Despite the fact that they had one of the best-selling metal albums of the '80s (1983's massive hit
Metal Health), it is probably true to say that
Quiet Riot had much more success than they ever truly deserved.
Metal Health's sales mostly derived from the band's cover of
Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noise," success arguably more credited to good timing than to musical quality. Still, despite two unsuccessful follow-ups to
Metal Health,
Quiet Riot had yet to hit rock bottom, which would finally arrive in 1988. After years of tension, the group fired their vocalist,
Kevin Dubrow, and replaced him with
Paul Shortino for QR, the band's fourth U.S. release.
Shortino sounds competent, but overall he lacks the general charisma of
Dubrow. The real problem with the album, however, is the songs themselves, which are loaded with unmemorable lyrics and melodies. By now, it was obvious that the bandmembers were not skilled songwriters, but usually they managed to place a few guilty pleasures on their past releases, which is certainly not the case here. Unfortunately, the performances on QR make the album horribly faceless; the record shows a once-popular rock group trying to retain their glory days with a handful of disgustingly generic material. Not too surprisingly, the album was a complete critical and commercial bomb, and with just cause; this is by far
Quiet Riot's weakest record of the '80s. ~ Barry Weber