''Rhythm Romance'' is the fifth album by

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

-based

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

the Romantics The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit, Michigan. The band's music is often categorized as power pop and new wave. They were influenced by 1950s American rock and roll, Detroit's MC5, the Stooges, early Bob Seger, Mo ...

, released on

Nemperor Records Nemperor Records was an American jazz and pop music record label active from 1974 to 1986. It was distributed by Atlantic Records from 1974 to 1977 and then Columbia Records, CBS Records from 1978 until the label was absorbed by subsidiary Epic ...

in 1985. It peaked at No. 72 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Critical reception

On ''Rhythm Romance'', the Romantics had moved further away from their

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

roots towards more

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

. In a retrospective review for

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, Chris Woodstra opined that the band had become "full-fledged

arena rock Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences. As hard rock ...

ers complete with a big ultraslick production... and an utterly forgettable batch of songs." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' called it "another likably dumb batch of pop songs culminating in a credibly rootsy version of "

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

Track listing

All tracks written by

Wally Palmar Volodymyr Palamarchuk (born April 27, 1953), known professionally as Wally Palmar, is an American musician best known as a founding member and lead singer of the Detroit rock band the Romantics. Early life Palmar was born and raised in the Detr ...

, Coz Canler and Mike Skill, except where noted.

Personnel

;The Romantics *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

* Coz Canler –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Mike Skill –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, guitar, backing vocals * David Petratos –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, backing vocals ;Additional personnel *

Peter Solley Peter Solley (19 October 1948 – 16 November 2023) was an English musician and record producer. He recorded with Eric Clapton, Al Stewart and Whitesnake, as well as producing records for Ted Nugent, Oingo Boingo, Motörhead, The Romantics, Jo ...

– keyboards,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, mixing * Gordon Fordyce – production, engineer, mixing * The Romantics – co-production, cover concept * David Axelbaum – assistant engineer * Ted Stein – assistant engineer * Mike Fuller – mastering * Chris Austopchuk – art direction * Larry Williams – cover photography

References

1985 albums The Romantics albums {{1980s-pop-rock-album-stub