More uplifting arena rock from Michael Been and the boys. If you're like me, the driving rock with optimistic lyrics (with an undercurrent of Christianity) brings about an immediate improvement in mood. The critics loved the work, and while it is the band's highest charting album, it still could have done better if the record label (MCA) had thrown a little promotion behind it. A cursory look at Rolling Stone magazines from 1989 can't even find a mention of this album. Heck, it was just by chance that I happened upon these songs and that was 20 years after they had been released. That's a shame, because this is a solid album.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #64
Tracks: The title track is fantastic, a great way to start any day, and worth the price of the album. It is joined by other great songs like You Run, Surrender, Same Ol' Story, For Love, and Uncovered. I don't skip any songs, then I immediately go back to the top and hear the title track again.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I could have used this album to lift my spirits in 1989 as I was an unemployed teacher with an impending wedding. Everything turned out OK (got a job, got married, in that order), but it would have been nice to have these messages in my ears.
Previously revisited for the blog:
Reconciled (1986)
Blog post #1100
I was doing elevator-music radio when "Let the Day Begin" was a hit, so I missed it. Flash forward several years to when I'm working for the classic rock station, listening on the way to work, and we played it. I quite literally ran into the building when I got there to find out what it was. It strikes me as the kind of thing that could only have been a hit during that brief window of time in the late 80s when everybody still knew who Mr. Mister was.
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