PERFECT STRANGERS

Hah! Hard-rock band in the middle of the worst decade in history of rock music? Surprisingly, this one is not so bad. It's full of mannerism and clichees, really, but in a sweet sort of way. "Nobody's Home", "Mean Streak" and "Hungry Daze" are all bluesy hard-rock clichees, but they're somewhat catchy. The same goes for "Under The Gun", but this one is utilising good chorus line.

"Wasted Sunsets" is a ballad that tried to be the next "Soldier Of Fortune", and it failed miserably.

The remaining three tracks are the highlights. Hm ,how interesting. They are the album's most progressive efforts too. "Knocking At Your Back Door" is a good one with very nice intro, and interesting section somewhere in the middle of the song. "Perfect Strangers" is a good tune, hands down. Good songwriting, solid tune with clever developing and arrangements, a touch of contemporary (eighties) production, but just a little bit, overall result is very pleasant listening. "A Gypsy's Kiss" is a fast pace hard-rock with vocals that sound like a cat's claw tearing a pantyhose. But guitar solos are just gorgeous. Proggy? No, Gypsy!

At the end of the day, this album is somewhere between "Stormbringer" and "The House Of Blue Light" sound-wise, songwriting-wise and quality-wise. And time-wise, but that doesn't matter.

It's good, but not good enough for you, so don't bother.