Great Songs from My Favorite Year in Music: 1985, Part 54

The Alarm - "Strength"



(Single Release: 1985)
The Alarm has been unfairly bashed as a U2 knockoff, but in reality, or to complete the reference, in absolute reality, they paralleled U2's career. Yet while U2's rise was meteoric, The Alarm's was anemic, at least in the States. Yet, they had a hardcore fanbase that loved them every bit as much, if not more, than their Irish counterparts. I don't know which band I like more. I don't know that I have even compared them as much as others do. But, I must admit, "Strength" is probably one of the band's more U2-like compositions, at least sonically. Yet, though The Alarm shared U2's big arena sound and political themes, found in such songs as "68 Guns," "Blaze of Glory," "Marching On," and "Unsafe Building," this song, that possibly sounded most like U2, was a plea for company, for companionship, for rescue from a world of loneliness. I suppose if one were trying to find the political meaning in everything, one could find a message of socialism, but I doubt that's what's happening here. Instead, this is an open-hearted plea for love, in which our narrator lets us know that he is emotional, can cry, is terribly lonely, and is looking for a way out. And yet, it is sung with so much fire and passion that one could easily make a mistake of misinterpretation, merely based on the sound and the title. The same could be said for other songs, such as "The Spirit of '76," a song in which Mike Peters, the lead singer, remembers the friends of his past. In other words, it is more like "The Summer of 69" than a song about rebellion. After all, The Alarm is made up of two Englishmen and two Welshmen. What would they care about America's battle for independence, other than to present a differing side? Even that is a stretch at this point in history. Anyway, I got a chance to see The Alarm play in 1988, a year after the release of their album, Eye of the Hurricane. It was held in the small gymnasium of a private college in San Diego and was thus somewhat of an intimate affair. It is a show I will always remember, and the performance of "Strength" a particular strong memory.

Highlights from My Vinyl Collection, Part 2

This is the second installment of "Highlights from My Vinyl Collection," an appreciation of great music, not necessarily rare finds or expensive imports. This is not about "deleted Smiths singles and original, not rereleased - underlined - Frank Zappa albums," as Rob Gordon so eloquently put it.



The Alarm - Eye of the Hurricane

Some people may peg the Alarm as a lesser man's U2, but I am not some people. Sure, there are similarities in their four-piece, American folk rock inspired earnestness, and their occasional foray into topics of social justice, but the Alarm explored other nooks and crannies. "The Stand," for instance, the first hit single from their debut EP, was inspired by and recounts plot points from the Stephen King novel of the same name. "68 Guns" was based on a book about Glasgow street gangs in the 1960s. Religion and revolution were consistent themes throughout the Alarm's discography and 1987's Eye of the Hurricane was no different. With titles like "Newtown Jericho" and "Hallowed Ground," there is no doubt that this Welsh band was still devout. But the more mainstream tracks, like the single "Rain in the Summertime," reminded everyone that this anthemic guitar band could stand alongside their contemporaries and heroes with ease. Not only did they end up touring with U2, but opened for Bob Dylan. I found this beauty for $1.99. I know that it isn't valuable to most, thus it's low price, but it was and is worth so much more than that to me. I saw the Alarm play in San Diego back on March 22, 1988 on this tour and I'll never forget it.