Loverboy - Classics: Their Greatest Hits (1994)

GREATEST HITS WEEK (JANUARY 17-23, 2011)

Is that a picture of a band member picking his nose on the CD cover? I had never owned any Loverboy albums, but when I saw this in a used CD bin, I thought it would be a fun trip. I remembered the band for Working For The Weekend, but this compilation reminded me that I had known a lot of their material back in the early '80s. To give this band some credit, they could write hooks and weren't afraid to use synths. It's okay if you don't take this group seriously because I don't think they take themselves seriously.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: I had forgotten about great tracks like Jump, Turn Me Loose, The Kid Is Hot Tonite, Lovin' Every Minute of It, and Hot Girls in Love. I guess these songs don't get played much on the local classic rock radio station (they're too busy playing Led Zepplin and Lynyrd Skynyrd). Not being a fan of the power ballad, I could do without This Could Be The Night and Top Gun's Heaven In Your Eyes. There's a Bon Jovi-penned song on here titled Notorious which sounds like typical Bon Jovi trash. I could also do without Destination Heartbreak and Gangs In The Street. Also included is singer Mike Reno's duet with Heart's Ann Wilson, Almost Paradise, the love theme from the movie Footloose. Uh, thanks for including that one, guys?

Title	Year	Pop	Rock	AC
Turn Me Loose	1981	35	6
Working For The Weekend	1981	29	2
Take Me To The Top	1982		23
The Kid Is Hot Tonight	1981	55	42
This Could Be The Night	1986	10	9	30
Jump	1982	101
Lovin' Every Minute Of It	1985	9	3
Notorious	1987	38	8
Almost Paradise	1984	7		1
Lucky Ones	1982		36
Destination Heartbreak	1985
Hot Girls In Love	1983	11	2
When It's Over	1982	26	21
It's Your Life	1981
Gangs In The Street	1981
Heaven In Your Eyes	1986	12

Missing Top 40 hit: Queen Of The Broken Hearts (#34, 1983)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: My junior year in high school, I worked at Burger King with a huge Loverboy fan, who happened to be assistant manager of the restaurant. Hearing this music reminds me of that time and that job. I also remember a couple of Loverboy songs being included in a 1981 Epic Records sampler I had on cassette entitled Exposed.