Everyone loves a good melodic rock hook and this album right here has plenty of those, believe me! The reason why I titled this publication “the catchiest album you’d ever listen to” is because the whole record might as well be played on every single radio station out there, all day long and people will still be excited and singing joyfully with it. Yes, it’s that ear-pleasing, that catchy and that familiar.
Billy Squier (William Haislip Squier) is a name known by many die-hard rock fans out there, especially those who grew up in the States. I, as an European, got the chance to experience his music for the first time quite recently. The most important thing however is that those immensely captivating rhythms of classics like “The Stroke” and “In The Dark” managed to conquer me and now it’s to pass the torch to other young fans out there who must yet discover the magic of those gems. Also, it might be a good way for older rock generations to remind themselves of Billy Squier’s biggest accomplishment of his career which is of course, his 1981 album, “Don’t Say No”.
“Don’t Say No” spawned a long list of gratifying tunes that solidified its position on the Billboard album chart for over two years! This interesting fact should tell you enough about its colossal impact on the music market. Moreover, every single from “Don’t Say No”, including “In the Dark”, “Lonely Is the Night”, “My Kinda Lover” and “The Stroke” established itself as a major radio hit, playing on every station, all over the States for the entire first half of the ‘80s. Last but not least, the album sold over 3 million copies in the US alone, making it one of the most-desirable and beloved records of all time!
Now let’s talk about that hard-to-resist, hard-to-beat sound that made this album so famous back in the day. Honestly, when I heard “Don’t Say No” for the first time, I could swear it was released in the late ‘80s; it just sounded too “polished” and “radio-ready” to me. I was highly surprised when I found out that this album got out so early in the decade. It seems like it was one of those well-done, commercial releases that set the tone for the years to come. A round of applause to the famous record producer and sound engineer Reinhold Mack (a.k.a. Mack) who previously worked with big names like Deep Purple, Scorpions, Queen, ELO and countless more; he surely left his magical trace on “Don’t Say No”.
I can write plenty on how entertaining, groovy and great-sounding this album is. However, it would be way better for you guys to listen and sing along with the following tunes. The title sums it up quite well – “Don’t Say No” to this album!
“In The Dark”
“The Stroke”
“My Kind of Lover”
“Lonely is the Night”
…& don’t forget to listen to the entire album:
Release Date: April 13, 1981
Genre: AOR / Pop Rock / Hard Rock
Duration: 38:11
Label: Capitol
Producer(s): Mack and Billy Squier
MY ROCK MIXTAPES 
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