LAP OF LUXURY was an improvement upon the lackluster and even dismal records they made during the early 80s. Older fans might still be dismayed the lack of hard rock numbers here. But the focus here is on writing more polished pop/rock hooks while buffing away their rougher edges. Notably, there is a great deal of outside songwriting help from such writers as Holly Knight and Dianne Warren, which underlines the bands difficulty in coming up with the goods on their own. I'll concede that "The Flame" (written by Nick Graham and Bob Mitchell) is a well crafted ballad, but it's still a tad too twee for my own taste. Overall, the album is little more than a guilty pleasure, but I do enjoy the retro flourishes from Rick Nielsen on tracks like "Let Go", their cover of Elvis's "Don't Be Cruel" and the Leslie tones of his guitar solo on "Ghost Town". Not a bad record and just slightly better than average and probably on par with their last prior hit record, ONE ON ONE.
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