Opening salvo "Victims of the Future" starts with a beautiful melodic guitar and vocal, lulling the listener in, before breaking into the heavy rock heart of the song, driving through with a great guitar riff, and driven by Ian Paice's drums and Gary's vocals. A terrific song that holds up as well today as it did thirty years ago.
"Teenage Idol" is really a bit of fluff rock, almost a pop song with ludicrous lyrics that feel like they belong in an 80's Rodney Dangerfield movie, punctuated by Gary's terrific guitar work. Honestly, if you just threw this song at me and got me to listen to it I would probably throw it back in your face. But, because I have been listening to this album since shortly after its release, and it is tied to those days, I find it to be one of those guilty please songs that you can't help but like, even though you know it really is just a little lame. Following this is an excellent cover of The Yardbirds song "Shapes of Things, where Gary really excels both vocally and on guitar.
The power ballad "Empty Rooms" is the kind of song that I really don't and shouldn't like, but Gary Moore has this way of making them unavoidably likeable, both through his excellent vocals but also the guitaring, perfectly soft and dominating in the same instance. His solo in this song is really one of his best, because it makes a soft rock ballad into a song that is more powerful than is usual for a song on this type. Just fantastic.
Side Two is kicked off by the magnificent "Murder in the Skies". The start of the song is introduced by a minute and a half of brilliant guitar shredding from Gary, showcasing his amazing talent with the instrument. It is the perfect intro before the song kicks into high gear, with a great smashing drum beat and high intensity vocals. Written about the Korean Airlines Flight 007 that was shot down by a U.S.S.R. fighter plane in September 1983, the tragedy is wonderfully highlighted by great lyrics, a terrific chorus and sensational guitaring by the man himself. This is without doubt one of his finest songs, and again shows that it is his 'protest' songs that really work the best, where he takes on a cause and memorialises it in song. One of my favourite all-time Gary Moore tracks.
It is a shame that the remainder of the album is unable to live up to this high quality song. "All I Want" reverts back to an average rock song without the sensational guitar riffs or song structure of other songs previous to this. "Hold Onto Love" feels like an attempt at a radio-friendly rock song, but lacks anything memorable in which to make it so. "Law of the Jungle" becomes a rather plodding finish to the album, a song that has both merit and potential, but seems to get bogged down with trying to be something it is not. It is not a complete loss, but it is one that more could have been done with.
Like a lot of Gary's albums, this again comes across as being a little uneven. There are the social issues songs that try to be hard hitting and as a result have the best lyrics and rhythmic heaviness, mixed with pop rock songs that seem to be looking for radio airplay. In attempting to rate this, I would say half of this is top shelf with the other half probably just average fare. Anyone listening to this for the first time in this day and age could be forgiven for dismissing it as another 80's rock album, but a more discerning listener will be able to hear what is so good about it, and why it should be classed as a much more important release than perhaps it appears on the surface. Gary's guitaring and vocals alone lift this above the average.
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