Terry & the Universe. However, by the early 70's he was playing Kicks. Though his initial plan was to go to college, and become a teacher, after just a short time in school, he left for New York, and joined the band, Sidewinders.

In the mid-seventies, he joined Piper, and this would lead to his first brush with the music industry. Piper released two albums in 1977, their self-titled debut, and Can't Wait. The band was met with great critical review, with their debut being called one of the best of all time. Being managed by the same management company as Kiss also granted them the opportunity to tour and open for them. Despite this initial success, the band opted to disband, and Squier went solo, signing with Capitol Records in 1979.

His 1980 debut, The Tale Of The Tape would spend three months on the Billboard 200, peaking at one hundred sixty-nine. Though only mildly successful, it would help to jumpstart his solo career. Ruther, his song, The Big Beat, would go on to be one of the most heavily sampled among the rap community. A music video would also be produced for the track, which would eventually make its way to MTV when the channel launched in 1981.

Noteworthy were some of the personnel contributing to the recording sessions. This included future Kiss guitarist, Bruce Kulick, and Bruce Springsteen E Street alum, David Sancious, and Ernest Carter.

The Tale Of The Tape delivers a solid rock experience. I really dig Squier's unique vocals, and frankly, he's not a bad writer either. The album delivers a slew of great tracks; The Big Beat, Rich Kid, Like I'm Lovin' You, Who's Your Boyfriend, and The Music's All Right.

If this is what Billy has to offer, then yes please. I'm only disappointed that I didn't catch on sooner. To think I would have never grabbed this album had I not come across it in a used CD shop, as it wasn't among the initial four that I purchased, nor did I have any plans to buy it. This excites me for what's to come.

To support the album, Squier headed out on tour with Alice Cooper, and upon its completion reached out to Brian May. His initial intensions were to have the Queen guitarist produce his next album. However, scheduling conflicts wouldn't allow for this to happen. Instead, May recommended Reinhold Mack, the producer who worked with Queen on their 1980 album, The Game. Mack has an impressive resume all his own and could easily have a post unto himself. Maybe we'll go a bit more into him tomorrow with 1981's Don't Say No.

As for this one, I'm highly recommending that you check out The Tale Of The Tape. If you're a fan of great rock and roll, this one could easily become your next favorite album.

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