had long been one of the biggest bands in the world by 1980's , but this album was the first time they made a glossy, unabashed pop album, one that was designed to sound exactly like its time. They might be posed in leather jackets on the cover, but they hardly sound tough or menacing -- they rarely rock, at least not in the gonzo fashion that's long been their trademark. Gone are the bombastic orchestras of guitars and with them the charging, relentless rhythms that kept grounded even at their grandest moments. Now, when they rock, they'll haul out a clever pastiche, as they do on the tremendous a sly revival of old-time that never sounds moldy, thanks in large part to 's panache. But even that is an exception to the rule on . Usually, when they want to rock here, they wind up sounding like , as they do on 's or they sound a bit like a -conscious rocker like , as they do on the propulsive But even those are exceptions to the overall rule on , since most of the album is devoted to - blends -- best heard on the globe-conquering but also present in the unintentionally kitschy positivity anthem -- and the majestic power that became their calling card in the '80s, as they reworked the surging and the elegant numerous times, often with lesser results. So, winds up as a mixed bag, as many albums often do, but again the striking difference with this album is that it finds turning decidedly, decisively , and it's a grand, state-of-the-art circa 1980 album that still stands as one of the band's most enjoyable records. But the very fact that it does showcase a band that's turned away from and toward means that for some fans, it marks the end of the road, and despite the album's charms, it's easy to see why. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine