The Arrows were a Canadian melodic rock band who formed in 1981. After the release of their debut EP they signed a deal with A & M Records and their resulting 1984 album was quite successful in their home country with the song “Meet Me In The Middle” making the Top 40. Their first release, a four track EP, was titled ‘Misunderstood’. After they had completed a tour with Chris de Burgh they commenced work on this their second album, which was released in 1985. Produced by David Tyson and mixed by a certain Bob Rock it generated three singles which gained considerable airplay in Canada, but for various reasons the band called it quits in 1986. This is the first time that the album has been made available on CD and it really is a blast from the past in that if you played this to anyone and asked them to guess the decade the only possible answer would be the Eighties.
Imagine Go West with some Huey Lewis and that is what we have here – bubblegum pop with that distinctive Eighties sound (and those awful drums that everyone in pop seemed to use). There is some Kajagoogoo style bass, and some very dated keyboards along with vocals that just drip honey and sugar. Although I did purchase the Go West debut album at the time, it was a moment of weakness and I don’t have it anymore – honest! So when I played this the first time the other night I felt that I had been transported back into an era of shoulder pads and big hair and everything else I didn’t understand about that decade. If you are in for some very retro sounds, then this is for you, otherwise leave well alone.
www.yesterrock.com
