Record Collector Magazine (UK)
Issue #302 October, 2004
Joe Matera

Tale of the Tape/Don't Say No
2 CD Import

Tale of the Tape (4 stars)
Don't Say No (5 stars)

Special two-on-one release of 80s hard rocker Billy Squier's first two albums

Prior to becoming a solo artist of repute, Squier had spent time in the 70s as part of hard rockers Piper, who along with Kiss shared the same manager in Bill Aucoin. Upon Piper's demise, Squier went on to achieve US success with a string of albums through the 1980s. His debut (long since out of print) Tale of the Tape (1980) features catchy hooks, air-tight choruses and heavy licks. Squier ventures between some heavy-duty Zep riffage that is underlined with subtle bubblegum pop coating amid some Queen-esque arranging. Squier's skillful songrcraft is very much evident throughout and would provide the base from which he would finally garner chart success with its follow-up Don't Say No (1981).

That album featured a salvo of hit singles that eventually all became rock radio staples; the gloomy rock of In The Dark, the arena anthem of The Stroke, and the Zepplin-esque My Kinda Lover, would help make Don't Say No the textbook for defining 80s melodic hard rock sound, something that would later see bands like Def Leppard, Ratt and Bon Jovi hit pay dirt with on a global scale. Squier also proved you could still have commercial success playing melodic hard rock while staying true to your roots. Don't Say No is undoubtedly Squier's master-stroke.

—Joe Matera