"Like many, my first taste of JC&BB was the movie Eddie and the Cruisers, and the sound is as much connected to the story as it is a good stand alone sound. I first bought a tape copy of "Roadhouse" back when it first came out, and I fell in love with it immediately. The sound is even more polished than "Tough All Over" and it flows much better. From the Springsteen sound of his earlier work, melding into a compliment to Mellencamp's early work, "Roadhouse" brings the grit of living to a soulful level with such lazily rhythmic tracks as "Killing Time" or "Higher Ground". JC shows his edge better here also, with harder tracks "Bound for Glory" and The almost rockabilly "Burn the Roadhouse Down" that harkens back to the psuedo-50s sound of "Cruisers"
The sound is pure Cafferty and a beautiful compliment to the "Cruisers 2" soundtrack"
Their first post-Cobra release
William J. Eichelberger | Ft. Thomas, KY | 07/31/2000
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It broke my heart when I heard the JC & BB song on the Cobra soundtrack because I had a feeling that anything and anyone connected with that garbage movie was about to fall into a black hole. I was almost right. This isn't a bad album. Several of the songs, Bound For Glory, Song And Dance and Penetration, work well as fillers for a hits collection, but most of the other songs never quite get off of the ground. Not a bad buy if you're a big fan, but a little thin compared to the previous two albums."
Great RnR with Flow
brownjunior | Providence, Rhode Island United States | 02/03/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album is a great down to Earth Rock n' Roll album. Each song flows well into the next. Great beats, great guitars, and great music. I recommend this, and any other John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band album, to anyone who just likes pure Rock n' Roll."
Forgotten Second Work
susumu-5 | Japan | 10/16/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"John Cafferty is best known by the voice of cult band movie EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS in 1983. The soundtrack entirely performed by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown band sold more than two million copies which produced memorable hits such as ON THE DARK SIDE and TENDER YEARS. Two years later they finally made debut album of their own TOUGH ALL OVER producing two top 20 songs TOUGH ALL OVER and C-I-T-Y. The band's second album in 1988 became more earthy and so so enjoyable. Sound direction is closer to Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack. If you also listened to Eddie and the Cruisers 2 soundtrack you will find this work places as rejoinder between the two.
BOUND FOR GLORY could have been used in either of Eddie and the Cruisers soundtracks. Introduction is a bit close to Bob Seger's SHAKEDOWN. VICTORY DANCE and SONG & DANCE are nice pop songs reminding us good Ol' 60s hits. And these tracks well develops into the sound direction of their next one EDDIE CRUISERS II EDDIE LIVES soundtrack. CUSTOMARY THINGS also has some taste of 60s pop songs. I feel to honor the title and concept of the album some of the tracks should have been recorded live then the album could have been a lot better.
Verdict: So so enjoyable. But not as memorable as the rest of thier works.
Rating: 67 out of 100
Recommended for: Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack fans. Bob Seger, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen fans."