| Signs of Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1984 | |||
| Recorded | April 28, 1984 – June 16, 1984 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:46 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Billy Squier chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Signs of Life | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Signs of Life is the fourth studio album by American musician Billy Squier. It was co-produced by Meat Loaf's songwriter Jim Steinman, replacing Reinhold Mack, who had produced Squier's previous two records, Don't Say No (1981) and Emotions in Motion (1982).
Signs of Life became Squier's third-in-a-row platinum selling record. It was his highest new entry, at #61, on the Billboard album chart (also the peak of his next offering). The disc spent nearly a year in the charts, reaching #11. [2]
The album's best known song, "Rock Me Tonite", was his best charting Pop hit and second #1 single in the Mainstream Rock charts. The perceived challenge to Squier's image as a guitar-playing rocker is often regarded as one of the main reasons for Squier's subsequent popularity decline as well as one of the worst music videos in the history of MTV; in the book I Want My MTV there is a whole chapter dedicated to it.
Apart from its lead single's music video, the album's elaborated production with heavy usage of synthesizers, as well as poppier songwriting, divided Squier's audience. Critics of the time relegated a portion of his rock audience to pop fans. In a two-star review, AllMusic's Mike DeGagne felt the album lacking the "over-the-top approach Squier usually adds to his music". [3] Nowadays, the album is viewed as one of Squier's finest artistic achievements, despite its notoriety.
Cash Box described the second single from the album, "All Night Long," as a "superb combination of tight tracks, strong vocals and high energy." [4] Cash Box said of the single "Eye on You" that it "is more typically melodic and moving than...'All Night Long'" and added that "with a strong chorus, hook and a mid-tempo backing, Squier’s vocals have a chance to breathe and he makes full use of a throaty growl." [5]
All tracks are written by Billy Squier.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All Night Long" | 4:51 |
| 2. | "Rock Me Tonite" | 4:56 |
| 3. | "Eye on You" | 4:42 |
| 4. | "Take a Look Behind Ya" | 5:03 |
| 5. | "Reach For the Sky" | 5:34 |
| 6. | "(Another) 1984" | 4:56 |
| 7. | "Fall for Love" | 4:52 |
| 8. | "Can't Get Next to You" | 4:36 |
| 9. | "Hand-Me-Downs" | 4:22 |
| 10. | "Sweet Release" | 6:15 |
| Total length: | 49:46 | |
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [7] | 96 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [8] | 59 |
| US Billboard 200 [9] | 11 |
Bad for Good is the only studio album by American songwriter Jim Steinman. Steinman wrote all of the songs and performed on most, although Rory Dodd contributed lead vocals on some tracks.
William Haislip Squier is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include "The Stroke", "Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover", "In the Dark", "Rock Me Tonite", "Everybody Wants You", "Emotions in Motion", "Love Is the Hero", "Don't Say You Love Me" and "The Big Beat". Squier's best-selling album, 1981's Don't Say No, is considered a landmark release within the arena rock genre, bridging the gap between power pop and hard rock.
Faster Than the Speed of Night is the fifth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in Europe on 8 April 1983 and later that year in the US through Columbia Records. Tyler had changed musical direction and soon after began working with Jim Steinman, who produced the album and wrote its most successful single "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
Behind the Sun is the ninth solo studio album by Eric Clapton, released on 11 March 1985 by Duck Records / Warner Bros. Records. It is Clapton's first collaborative project with Phil Collins who co-produced the album and played on some of the tracks. While recording the album Clapton temporarily split with his wife.
Spy is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, on June 30, 1979.
Blind Before I Stop is the fifth studio album by American singer Meat Loaf, released in September 1986. The album was produced in Germany by Frank Farian and was the first to fully embrace the '80s sound. Critics were concerned about the album missing the characteristic Steinman-influenced sound by incorporating synth chords and samples. According to Meat Loaf's 1998 autobiography, he would have preferred to wait to work with more Steinman material, but his contractual obligations with Arista required him to complete two more albums by the end of the 1980s, including this album and a live album.
Emotions in Motion is the third studio album by American rock musician Billy Squier. It was released on July 23, 1982, and was Squier's second consecutive Top Five disc on the Billboard album chart. It contains the hit song "Everybody Wants You", which peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and stayed at #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 6 weeks.
"Legs" is a song by the band ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was released as the fourth single in May 1984 more than a year after the album came out. It reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and the dance mix version of the song peaked at number 13 on the dance charts.
"My Life" is a song by Billy Joel that first appeared on his 1978 album 52nd Street. A single version was released in the fall of 1978 and reached No. 2 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart. Early the next year, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Tale of the Tape is the debut studio album by American rock musician Billy Squier. It was his first solo album, following two albums with the band Piper. Despite not being a huge success, the disc spent three months on Billboard's album chart and helped to kickstart Squier's solo career.
Don't Say No is the second studio album by Billy Squier, released on April 13, 1981. It stands as Squier's biggest career album, including the hits "Lonely Is the Night", "In the Dark", "My Kinda Lover" and "The Stroke". The album hit the Top Five on the Billboard album chart and remained on the chart for over two years.
Enough Is Enough is the fifth studio album by Billy Squier, released on September 27, 1986. It was the first album to be released under his second seven-year Capitol Records recording contract.
"You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" (also known as "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)") is the first solo single by the American singer Meat Loaf, released in 1977. It is a track from his album Bat Out of Hell, written by Jim Steinman.
Emotion is the twenty-third studio album of pop singer Barbra Streisand, issued in October 1984 by Columbia Records four years after the release of Guilty, which has since become her highest selling studio album worldwide. The album was promoted with the release of three singles, but none of them entered the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. The album has been certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA and Gold in the UK by the BPI.
Hear & Now is the sixth studio album by American rock musician Billy Squier, released on June 14, 1989. It features his last Billboard Hot 100 hit, "Don't Say You Love Me", as well as popular fan favorites and radio hits "Don't Let Me Go", "Stronger" and "Tied Up", the latter two being co-written with Desmond Child.
"Rock Me Tonite" is a hit song written and recorded by American rock artist Billy Squier. It was released in June 1984 as the lead single from his platinum-plus album Signs of Life. The song is Squier's highest charting U.S. single, peaking at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hitting No. 10 on the Cash Box singles chart. It also returned him to No. 1 on the Top Rock Tracks chart in August 1984.
Taking a Cold Look is the sole studio album by i-Ten, a short-lived project formed of the songwriting duo Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg, released in 1983. The album is typical of album-oriented rock and the duo worked with a number of famous rock musicians: Steve Lukather, David Paich and Steve Porcaro from Toto, Richard Page and Mike Baird from Journey. The album was reissued on CD in June 2000 by Rewind Records and then in February 2009 by Rock Candy.
"Emotions in Motion" is a 1982 single by American rock musician Billy Squier, which was featured on his platinum selling album of the same name and released as the first single from it. The song is notable for featuring Queen members Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor on backing vocals. The former would later collaborate again with Squier, on his 1986 single "Love Is the Hero".
"Love Is the Hero" is a song performed by American Rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier, with Freddie Mercury from Queen on backing vocals. It appears as the second track on his fifth studio album Enough Is Enough from 1986.
"Love in a Vacuum" is a song by American band 'Til Tuesday, which was released in 1985 as the third and final single from their debut studio album Voices Carry. The song was written by Aimee Mann, Michael Hausman, Robert Holmes and Joey Pesce, and produced by Mike Thorne. "Love in a Vacuum" peaked at No. 88 on the US Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles chart.
