Vital Signs [Original recording reissued]

Survivor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 12, 1991)
• Original Release Date: 1985
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Volcano
• ASIN: B00000I014
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,762 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vital music for 80's fans--the search is over, July 5, 2003

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vital Signs (Audio CD)

Those who only see Survivor as two-hit wonders, singing theme songs for Rocky III-"Eye Of The Tiger" and Rocky IV-"Burning Heart", think again. Like Heart, Survivor benefitted under producer Ron Nevison for two albums, Vital Signs and When Second Count. The first one, Vital Signs, has the mixture of hard rockers and ballads, punctuated with a mixture of heavy guitar chords and keyboards, of which four hit the charts.

One of those singles was "I Can't Hold Back", which starts out slow, with Jimi Jameson's falsetto voice. One parallel between Survivor and Journey are those songs of yearning and finding one's destined love, as is evidenced in the opening verse: "Now it's time to trade those dreams/For the rush of passion's fire/I can feel you tremble when we touch/And I feel the hand of fate/Reaching out to both of us." Ferocious rock guitars and drums kick in beginning with "I've been holding back the night". The use of keyboards isn't as heavy as with Heart's Bad Animals, but Nevison's trademark production makes this a great single.

Keyboards start off and dominate the chorus of the "High On You" single, whose crunchy guitars sounds like something Journey or Heart could've done. The unique way keyboards punctuated the beat was characteristic of 80's music that sadly marks a bygone era.

"First Night", yet another single, starts out slow like "I Can't Hold Back" before that Frankie Sullivan's riproaring guitar blasts into rocker mode to be the fastest paced song here. The remembrance and special occasion of that first night is highlighted in this song. "And this night shall be remembered/Long after the music's gone/And we'll reminisce on the things we said/And we'll fall in love again." Aww, that's sweet.

My favourite Survivor song is none of the Rocky songs, but the power ballad and soul-searching single "The Search Is Over." This was definitely made for Survivor, although it has shades of Loverboy's "This Could Be The Night." The chorus is immortal:
"I was living for a dream/Loving for a moment/Taking on the world/That was just my style/Now i look into your eyes/I can see forever/The search is over/You were with me all the while." Once again, destiny and fate plays a part. "Then good luck it finally stuck like lightning from the blue/Every highway leading me back to you/Now at last I hold you, now all is said and done/The search has come full circle, our destinies are one."

"Broken Promises" is a rocker that wonders "Is it written in stone that we wind up alone?" Not a filler by any means, but neither a single.

The title character in "Popular Girl" is, to quote Dave Lister from Red Dwarf, "a heartbreaker or moral garbage on legs." Clearly she's one of those who's there to look at, but nothing deeper: "And in the end, all she'll be is your friend/Though passion's your lone desire, she's the one you can't touch." There's a technological motif in one lyric: "When she's breaking your heart, she's the state of the art."

"Everlasting" is the other power ballad here. This could've been a single, as it has catchy keyboards, guitars, harmony-sung choruses. In addition to looking for that everlasting love, it also asks a question that's really on my mind: "In this world of chances missed/Does forever still exist/This side of the fantasy/Can we afford to wonder/If this could be the one."

The quicker-paced "It's The Singer Not The Song" is another singleworthy track dealing in the challenges one faces in trying to against the normal grind.

"I See You In Everyone" is another Journeyesque power ballad, soft keyboards alternating with pounding guitar chords that made the Rocky songs famous.

So chalk another up for producer Ron Nevison, one for Survivor, and a big one for 80's rock.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect melodic pop/rock, July 9, 2002

By 

Brad (CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vital Signs (Audio CD)

This is one of those rare album where virtually every song sounds like it could be a melodic rock hit. As others have mentioned, this album is clearly poppier than its predecessors, but in this case that just makes it an even more amazing album.

Three of the best hits of the '80s are on this album in "I Can't Hold Back", "High On You", and "The Search Is Over". Most everyone who is familiar with Survivor likely knows these wonderful songs. "First Night" is the hardest rocker on this album, and its changes in tempo make it an exciting track. "Broken Promises" and "Popular Girl" are similar-sounding gorgeous anthems. "Everlasting" is a sweet near-ballad. "It's The Singer Not The Song" is an exceptionally catchy track with fantastic lyrics. The last track, "I See You In Everyone" to me is the weakest track, but it is still great and kind of a ballad. Wow, is this an amazing bunch of songs!

As a fan of great melodic rock bands like this, I would in no way want every album to sound like this. I also love the more rock-based sound of more obscure Survivor albums like "Caught In The Game" and "Too Hot Too Sleep" as well as the also-poppy followup to this album "When Seconds Count". For sure, these guys have had a lot of great albums and songs. This one is simply them at their commercial peak--very understandable considering the beauty of these songs. A highly recommended purchase as a true '80s classic.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Starts perfect, gets better, May 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Vital Signs (Audio CD)

OK: "The Search Is Over" is the greatest song ever written in the english language, with the possible exception of...well, "I Can't Hold Back." "High on You" and "First Night" round out the best first four tracks on any CD I've seen. "Popular Girl" is to hopeless lovers what Rick Springfield's "Jessie's girl" was to third wheels (That is to say the anthem). "Everlasting Love" takes some time to sink in, but when it does, it's right up there. I've won back two girlfriends by playing "I See You in Everyone," and pump myself up for soccer games by playing "It's The Singer, Not The Song." From the intense, unable-to-hold back drive of "Can't Hold Back" to the the plaintive but still bravura "I See You in Everyone," every song on this CD sounds fabulous, muisc, words, and everything. Nothing I've ever heard comes close.