Customer Reviews

Loverboy Classics

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Loverboy Classics(1994). One of many different single-disc Loverboy compilations.

The early 80s were a huge time for radio bands. With the start of MTV and new wave music, any band that could craft a catchy pop rock tune was almost guarenteed to be a staple on the radio during that time. Loverboy were experts on the genre. Coming from Vancouver Canada, Loverboy took the world by storm with their breakthrough album Big Ones(1981) and unleashed their signature smash hit 'Working For The Weekend'. Their career instantly took off and the band managed to score many hits throughout the first half of the decade. Come the later half of the 80s, the band's popularity died down, and since Loverboy thrived on their "hit" songs, they were gone by 1989.

The general consensus I've gathered from people is that you either like Loverboy or hate them. Thankfully, I fall into the "like" category. To me, Loverboy was one of the first bands that got me into rock 'n roll music, so for that I thank them. It also never hurt that their popular songs were incredibly catchy and well-crafted for the time. These guys were generally considered a pop-rock band, though not quite the light-weight pop that new wave music was. More along the lines of Eddie Money and Bryan Adams. Their songwriting style is actually done well, and not in a cheesy manner. There's really not much originality to the music, but the band does write most of the material and they know how to play it well, so I don't really mind at all. Loverboy's music was all about the good times of rock 'n roll, and it continued to be until the eventual downfall of the band late in the 80s.

Now let's look at this compilation. Read on for the highlights and flaws that Loverboy Classics has:

THE GOOD
-You'll find most of the band's major hits here. That includes 'Turn Me Loose', 'Working For The Weekend', 'Lovin' Every Minute Of It', 'Lucky Ones', and several others.
-There are also many overlooked masterpieces on here that weren't hits as well. These include the outstanding 'Jump' (NOT the Van Halen song), the Bon Jovi-written 'Notorious', 'It's Your Life', 'Gangs In The Street', 'The Kid Is Hot Tonite', and 'This Could Be The Night'. Glad to see all of these here.
-The band actually included the Top Gun smash hit 'Heaven In Your Eyes'. Even though the band doesn't think highly of this ballad, I'm still glad they decided to include it.
-Though the songs aren't in chronological order, I do like how they were placed so that the collection flows well.

THE BAD
-The first thing I noticed about this collection were that it has 3 glaring omissions. WHERE ARE 'QUEEN OF THE BROKEN HEARTS', 'DANGEROUS', AND 'STRIKE ZONE'??? Those three songs were some of my favorite songs of theirs and it pains me to see that these weren't included. There's no excuse for not including 'Queen Of The Broken Hearts', considering is was a BIG HIT for them in 1983. Though the Super Hits compilation is definitely worse than this one, at least it contained those three tracks.
-The Footloose track 'Almost Paradise' is a good ballad, but because it only featured Mike Reno and Ann Wilson, it really doesn't belong here.
-'Destination Heartbreak' wasn't one of their better songs, so it could've made room for the aformentioned omissions.
-Big Ones had a lot of coverage, but there was almost nothing from the albums Lovin Every Minute Of It(1985) and Wildside(1987). They aren't the band's best albums, but I wish there could've been more from them.

Overall, this Loverboy collection is a decent overview of the band, though it's definitely not perfect. If many of their albums weren't out of print, I'd suggest hunting those out, but since they aren't readily available, then this collection will serve as a decent starting point. If you do see the albums, I recommend picking them up though because they have several tracks not featured here. Still, this is the best Loverboy compilation to date, so if you have to go with one, make it this one. RECOMMENDED TO CASUAL FANS.

This is one of the very few Best Of compilations that actually lives up to its name. It's also one of the very few that I usually play all the way through, from beginning to end. Every song is an '80's gem. Loverboy might have been dismissed by some critics as fluff, but their music was very diverse and showed excellent musicianship, even complex, with quick time changes in some of their songs. Unlike most hard-rock bands of their time, Loverboy had four distinct styles: Pop ("Hot Girls In Love"), Ballad ("Destination Heartbreak"), Heavy Metal ("The Kid Is Hot Tonite," "Working For The Weekend," and "Notorious"), and Funk ("Turn Me Loose", "Lucky Ones", and "When It's Over"). Some of these songs combine funk with hard rock, like "Take Me To The Top." Loverboy are so diverse that you can play this whole CD through and not get tired of their music.

For those whose have seen my other recent reviews, you may notice that I DO NOT give out 5 stars easily to any record. Please note this fact and take my advice seriously: This IS a 5 star record, all the way through!! If you love great diverse rock 'n' roll mixed with tasty servings of funk, then buy this CD. It will take you to the top!! :)

i like to blast this while driving around the streets of minneapolis in one of my cars heh. it rules. my favorite song on this is working for the weekend. this is rad driving music and it almost makes me want to bust out my headband and leather pants heh. buy this. it's neet. =]

I HAVE ALOT OF CD'S THAT HAVE BEEN DIGITALLY REMASTERED BUT THIS ONE REALLY PUTS THEM ALL TO SHAME.THIS ONE SOUNDS AWESOME YOU CAN REALLY HERE THE DIFFERENCE,AND THE SONG SELECTION IS PERFECT FOR A GREATEST HITS COLLECTION YOU GET ALL THE HITS

Think about it. Loverboy is a band that doesn't exactly fit the stale arena rock mold because of their sheer propensity for fun. But then again, their quasi-proggy keyboards don't exactly translate into the hairspray crowd's standard repetoire. As such, I think purchasing this compilation can not only lead to the acquisition of one heck of a party album, but it can also serve as an anthropological study.

Ugh, that sounds pretentious, but it's worth pondering.

Anyhoo, the tracks here are all, for the most part, superb pieces of 80s pop rock. "Working for the Weekend" and "Turn Me Loose" are the obvious highlights, but the collection is laden with highlights. In fact, every song is a 4 to 5 star track in its own right. Well, except for the ponderous "Lovin' Every Minute of It." That one's just dull. Everything else is a blast, though. The best thing is that the songs are peppered with a most amusing kind of synth workouts that just accentuate the goodness of the material. Fantastic.

Overall, fans of music from Kansas to Poison will enjoy this. This is upbeat music to celebrate the good times in a rockin' manner, but it's also got a pseudo-intelligent gloss over it. Great stuff, and a definite value. Buy it today!

Add this one to your collection! If you like Boston or Foreigner, you'll definately like LoverBoy.

As an unabashed Loverboy fan, I view "Classics" with some surprise. This collection includes the usual suspects: the stellar "Turn Me Loose" (the one song even people who loathe Loverboy like), the of-course-it's-gotta-be-on-there "Working For The Weekend," "Hot Girls In Love," "This Could Be The Night," yadda, yadda, yadda. Over half the tracks from "Get Lucky" appear here, as well as some remarkably strange choices like "Destination Heartbreak" from 1985's "Lovin' Every Minute Of It" (not a bad song, but not even close to a hit or a concert staple, yet it's considered a "classic"?) and the abominably treacly "Almost Paradise," which admittedly was a huge hit but is not a Loverboy song despite Mike Reno's presence. And I'm STILL trying to figure out why the band refuses to put "Queen Of The Broken Hearts" on any of their greatest hits packages! Nonetheless, this is a good collection for the casual fan, and the late Scott Smith's liner notes are pretty funny. Dust off your headband and leather pants!

I've always liked Loverboy, they had some very great songs. This disc, though maybe not as extensive as it could be, is good enough, in my opinion. It contains the songs I like and it brings back a lot of great memories. If you're a Loverboy fan and you want more songs, you'll have to get at least one more CD, of theirs, to give you all you want. As for me, I'm content with this compilation. Recommended for the 80's rock fan.

If you like Loverboy, this is the album you want. Unlike a lot of greatest hits albums out there, it actually includes most of their biggest hits. With the exception of Queen of the Broken Hearts - which I didn't remember, so I obviously wasn't missing that one. But there are a few favorites on here that I'd forgotten about and that was a nice surprise.

I was going to buy my old favorite album (Get Lucky) but this one includes all the music I need. A definite must buy for any fan.

"Loverboy Classics" is definitely one of my favs. "Almost Paradise" takes me back to age 13, which was one of my best years ever! From "Turn Me Loose" to "Heaven In Your Eyes" from the movie "Top Gun" this CD rocks!!!! Perfect as a bad mood lifter!!!! Crank it up and clean your place from top to bottom!!!