AMG Review of We Are the '80s

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

Although it isn't as comprehensive as the first Loverboy compilation, 1994's Loverboy Classics: Their Greatest Hits -- it's a full four tracks shorter -- Loverboy's entry in VH1 Classic/Legacy's We Are the '80s series nevertheless serves up the quintet's biggest hits in chronological order, beginning with 1981's "Turn Me Loose" and ending with 1986's "Heaven in Your Eyes." Not all of the band's charting hits are here -- the early album rock hits "Lucky Ones" and "Take Me to the Top" are absent, as are the late-'80s singles "Notorious" and "Too Hot" -- but all the singles that are familiar to Top 40 listeners and MTV viewers are here, including "Working for the Weekend," "The Kid Is Hot Tonite," "When It's Over," "Hot Girls in Love," "Queen of the Broken Hearts," "Lovin' Every Minute of It," and lead singer Mike Reno's duet with Ann Wilson on "Almost Paradise (Love Theme from 'Footloose')." This will be all that most listeners will need, and truth be told, even if it's shorter than Classics, the concise nature of We Are the '80s makes it more fun than its predecessor.