Replacing singer
Dave Bickler with former
Cobra vocalist
Jimi Jamison paid off for
Survivor, giving them three Top 20 singles from
Jamison's debut on 1984's
Vital Signs. His high harmonies, added to the group's well-maintained keyboard/guitar style, threw them into the ring with bands like
Styx and
Foreigner. Both
"High on You" and
"I Can't Hold Back" are built on congenial
rock charm with an AOR dressiness, using the synthesizer to guide
Jamison's energetic singing. Along the same lines as
Journey's
"Open Arms," the delicate but sternly sung
ballad "The Search Is Over" gave them a number four single in May of 1985, bettered only by the number two placing of
"Burning Heart" from the
Rocky IV soundtrack a year later. Outside of the singles, the other songs on
Vital Signs keep up with the band's effective formula, a much better effort than 1983's
Caught in the Game, which lacked both enthusiasm and
rock magnetism. Though a hits package from
Survivor would cover most essentials,
Vital Signs works best as the band's most spirited studio release. ~ Mike DeGagne
![Band on the Run [50th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602455435651_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Band on the Run [50th Anniversary Edition]")