Day 437 - Idle Cure - Breakaway

437. Idle Cure - Breakaway
from the Album Idle Cure
(Frontline, 1986)

"Heavier and 'cooler' than Petra, but not metal; the popular phrase 'men of their time' fits Idle cure better then most. Sure, the Def Leppard, Foreigner rock was for a specific era and many judge too harshly the time. What can’t be mistaken, though, is the fact that for the time, this album was pure gold. Great rockers mixed with radio ready ballads were the perfect hit combination. This formula was worked for optimum success by producer Bill Baumgart.

Enough keyboards to keep the record from straying into the big hair metal category and diversity in arrangements allowed for constant repeated listening. What was strayed from was the songwriting formula. Toned down verses, big hooky choruses, massive wall of sound backing vocals and tasty, just heavy enough guitars. Foreigner, Bon Jovi and the rest understood how this worked and so did Idle Cure.

The first ballad, Take It, was Frontline’s first big radio hit I believe. The Chicago influenced ballad would also be one of the first 'background tapes' the company would have to produce as people wanted to sing the song during church. Six of the eight songs were rockers and two ballads. Again, the perfect formula for hit records. But it really boiled down to just how good the songs actually were." (Source: CCM's Greatest Albums)

Take It wasn't as big a hit as Take It but I think it is a better song and more indicative of what the band sounded like. Perhaps it was a bit too heavy for Christian Radio in the mid 80s. Here is original studio released music video for the song: