Billy Squier sprouted up in the valley of the jolly green giant guitar chord, drawing inspiration from such esteemed Fender-benders as Led Zeppelin, Bad Company and Foreigner. On Emotions in Motion, Squier wears the heavy-rock mantle with a fanatic's zeal, ignoring such recent developments as synthesized pop and New Wave artiness as if they were so many buzzing flies. Squier gets his kicks from the glorious high-speed crash of a power chord with the wallop of a cymbal and the screech of sandpaper vocal cords. "Everybody Wants You" (apologies to Foreigner's "Dirty White Boy") comes smoking out of the starting gate, spitting dust and cinders at the competition, while "Emotions in Motion" ("The Stroke, Part Two"?) and certain other of the hard-rock cluster bombs here make the demise of Led Zeppelin hurt a little bit less.

Really, the philosophy behind this LP is all about finding escape in blasts of pure (or impure) sound. And despite the dubious utility of this music, Squier does possess an uncommon amount of smarts, such unexpectedly melodic tunes as "In Your Eyes" and "She's a Runner" serving to remind that he found his way to hard-rock heaven by way of power-pop ensembles like the Sidewinders and Piper. Yet he displays even more commendable sense by not allowing his wits to get in the way of the sound – that ear-frazzling atomic fusion of man and machine–keeping it simple and stripped down. At the least, Emotions in Motion should inspire a whole new batch of competitors in the air-guitar olympics. (RS 378)

PARKE PUTERBAUGH