Loverboy: Live, Loud & Loose : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

As the Eighties recede further and further into the past, the nostalgic glow around the decade grows, resurrecting even its most dubious legacies. Rose-tinted retrospect is vital if you want to make it past the first few tracks of this greatest hits live collection. In lieu of chops (like the better hair bands) or a wry sense of humor (like the better New Wave bands) Loverboy survived on charisma (manifested in lively concerts and frontman Mike Reno's leather pants) plus a gaggle of lite-but-catchy radio hits. Those ditties are all here ("Working for the Weekend," "Turn Me Loose," "Hot Girls in Love") recorded at various venues between 1982 and 1986. Unfortunately, polished production, extensive liner notes by former MTV VJ Nina Blackwood, and the ghostly cheers of arena crowds past can't improve on the studio versions of songs that had fleeting appeal in the first place.

SANDY MASUO
(June 18, 2001)