Genre: rock
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title:  No Time for Heroes
Company: Polydor
Catalog: 821 834-4
Year: 1984
Country/State: UK/Germany
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: German pressing; x's next to track listing
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 6379
Price: $20.00

1984's "No Time For Heroes" marked Lake's first new studio set in three years; a new label (Polydor), and introduced what was basically a new lineup. This time around drummer Dieter Ahrendt, longtime singer James Hopkins-Harrison, and guitarist Achim Opperman were augmented by newcomers Thomas Bauer on keyboards and sax, lead guitarist Bernd Gertig, and bass player Josef Kappl. Produced by John Groves and the band (former keyboardist Geoffrey Peacey engineered the recording sessions), musically the album found the band seemingly trying to find a balance between a return their mid-1970s blend of top-40 pop-rock and light progressive moves and opting for a more audience friendly brand of mid-1980s AOR. While you certainly couldn't begrudge Lake for wanting to enjoy renewed commercial success, slathered in cheesy synthesizers and an occasional nod to dance clubs ('Lady Divine'), a couple of tracks brought them awfully close to vapid studio hack status - you're liable to find yourself thinking of Pablo Cruise, or even Toto when listening to 'Heroes'. At least to my ears, they were much more enjoyable on tracks like 'Tell Me Why' and 'Lorraine' when dialing down the updated sounds in favor of a more streamlined pop-rock orientation. As lead-vocalist and lyricist, Hopkins-Harrison remained the prime draw. His weird voice has always fascinated me - how often do you hear an English guy who sounds like he's singing with a German accent ? Technically he wasn't the greatest singer you've ever heard, but when he got going, the man could inject considerable energy into the proceedings. Nothing wrong with the rest of the band, though some of the 1980s production effects haven't aged all that well.
- Even though the sax-powered opening made it sound like a slice of adult contemporary pop, when it shifted into gear 'Continental Vagabond' served as a nice reminder of the band's knack for catchy melodies mixed with a slightly harder rock sound. Yeah, the title and lyrics apparently lost something in the translation, but the melody was highly commercial and if you weren't careful you were liable to find yourself singing the hook. rating: **** stars
- With guitarist Achim Opperman handling lead vocals, 'Dreams In The Nigh' was a mid-tempo AOR ballad. Technically Opperman may actually have had a better voice than Hopkins-Harrison, but he also had a much heavier accent so the results kind of balanced themselves out. Pretty song, but maybe a touch too radio friendly for their own good. Yes, it was released as a German single (see below). rating: *** stars.
- Perhaps the album's most overtly commercial track, 'Tell Me Why' had a breezy, top-40-ish melody and one of Hopkins-Harrison's most assured vocals. Lightweight and fun with some wonderful backing vocals ... rating: **** stars
- Kicked along by Josef Kappl's bass and some gurgling synthesizers, 'Heroes' exhibited a curious reggae-tinged rhythm with an AOR feel arrangement dumped on top of it. Strange mash-up that didn't do a great deal for me, though lots of folks seem to think it was one of the album highlights. rating: ** stars
- As much as I loved Hopkins-Harrison's weird voice, he simply couldn't save a faceless AOR track like 'Never Say Never'. This one sounded like it was literally stitched together from a slew of then current sources including a touch of AOR, a dollop of dance music, and even a little bit of progressive influences. It was also one of those songs that really suffered from an extremely dated mid-1980s production sound - what was with the flat drums ??? rating: ** stars
- Penned by Opperman 'Instrumental No #1' was in fact a jazz-rock flavored instrumental that would probably appeal to folks into that particular genre. Some nice lead guitar and the classical tinge reminded me a bit of an up-tempo Focus song, but otherwise it didn't do a great deal for me. rating: ** stars
- AOR, but quality AOR !!! Yeah, 'Johnny Don't Go' was kind of generic, but it had a breezy melody and would have sounded good on top-40 radio. rating: *** stars
- 'Lorraine' was simply a fun pop-rock song with one of the album's best hooks. Nothing more; nothing less. rating: *** stars
- Obviously autobiographical, 'Scotsman' managed to mix up a bit of rap, bagpipes, and a Big Country-styled anthem. You wouldn't think mixture would amount to much, but it somehow worked, standing as the album's goofiest and simultaneously most intriguing number. rating: **** stars
- Yeah, 'Lady Divine' started out sounding like a Chic outtake and never really managed to overcome that disadvantage. rating: ** stars
- 'Fight It Together' found Lake taking a stab at Genesis-styled relevance with the usual sophmoric condemnation of mankind's foibles. Bad decision since the results came off as heavy handed, plodding, and mildly pretentious. rating: ** stars

A German single was released off the LP:



- 1984's 'Dreams In he Night' b/w 'Instrumental No. 1' (Polydor catalog number 821835-7)

A surprisingly assured comeback, that hardly anyone noticed ... good luck finding copies of the album since nobody bothered to pick up American distribution.

"No Time for Heroes" track listing:
(side 1)1.) Continental Vagabond (Achim Opperman - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 4:32
2.) Dreams In The Night (Achim Opperman - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 4:11
3.) Tell Me Why (Achim Opperman - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 3:42
4.) Heroes (Josef Kappl - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 3:59
5.) Never Say Never (Josef Kappl - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 4:20

(side 2)
1.) Instrumental No #1 (instrumental) (Achim Opperman) - 3:50
2.) Johnny Don't Go (Thomas Bauer - Achim Opperman - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 4:12
3.) Lorraine (Thomas Bauer - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 3:21
4.) Scotsman (Thomas Bauer - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 4:11
5.) Lady Divine (Thomas Bauer - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 3:16
6.) Fight It Together (Josef Kappl - James Hopkins-Harrison) - 4:07