High-energy tunes like "Mercy Mercy" and "Caught In an Unguarded Moment" or the ominous "You Don't Scare Me" are juxtaposed with downright embarassing awkward new wave posturing on "Under the Heat" or the 80s lite-pop of "Your Pretty Baby." And admittedly, some of the cool moments on this record come off as trying to be new wave - like the harmonica on "Karma Chameleon."

A few things became clear very quickly. First, Mike Roe was both an incredible songwriter and an incredible showman. Second, this was a group that could summon some incredible energy given the opportunity. And co-songsmith Mark Tootle showed significant promise as well - having both a clear ear for The Hook and a good lyrical sense (though at this stage a little dorky sometimes when it came to putting a cool song together). Cool moments abound - it just takes some patience to pull them out of the garbage.

Released with secular label A&M Records, this album reached a significantly larger audience and videos for "Mercy Mercy" and "Ba Ba Ba Ba" were both played on MTV a couple times. Drummer Mark Proctor left the group before the recording of this record to be replaced by the absolutely amazing drummer Aaron Smith, who can also be heard on most of those Temptations recordings from the 1970s.

track listing: Ba Ba Ba Ba Under the Heat Mercy Mercy You Don't Scare Me Make a Difference Tonight Caught in an Unguarded Moment Someone New Something's Holding On Your Pretty Baby Another Nail personnel: Mike Roe - guitar, lead vocals Jan Eric - bass, vocals Mark Tootle - guitar, keyboards, vocals Aaron Smith - pounding and thrashing

(l-r Aaron Smith, Mike Roe, Jan Eric, Mark Tootle)