The Final Frontier

by Ed RivadaviaAfter achieving moderate success with The Right to Rock, Keel returned to the studio with Kiss' Gene Simmons in the producer's chair for its third album, 1986's The Final Frontier. The record was a small improvement over its predecessor, and eventually reached gold status with the help of a cover of Patty Smith's "Because the Night" and the power ballad "Tears of Fire." Still, much of Keel's material is cliché-ridden mid-'80s pop-metal, with generic jock lyrics and muscular riffs. Even high-profile guest appearances by such stars as Joan Jett and Michael Des Barres on "Raised on Rock," "Arm and a Leg," and "Rock and Roll Animal" barely keep things interesting.