Survivor - Premonition
#391
By John Harrington Bland
August 1981
Survivor
Premonition
Genre: Rock
Allen’s Rating: 2.5 out of 5
John’s Rating: (Jesus Christ, I don’t know how to rate this one.
My 14-year-old self: 1
My 53-year-old self: 3.5)
Highlights:
Chevy Nights
Summer Nights
Ah, Chicago rock’n’roll. Styx. Cheap Trick (okay, Rockford). The eponymous Chicago. And… Survivor.
To me, Survivor means one song and one song only -- 1982’s “Eye of the Tiger”, which spent 6 weeks at No. 1 in the summer of my 14th year. Also known as the theme song to “Rocky 3” (the one with Mr. T, not the one with Dolph Lundgren). Also also known as the “Montage Song” used whenever a down-and-out hero needs that overnight third-act transformation (parodied brilliantly in “Wet Hot American Summer”).
Outside of that, I don’t know dick about them. (Funnily enough, while researching this, I discovered that they had some massive hits in the mid-80s -- “I Can’t Hold Back”, “The Search Is Over” -- that I clearly remember hearing during my high school days and nights. But I swear to God I thought those songs were done by other bands. Which is kinda the problem I have with Survivor.)
“Premonition” predates all of those hits. It was their second studio album, after 1980’s “Survivor”.
“Chevy Nights” -- I dig this one. Nice opener. I can imagine listening to this down at the beach. Summertime song.
“Summer Nights” -- Another summertime song, but I’ve heard this before. I thought it was Journey.
“Poor Man’s Son” -- ‘I’m a poor man’s son/ working all night long…’ Springsteen lite with a hint of Queen. This is the song that prompted Sylvester Stallone to hire them to write the theme for his next movie (see above).
“Runaway Lights” -- This song screams 1981. The thrumming bass they will use to greater effect on ‘Eye of the Tiger’ is a big part of this one.
“Take You on a Saturday” -- Starts off like Kiss. Ends like Journey.
“Light of a Thousand Smiles” -- Songs with “Nights”. Songs with “Lights”. I’m beginning to see a pattern… or a songwriting limitation. This one sounds like Billy Joel with louder guitars.
“Love is on My Side” -- Starts off like Kiss. Ends like Journey.
“Heart’s a Lonely Hunter” -- Sounds like Styx. Keyboards and harmonies. Lead singer Dave Bickler sure can hit those high notes a la Steve Perry. (Well, sort of; he apparently got vocal nodules after “Eye of the Tiger” and was fired.)
It’s got a good beat, Dick. I can dance to it. That’s about all I can say about it. Will it get heavy rotation in my playlists? No, but a couple of the songs might pop up from time to time. It’s not bad at all; it’s just that other bands have done this stuff much, much better.
https://open.spotify.com/album/53hOr1HyJYXXMpPYRWdDnN?si=KVct8JEnQfOgUtvxia_reg
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