Album of the Week #312: Billy Squier - Don't Say No (1981)

In 1981 a new artist burst onto the scene, OK new to me because I didn’t know about Piper or his debut album at the time… Billy Squire’s entrance into superstardom was massive. The Stroke had captivated FM radio and every teen boy since then has serenaded their girlfriends relentlessly with its inspiring lyrics. OK, I kid (or do I?), but it was fun and it rocked. We were coming out of the Disco era, New Wave and Punk were fading and glam rock hadn’t quite yet taken hold. So in 1980-81 we had Rock! It was a magical time in my opinion. And while music was transitioning so was I, going from Junior High to High School, from a bike to a car, from home bound to fancy freedom! And job for spending cabbage! The singles coming from this album onto rock radio were relentless… The Stroke, In The Dark, My Kinda Lover, Lonely is the Night, and the deep album cuts were heard blasting from every other car on the cruise! Right on the heels of this album Squier released Emotions In Motion, another unqualified smash! These two albums, and some could argue the follow up to this one was just as good, were a major part of the soundtrack of our youth and certainly worthy of reliving as your Album Of The Week….

Billy Squier
Don’t Say No
1981

In the Dark
The Stroke
My Kinda Lover
You Know What I Like
Too Daze Gone
Lonely Is the Night
Whadda You Want from Me
Nobody Knows
I Need You
Don't Say No

Squier asked Brian May of Queen to produce his second album Don't Say No. May declined due to scheduling conflicts, but he recommended Reinhold Mack who had produced one of Queen's albums, The Game. Squier and Mack went on to produce Don't Say No. The album became a smash, with the lead single "The Stroke" becoming a hit all around the world, hitting the Top 20 in the US and reaching top 5 in Australia. "In The Dark" and "My Kinda Lover" were successful follow-up singles. Squier became popular on the new MTV cable channel as well as on Album Rock radio. Don't Say No reached the Top Five and lasted well over two years on Billboard's album chart, eventually selling over 4 million copies in the US alone. Squier noted in an In the Studio interview that aired the week of July 27, 1992 that "the label didn't even want 'The Stroke' on the album."

After turning some heads with his debut, Billy Squier truly arrived with 1981's Don't Say No, which kicks off in spectacular fashion with the triple opening salvo of "In the Dark," "The Stroke," and "My Kinda Lover" -- all of which become staples at rock radio. The album is a near-perfect example of early-'80s melodic hard rock, and even less enduring (but hardly inferior rockers) such as "You Know What I Like" and "Lonely Is the Night" keep up the intensity. And Squier also finds time for the occasional ballad, like the disarmingly gentle "Nobody Knows." Completists may want to review his mid-'90s double-disc anthology, but as far as studio albums are concerned, Don't Say No is undoubtedly his best