Signs of Life

Billy Squier | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: American Beat
• ASIN: B000PSJD00
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,633 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. All Night Long

2. Rock Me Tonite

3. Eye on You

4. Take a Look Behind Ya

5. Reach for the Sky

6. (Another) 1984

7. Fall for Love

8. Can't Get Next to You

9. Hand-Me-Downs

10. Sweet Release

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Nearly 25 years after his last significant hit, Billy Squier inexplicably finds himself back in fashion. Rappers like Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Dizzee Rascal have sampled huge chunks of his song "The Big Beat," while "The Stroke" has appeared on the soundtracks of comedy blockbusters Billy Madison and Blades of Glory. So what better time to revisit his pivotal 1984 album, Signs of Life? Squier thinks it killed his career, largely due to the video for his highest charting single, "Rock Me Tonite," which was played nonstop by MTV and portrayed the shirtless rock star humping around a pastel-hued bedroom set. But it might have more to do with the fact that Squier was drifting away from the Led Zeppelin-inspired power chords of his earlier releases and more towards a glossed-up New-Wave sound, as evidenced by "Eye On You" and "Another 1984." So Signs of Life might not represent Squier's creative peak, but for the next rap heavyweight, it's a veritable goldmine. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just As Good As His Don't Say No Album!, January 25, 2006

By 

M. A. Ball (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Signs of Life (Audio CD)

Sure, the synthesizers makes Signs of Life a little bit cheesy, but it's still really enjoyable. It was the 80's for chr*st sakes, give Billy a break! Billy Squier's guitar playing on this is just as amazing as it was on Don't Say No. "All Night Long," "Rock Me Tonight," "Eye On You," "Reach For The Sky," "(Another) 1984," and "Fall For Love" are all classics. The rest of the songs are great too. If Capitol ever puts this masterpiece back in print, you should definitley buy it. While Signs of Life is really good, the CD is not worth the $50-$120 price that people are selling it for. You might be able to find the cassette pretty cheap on Ebay, though.

I can't believe that stupid music video he did for "Rock Me Tonight" killed his career. It doesn't make any since that Michael Jackson gets accused of raping little boys and his CDs still stay in print and are still selling, while Billy Squier just gets accused of making an embarassing music video and practically all of his CDs go out of print and everyone forgets about him. WTF!!!! ....Or it could just be that Capitol had it in for Billy and wanted to screw him over. Who knows.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Billy's Finest CD's - Finally Re-released!, January 16, 2008

By 

G. Austin (Crestview, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Signs of Life (Audio CD)

This is a great CD! I've been trying to purchase this CD for many years. I didn't want to pay the ridiculous used prices people wanted for the then out-of-print release. I finally settled on purchasing a used ALBUM and ripped it to CD on my own. I'm very happy to see this CD has now been re-released and I quickly put my pre-order in. Upon receiving it, I quickly popped it in the CD player and boy does it ever sound good! I also ripped it to my Zune MP3 player along with the other essential Billy Squier CD's (Tale of the Tape, Don't Say No, Emotions in Motion). If you don't have these, you'll need to pick them up too because they've all been remastered. Rest assured, if you buy Signs of Life, you will NOT be disappointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Billy Squier Album Finally Out On CD, February 5, 2008

By 

The Footpath Cowboy "rockerusa2002" (Kingston, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Signs of Life (Audio CD)

SIGNS OF LIFE is a great Billy Squier album which features a number of guests, including guitarist Brian May on the song "(Another) 1984)", as well as Jim Steinman's larger-than-life production. Unfortunately, previous issues of this album, which has been out of print for years, didn't come close to doing justice to Steinman's abilities as a producer, a situation corrected by the guys at American Beat Records through warm, crisp remastering. The inspirational/cautionary lyrics of "Reach For The Sky" come through crystal clear on this CD, which is a wonderful thing. The reissue producer's kids should be exempt from high-school community-service requirements as a reward for the great job their father has done bringing two of Billy Squier's much-maligned classics back to life.