This should have been the album that put
The Alarm on the path to major stardom; instead, it marked the limits of their appeal. From the early fervor of their punk/acoustic debut, the group had evolved into more of a mainstream rock act without ever getting out from under the shadow of their mentors,
U2. In fact, here, they sound more like
U2 than ever, and now that group has ascended to superstardom, the comparison only hurts them. The single hit here is "Rain In The Summertime," an over-produced leadoff track followed by "Rescue Me" and "Presence Of Love." All three tracks got AOR radio play in the U.S., so you couldn't say
The Alarm wasn't getting exposure, especially when they were touring with
Bob Dylan. However, they just weren't getting through. [This issue of
Eye of the Hurricane adds 11 extra tracks.] ~ William Ruhlmann