Premonition

HOW DO YOU COMPARE SURVIVOR WITH DAVE BICKLER OR JIMI JAMISON??? YOU CANT, THEY ARE 2 DIFFERENT BANDS... THE ORIGINAL SURVIVOR HAS HARDER EDGED SONGS AND JIMI JAMISON HAD THE BIGGEST HITS & THE BALLADS... I THINK CAUGHT IN THE GAME IS THE BEST DAVE BICKLER ALBUM RECORDED... EVERY SONG IS GOOD FROM BEGINNING TO END, THERE ARE NO FILLERS ON THIS ALBUM, CAIUGHT IN THE CAME WAS THE FIRST DAVE BICKLER ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT, I HAD MY DOUBTS AS I HAD JUST BEEN INFECTED WITH VITAL SIGNS, AND BOY WAS I WRONG CAUGHT INTHE GAME WAS A GREAT ALBUM, I LOVED IT INSTANTLY... I HAVE READ ALOT OF REVIEWERS WHO FAVOR JACKIE DONT GO, AS THEIR FAVORITE, I HAVE TO AGREE ON THIS ONE... BUT AGAIN I CANT SINGLE OUT 1 SONG AS BEING BETTER THAN ANOTHER... I NEVER STOPPED LOVING YOU, READY FOR THE REAL THING, WHAT DO YOU REALLY THINK?, HALF LIFE ALL GREAT SONGS, AND JUST AS GOOD AS JACKIE DONT GO, THE HARD ROCKIN TITLE SONG CAUGHT IN THE GAME... THIS IS A MUST FOR ALL SURVIVOR FANS...

Way back when, actor Sylvester Stallone was smart enough to ask Survivor to write a pumped-up theme song for

Survivor just puts out good albums with catchy well done lyrics and music - hard to find the words.

Survivor is the most under-rated band in history. Ask most people who they are and you get the same response. They sang Eye of the Tiger. However, that wasnt the only song they ever sang!! These guys were true American rock, before the age of MTV. Bands who write and play their own music are always higher on my list. Jim Peteriks song writing was awesome and Frankie Sullivans guitar playing was perfection. I agree they were better with Dave Bickler, but I think it was more because that time period was their original music when they were new and fresh. Over time, the well of great tunes seems to dry up, it happens to everyone.

Sounds perfect! Remember hearing this on my brother inlaws klipsch horns. Awesome!

This release definitely shows more maturity and songwriting prowess than the first album. Cuts like Runway Lights, Poor Mans Son, Summer Nights and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter are some of the better cuts, but all are first-rate. I regret that in my area of the country there was no promotion of this album when it was first released, so it took all these years and the internet to stumble upon this great album.

I have to say this is probably the most consistent Survivor album and Ive heard them all in the Peterik years. Not a bad track on it. The lead track Chevy Nights is a little cheesey just because to the title/chorus but still solid. The ballads are excellent. Of course if you dont like ballads you probably wont agree. There are a handful so if they are not your thing beware (Hearts a Lonely Hunter, Light of a Thousand Smiles, Runway Lights) I had this on LP as a teen and dont remember liking it as much as I do hearing it on remastered cd. Its generally the other way round. You hear something years later and think wow this is bad. Not the case. Summer Nights is total Journey and Runway Lights sounds very much like Lights off of the Styx album Cornerstone. Even in the harmonizing. Take You on a Saturday is a very good rock song as is the hit Poor Mans Son. Totally forgot about Love is on My Side. Another solid rocker. All in all great blend of rockers and ballads that make a truly standout ALBUM. Highly recommended!

Chevy Nights, from the Premonition LP, was one of the first Survivor songs to get airplay. Its still a favorite. One story has it that Sylvester Stallone loved Premonition (especially the song Poor Mans Son) and became a Survivor fan, eventually asking the band to write a song for his new Rocky movie; Eye of the Tiger, probably the bands biggest hit, turned out to be that song. Survivor guitarist Jim Peterik was a member of The Ides of March, which had a #2 hit in 1970 with Vehicle.

It seems all of us Survivor fans have our favorites, huh? I really enjoy this CD, but I cant quite put it up there with their first one, Eye Of The Tiger, or Caught In The Game. I bought the Premonition record back in college. Im not sure when I bought it relative to their other material, but it was definitely after Eye Of The Tiger, Vital Signs, and Survivor, and possibly after When Seconds Count and Caught In The Game. It was either right before or right after I got a CD player, and since this was on record, it was at a disadvantage. I found it in the bargain bin, just like I found the debut record. I had been floored by the debut album, so I had high expectations for this one. I had heard Take You On A Saturday before, since it was the B-side to the Eye Of The Tiger single. I played the record, thought it was pretty good, but not as good as the first one. And I didnt put this one on a tape for the car, and I didnt play it as much since I was playing more CDs than records back then, and I kinda forgot about it until recently. Since it is now on CD, I figured it would be a good way to complete my Survivor collection. I bought the debut CD a couple of weeks before buying this one (along with Caught In The Game), and Ive been playing all my Survivor CDs ever since then. This one definitely has more of the signature Survivor sound than the first one, and its pretty close to Eye Of The Tiger and Caught In The Game. The main reason I put this one below the others is because to me this one lacks multiple songs that are really great. Take You On A Saturday is my favorite - it really rocks - but its the only one on this disc that would be on my list of all-time favorite Survivor songs. I would really give this CD 4.5 stars, but what the heck, Ill give it five because I really do like Survivor, and this is a good CD. I just never gave the record enough of a chance to grow on me years ago. If you like Eye Of The Tiger, which is the most likely album that most non-die-hard Survivor fans would have from the pre Vital Signs era, chances are youll like this too. If youre just starting to build a Survivor collection, Id start with either Eye Of The Tiger or one of the greatest hits CDs to see if you like the Dave Bickler era material. If so, then Id get this one once you know you like Eye Of The Tiger and Caught In The Game. Also get the debut CD - it doesnt have exactly the same sound as Premonition or the other two, but it is really good.

I remember hearing Poor Mans Son on the radio in 1981 and wondering who that was, really liking it. Id never heard of Survivor and would not hear of them again - until the next year. 1982s Eye Of The Tiger was a huge hit, as well all know. What we all seem to miss is the original issue dates of these albums; Premonition was released *before* Eye Of The Tiger. It was *re-issued* after Eye hit it big. If you find the LPs, look at the release numbers on them - Premonition came first. Yet many fans thing it was the second album. Thanks to some good San Francisco rock station, which has long since gone blander than tofu and/or been bought by Clear Channel, I *knew* who Survivor was, sort of, when they made it big. So, it was neat to see a case of commercial redemption, where a band was able to follow on a hit album by re-issuing their earlier material after it was ignored. Premonition is mandatory in any Survivor fans collection. Its raw-edged David Bickler stuff. It manages to capture a great deal of the teen male angst that they tried to appeal to. While its not the work of art that Foreigner was, it belongs next to it.