Customer Reviews

Vital Signs

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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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.

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.

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.

Survivor had a huge hit with "Eye Of The Tiger", but their followup release, "Caught In The Game", never took off (which is a true shame, since it is an excellent piece of work). I'm not really sure why the band changed so much for "Vital Signs" - I heard that original lead singer Dave Bickler had some voice problems or some other medical issues, plus maybe the label thought the band needed a change. Anyway, Jimi Jamison joined from Cobra. Cobra put out one excellent album called "First Strike", which has not been released on CD as I write this (but I'll get it when/if it does come out). Survivor changed a lot of things for this release - new singer, new look (from tough guys to the "Miami Vice" look), and new sound. They lost a lot of the rough edges from the Dave Bickler era and replaced them with a smoother sound.

Did it work? Yep. Commercially, "Vital Signs" allowed them to reach the big leagues. Jamison's voice fit the Survivor sound but was more radio-friendly, and the songs were more polished, with more keyboards and less crunching guitar. "High On You", "I Can't Hold Back", and "The Search Is Over" became huge hits. The rest of the album had the same style, and it became a big hit for them as well.

I got this album pretty much as soon as it came out, and I played the heck out of it. It was very enjoyable then, and it still is. I got the CD several years ago, and it's been in my regular rotation since.

Chances are that you have heard the hit songs on this CD. If you like them, you'll like the whole CD. It is very consistent throughout. Of all the survivor CDs, this is the one that most people are familiar with. It's not a very hard CD, compared with their earlier material or the subsequent "Too Hot To Sleep".

Vital Signs is an absolute rock masterpiece of 80s and I like it far better than 80s gem rock counterparts such as Journey's Escape, REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity, Def Leppard's Hysteria, Whitesnake's Serpens Album(released in the U.S as WHITESNAKE), and TOTO's IV.

Opening track I Can't Hold Back shows what Survivor makes Survivor. It starts with acoustic guitar intro and then gradually becomes uptempo bit by bit then comes impressive Jimi Jamison's emoptional vocal of I Can't Hold Back part. And the song turns dramatically calmer and 1/16 second hush between "Pictures of you and me" and abrupt rush of "AND..." It seems like Jim have mastered the techiniques of Japanese martial arts.

And as you know impressive tracks goes on and on until I See You In Everyone. It's A Singer Not The Song is my second pick from this album. It is one of my favorite rock tracks of Survivor.

Recently Jim Peterik one of the founder of the band and main songwriter of Survivor left the band and became solo. He enjoys creating great songs with talented artists such as Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Don Barnes of 38 Special and Brian Wilson. You can find some of Jim's recent works in 38 Special's "Resolution", Lynard Skynard's "Edge Of Forever", Brian Wilson's "Imaginator" Fergie Fredericksen's "Equilibrium" Captive Heart's "Home Of The Brave" , "Two Fires" and his recent solo work "Jim Peterik and World Stage". Jim has just joined Two Fires led by Kevin Chalfant but I do hope Jim will return to Survivor where Jim's Search Should Be Over.

Just about every song is a classic. I love this album. My favorite song in it is "High on you."

Vital Signs is an all around great album. It has three major hits in "High On You," "The Search Is Over," and "I Can't Hold Back." All the other songs are great too and they sound a lot like the three songs I just mentioned. If you're familiar with Survivor, then you know they're the ones that sung "Eye of The Tiger." Don't expect to find any songs like that on this album. They're all toned down and more easy going songs than "Eye of The Tiger" was.

In my opinion, Survivor sounds a lot like Journey, especially in this album. They didn't have as much success, but that doesn't mean that they didn't have some great songs. The search is over, if you want some great 80's music, Vital Signs is one of the best albums you could get.

Survivor Vital Signs is just plainly and simply a fantastic rock and roll album. In fact I would say it is almost better than Survivors Greatest Hits album. Every song is at worst good! It moves me!

Just buy it, you'll love it!

Imagine cruising down a sunset highway,in a convertible ,on a hot summer evening ,near dusk.Wind sifting your hair,nothing in front of you on that open road.You slide 'VITAL SIGNS' smoothly into the cd player,notch up the volume slowly & from the acoustic guitar intro. of opening track 'I CANT HOLD BACK' through to the final song 'I SEE YOU IN EVERYONE',you simply would have enjoyed & sang along to,the most perfect rock/pop album in history,bar none!. A genial Melodic rock classic!!,mainly penned by gifted writer/keyboardist JIM PETERIK,with underated guitarist FRANKIE SULLIVAN,the superb & brilliant voice of JIMI JAMESON & rhythm from 'STEPHAN ELLIS(bass) & MARC DROUBAY(DRUMS}.Trust me,a rock fan for 35 years,if you love melodic rock/pop songs by a supreme band & dont own this album,dont hesitate in the slightest!,GO OUT & BUY IT NOW!!.EVERY song{and i mean EVERY!}is a classic. Do i need to say anymore?!!.
Rik{Hertfordshire)

I bought this album shortly after it's release in the fall of '84 on the strength of "I Can't hold Back" & "High on You", two songs a local album rock station were playing before either hit the Top 40. I'd had a gut feeling that I'd like the whole album and I couldn't have been more right !! If you like pop/rock music, which seems to have disappeared from the current music scene, it's quite likely you'll find this disc quite good.
The first 2 tracks, "I Can't Hold back" & "High On You", are good pop/rock songs that did quite well on the charts. Track 3 "First Night" would have to be the album's hardest rocker and a great tune. A very underappreciated album track. "The Search is Over", the 4th selection, probably needs no introduction as it's a ballad that continues to get airplay on soft rock stations. It's a sweet song that will be well liked by anyone who likes these kinds of recordings. Track 5, "Broken Promises" is a good mid tempo rock tune that was written with a more cynical view of love. Track 6, "Popular Girl" is also mid tempo and expresses the frustration of being infatuated with the unobtainable girl that everyone else seems to be after. Track 7, "Everlasting" straddles the line between ballad and power ballad, not quite soft enough to be the latter yet not really falling into the sound that defines the former. It's a good song. Selection 8, "It's The Singer, Not The Song" pays homage to rock musicians and is a driving rock number. The album's finale, "I See You in Everyone" is a good pop/rock songs that captures the feeling of when you can't seem to get over somebody.
I've enjoyed this album since the first time I put the vinyl on my turntable a good 17 years ago. I've owned this recording on album, cassette & CD (if that tells you anything)and I still like it quite a bit. Now that I've seen the other reviews posted here, I see I'm not alone. Had it been an option, I'd have given this disc 4 & a half stars, missing the fifth star only because I feel it could use just a little more variation. If you like pop/rock, this is MORE than worth the money.