siLLy puPPy Although BILLY SQUIER was able to tour with KISS with his previous band Piper, their career never managed to take off and he decided to go it alone thus releasing his solo debut album THE TALE OF THE TAPE in 1980. He indeed got a lot more attention on his own as the single “You Should Be High Love” got radio play and although this album didn't break any records in the sales department it still managed to spend a couple months on the Billboard albums chart.

This album pretty much showcases what Billy was famous for namely strong catchy pop rock songs that have an AOR appeal and anthem arena rock possibilities. “The Big Beat” begins as a catchy no nonsense sing-about-nothing track that for some reason caught on as the most sampled song in hip-hop history. The catchy pop rock songs continue throughout the album and all is good until we get to tracks like “Who's Your Boyfriend,” which is a re-recorded track that was actually on a Piper album. This song and the ridiculously bad “The Music's Alright” with a never-ending stream of la-la-la's at the end totally derail the flow and leave this album sagging way down towards the end.

BILLY SQUIER was first and foremost a pop star with a hard rock edge so any comparisons to more talented guitar players and rock groups shouldn't even be considered. This is simple stuff. The lyrics are fairly bland never really delving into anything deeper than what you would expect from an AOR act, however Billy really knew how to make a poetic outcry out of the most mundane every day events. I''ve always found his music to be interesting in the songwriting department and despite some totally lame tracks here and there the ones that begin the album are quite melodic and rally up the urge for a sing-along session.

Best tracks “The Big Beat,” “Calley Oh,” “Like I'm Lovin' You” and “You Should Be High, Love.”