The Seventy Sevens: All Fall Down (1984)

Tracks:

1. Ba Ba Ba Ba
2. Under the Heat
3. Mercy Mercy
4. You Don't Scare Me
5. Make a Difference Tonight
6. Caught in an Unguarded Moment
7. Someone New
8. Something's Holding On
9. Your Pretty Baby
10. Another Nail

By 1984, the Seventy Sevens had transitioned into a full-fledged 80s New Wave band.  Mike Roe was now sporting heavy stage makeup and leather pants, they had a new drummer in Aaron "A-Train" Smith, and their second album All Fall Down was a survey of all that was popular in the clubs and dance halls of the day.  On first listen, it seems that the synths have taken over the guitars as the opening track "Ba Ba Ba Ba" (obviously the successor to "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da") floats over a bed of ethereal oscillator tones as Roe intones the catchy monosyllabic chorus.  "Under the Heat" takes it a step further, sounding almost like neo-prog with its sinister keyboard licks, jerky rhythm and stadium-ready shouted title.  "Caught in an Unguarded Moment" is Cure-like, with Roe even intoning the words with a crisp English accent, and "Something's Holding On" rides a pleasant melody to a smooth humming background.  They've certainly retained the pop instincts of the first album and dressed them in bright pink stripes.  

But the band can't keep itself from rocking, and it's when they slip into frenetic rockabilly and blues mode that they come up with their best stuff.  The two big winners on the record are "Mercy Mercy" and "You Don't Scare Me."  The former song is a two-and-three-quarter minute stomp that features a chanted chorus (soon to be a Roe staple) and quick, chicken-pickin' rock riffs as Mike begs the Lord for a reprieve from his fever.  The latter song goes the long blues jam route, set up by a highly-processed bass pattern from Volz and some effects-driven noises from Roe's Stratocaster.  The song goes on for almost six minutes and again sets a precedent that would also become a band trademark.  The bold take on the 23rd Psalm kicks into double time right at the end with a few harmonica notes for good measure.

All Fall Down is a snapshot of a band in transition: Moving from hard rock power to a smoother, more modern sound, but still maintaining its bluesy swagger.  In the end, the swagger would take the center stage as the keyboards would settle in to the background and Roe's guitar would become more central to the band's sound.