Happy belated Valentine’s Day! I hope your evening was filled with flowers, chocolate, and…wholesome time spent with the one you love. What did you think I was gonna say? Anyways, I hope you’ve got some love left in you for this week’s top 10 because you’re gonna need it. That’s right, today we salute the kings of Canadian AOR, Loverboy. You may not know it, but once upon a time, these dudes filled every arena from coast to coast, and with a slew of rock radio hits in tow. “You mean to tell me there’s more than just “Working for the Weekend”?” That’s right little Johnny, there is, and the fact you even ask that question proves my point that corporate rock radio is the DEVIL. So put on your red bandanas and tightest pair of leather pants. It’s time to get “Notorious”.
10. “Wildside”
Despite being an influence on the 80s glam metal boom, 1987 saw Loverboy being overtaken by younger and prettier bands like Bon Jovi, Poison, and Whitesnake, who despite forming before Loverboy, were carefully rebranded as a “new band” thanks to Geffen’s marketing department and an army of stylists. If this was Loverboy’s last stand, they were going out with a bang, and boy did they. Although certainly an attempt to keep up with the changing musical landscape, Wildside is a top notch melodic hard rock album. The album scored two hits in “Notorious” and “Love Will Rise Your Again”, but it’s the fist-pumping, anthemic title track that takes the cake. Had the saxophone solo characteristic of early 80s AOR been replaced with a guitar solo, chances are this would’ve topped the rock charts.
9. “Friday Night”
Most don’t equate Loverboy with heavy metal, but you’d be a fool to deny the molten metal credibility of “Friday Night”. An unofficial sequel to 1981’s “Working for the Weekend”, “Friday Night” is a full throttle rager that wouldn’t have been out of place on a Krokus or Judas Priest album of the same era. The riffs, solos, and vocals capture the pent-up energy of a young maniac ready to take on the town after a week of slaving away for the man. I’m not sure why this lyrical trope lost popularity after the 80s. The message is timeless, but perhaps it’s because no musical acts of the past 30 years can touch the hedonistic, feelgood attitude of a band like Loverboy.
8. “Dangerous”
Fun fact: This song was originally titled “Reckless” and set to be released by Bryan Adams on his 1984 mega-seller of the same name. Thank God that didn’t happen. Look, I have nothing against Mr. “Summer of ’69”. In fact, his version (which would see the light of day decades later) is quite enjoyable. However, it doesn’t pack that urban, streetwise punch of Loverboy’s version. I don’t care how often revisionists try to paint Loverboy as some dorky 80s AOR relic. They were COOL, in their own unique way, and “Dangerous” bleeds cool. No, not cool in the Motörhead “I’ll kick your ass” way, or the Ozzy Osbourne “I’ll take you to hell” way, but in the Loverboy “I’ll steal your girl and ride off into the sunset on a motorcycle” way.
7. “When It’s Over”
Having established themselves in 1980 with their self titled debut and endless touring, Loverboy struck while the iron was hit in ’81 with the release of their sophomore smash, Get Lucky. The album singlehandedly broke the band on both sides of the radio dial and cemented their status as a headlining act. On the success of singles like “Working for the Weekend”, “Take Me to the Top”, and this song here, “When It’s Over”, Get Lucky indeed got lucky, selling over 4 million copies in America alone. With its slow unassuming grooves, bombastic chorus, and wall of synths, “When It’s Over” is essentially what an AI generator would create if you plugged in “1981 FM rock radio hit”. It checks all the boxes and smokes while doing so.
6. “Lucky Ones”
Remember earlier when I cited Loverboy as an early influence on glam metal? Look no further than “Lucky Ones”. If I played this for you blindly, chances are you’d confuse it for a Quiet Riot or Dokken deep cut. The riffs are tough and abrasive, as is the entire band’s delivery, but the song is still carried by those radio-friendly hooks and quirky 80s synths, the latter of which likely hindered Loverboy’s cred with the headbanging hordes. Well to those nerds I say “Too bad!” Could you imagine Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Uriah Heep without keys? Neither can I. There’s nothing wrong with tickling the ivories, especially if they add some depth and flavor to a band’s composition. On that note, I salute longtime Loverboy keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist, Doug Johnson. Thank you for your kickass performance on this song and every other on this list.
5. “Teenage Overdose”
Far from their most commercially successful outing, I’ve heard quite a few people over the years praise Loverboy’s self titled debut as their “finest hour”. While I don’t agree with the sentiment, I understand it. Loverboy is the sound of a young band finding their way, melding trendy, pulsating new wave with dark, dramatic hard rock. Even the production and feel is raw by AOR standards. No song better embodies this description than “Teenage Overdose”. Although the song is more about “overdosing on rock n’ roll” than narcotics, the title and repeated lyric about “One foot in hell.” likely set off more than a few alarms in the minds of concerned parents. What can I say? Loverboy walked so W.A.S.P. could run!
4. “This Could Be the Night”
There are power ballads, and then there is “This Could Be the Night”. This is one of those rare examples of melodic grace that ascends to an otherworldly realm of exquisiteness. It evokes that hard to explain sensation of looking outside the window of a neon-lit motel on a rainy night while the woman (or man) of your dreams lies feet away in bed; that surreal state between fantasy and reality. It’s the same emotions that are conjured while listening to any of the ballads on Foreigner’s 4 (1981) or Whitenskake’s self titled (1987). In other words, this is god tier AOR; utterly untouchable in composition, production, and delivery. No wonder it made it all the way to #10 on the Billboard Top 40. I’m only shocked it didn’t chart higher.
3. “Queen of the Broken Hearts”
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), heroin is the most addictive drug on the planet. Well unless our #3 song can be filed alongside cocaine (and it very well could be), I’m assuming the Institute hasn’t studied “Queen of the Broken Hearts”. Before clicking the link, I should warn you: Once you hear it, there’s no turning back. I should know. The chorus of this 1983 hit single off Loverboy’s third album, Keep It Up, has lived rent free in my head since I first heard it on VH1 Classic in junior high. The riffs, the vocal harmonies, the key changes (YES, KEY CHANGES! MOVE OVER PROGGERS!): Everything about this song is lethally intoxicating in the best way possible.
2. “Turn Me Loose”
In the post-disco apocalypse, artists of all genres walked among the fallout, navigating their way through the nuclear wasteland. Loverboy was no exception. Their first hit single, “Turn Me Loose”, combined a dance-floor friendly beat with brooding, subtle guitarwork, cinematic synths, and Ian Gillan-esque screams from frontman Mike Reno. It rocked hard enough for the burnouts, was catchy enough for the preps, and grooved its way onto the turntables of club and radio DJs all across America. The rhythm pocket of bassist Scott Smith (R.I.P.) and drummer Matt Frenette take home the MVP trophies on this one!
- “Lovin’ Every Minute of It”
Come the mid 80s, there was a never ending contest between AOR and glam metal bands to see who could drop the most hedonistic, happy, care-free single. “Reagonomics? Nuclear annihilation? What are you talkin’ about bro?! Have a bump!” There were many contenders. Quiet Riot’s “Cum on Feel the Noize”, KISS’s “Lick It Up”, Whitesnake’s “Slow an’ Easy”: The list goes on and on. But none of these songs come close to the reckless abandon of “Lovin’ Every Minute of It”. For one, the lyrics are completely insane, and I mean this in the nicest way possible. Just read the first verse into the pre-chorus…
“I’m not a man or machine
I’m just something in between
(Whoa-oh, whoa-whoa)
I’m all love, a dynamo
So push the button and let me go
(Whoa-oh, whoa-whoa)
Aah, you want me to come alive?
Flick the switch into overdrive
You and me can let it be
Ready (ready), aim (aim), fire”
This, my friends, is the ramblings of a man under the influence of cocaine and groupie sex. And the craziest part? It was written by a producer! Yes, Mutt Lange of AC/DC and Def Leppard fame wrote this beauty, demoed it, looked at Loverboy straight in the eye and said, “This sounds so much like you.” And he was right! Sorry, but even Leppard couldn’t have given this classic the treatment it deserved. It is forever Loverboy’s, and we are still lovin’ every minute of “Lovin’ Every Minute of It”. Come on!