[Vital At Forty] -- 40 years ago*, Survivor released their fifth studio album, Vital Signs. While it was the band's fifth release, it was their first with new vocalist Jimi Jamison. Survivor's original vocalist, Dave Bickler, the one who had recorded Survivor's only previous hit (1982's "Eye of the Tiger" for Rocky III); he had left the band after having surgery to treat polyps on his vocal cords.
And switching out vocalists turned out in Survivor's favor, as Jamison's higher register worked well with the band's style. I mean, they had been slowly sliding more toward the pop end of the (AOR) rock spectrum anyway. So, Vital Signs ended up as the band's second most successful album (it's hard to top an album driven by a successful Rocky film). It peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200, and it also launched three top 20 singles: "I Can't Hold Back", "High on You", and "The Search Is Over" which peaked at #13, #8, and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively. A fourth single, "First Night" didn't dent Billboard's top 40, but still managed to climb to #53.
In hindsight, I might consider Vital Signs somewhat saccharine. But it is also energetic, sincere, and a touchpoint in my own record collection. Now, you might not get energetic and sincere from the singles. So, I direct you to "Broken Promises", "Popular Girl" (I'm still not sure how this did not become a TV or film theme song), "It's the Singer, Not the Song", and maybe even "I See You in Everyone" – that's almost the entirety of Side B, which I do recall spinning on repeat back in the day, and the last song on Side A. Make of that what you will.
*AOTY cites August 1, 1984, as the release date. Other sources, such as Wikipedia, cite September 1984. Still others simply list 1984.
Flashback: Vital Signs. (August 1, 1984)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I'll see you in seven!
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