Back Into Blue

Back into Blue has Quarterflash sounding less like a rock band and more like a synth-driven dance club quartet, which makes only a couple of the tracks hook-worthy before the rest of the album comes off as predictable and tiresome. "Walking on Ice" is a charged little number with a hard thrust, making smart use of the keyboards, while "Back into Blue" is a friendly sounding love song that highlights Rindy Ross' seductive vocals. Even "Caught in the Rain" displays an attempt at tightening up the songwriting after the unsuccessful release of 1983's Take Another Picture. But after these three tracks, the album ceases to rise out of the conventional pop doldrums, with Ross and her husband sounding like they want to stay young forever. Thinly played out efforts like "Talk to Me," "Love Without a Net," and "Welcome to the City" center the band in pop limbo, without any of the riffs or spirited saxophone rides that made their first release a success. Not knowing whether to take the '80s pop route or the more mature-sounding adult contemporary path, Back into Blue ends up foreshadowing the fact that this would be their last album and that a breakup was pending. Both "Walking on Ice" and "Back into Blue" can be found on Harden My Heart: The Best of Quarterflash.