Survivor - Eye of the Tiger (CD)

All Music Guide

1982 was an interesting year for mainstream rock. We were still a few years away from the charttopping pop metal bands, and a few years removed from the oftindulgent ‘70s rock era. As a result, we were left with an era that was mostly populated by bands that wore headbands and largely modeled their sound after Foreigner. In other words bands that attempted to appeal to both the pop and rock audiences, by combining arenaworthy choruses and tough guitar riffs, topped off with a healthy scoop of melody. A perfect example would be Survivor, and their third release overall, ‘Eye of the Tiger.' With the group's first two releases barely causing a ripple on the charts, it was ‘Tiger' that catapulted the band to the top, thanks to the chart topping title track, which was used as the theme song to the hit movie, ‘Rocky III,' the same year. Despite this, the ‘Eye of the Tiger' album is often overlooked, even though it almost topped the charts as well (peaking at 2). The reason for this was whil...e the group managed to appeal to both aforementioned audiences as evidenced by the Zeppelinesque "Hesitation Dance" and the power ballad "I'm Not That Man Anymore" nothing here really scales the same height as the title track. But as a memento of mainstream rock circa the early ‘80s, ‘Eye of the Tiger' is a faithful snapshot. - Greg Prato, All Music Guide Read more Less