Truth be told I had my heart broken so many times as a young lad and this was the tune that got me through some pretty bad break-ups. This brings us to one of my all-time favorite ballads in the world, “Don’t Wanna Deam” will always be one of my favorite love songs on Earth, because the chorus is absolutely beautiful with the “Now I lay me down to sleep,” and the lyrics have been the narrative so many times in my life. The sexy groove of “Dance Little Sister” is no accident the band knew exactly what they were doing.and it shows. “Young Man” is Aldrich’s show from start to finish, and an anthem for rebellion. That is, when we weren’t playing hockey in the store and/or drinking wine coolers out of deli containers, and/or doing Whip-Its!! Later on, at work, I used to listen to this album in my Walkman every chance I got. I actually used to sit in my room and try to mimic him…it didn’t end well. “Next To You” has this riff that melts all defenses, and Hansen sings his ass off. Opener “Reign of Love” solidifies that within seconds, it’s a hell of a way to kick things off. I already knew that Doug Aldrich was the new guitarist in the band, but when I heard his riffs and licks combined with Kelly Hansen’s vocals, Jay Schellen’s drums, and Tony Cavazo’s bass, it was obvious this was an off-the-charts outing. So, at the start of the week I biked up to Busy Bee Flea Market looking for new music, and lo and behold there it was: HURRICANE and their new album Slave to the Thrill on cassette. My response was a resounding, “Hell Yes!!” Think about it…I didn’t have to get up early, and I was working like an adult.
With the winter break coming up my boss John asked me if I’d like to do a 40 hour week working 1-10 from Monday to Friday while I was off school. In February of 1990 I was a 16-year old kid working part-time at the local supermarket King Kullen.