Tough It Out

by Sharon MawerThree years after the release of their first album, Indiscreet, FM released Tough It Out in 1989. The bandmembers were the same as on the first album but the major difference this time was that the songs were not solely written by the band; they brought in Desmond Child, better known for his work with Bon Jovi on the album Slippery When Wet. Although Child only collaborated on three songs, his influence can be heard on songs where he wasn't involved in writing. The opening track, "Tough It Out," although unmistakably FM, has a more polished edge to it than tracks on the first album. Of the three singles released from the album, only the first one, "Bad Luck," involved Desmond Child and this charted highest, reaching number 54. The other two, "Someday (You'll Come Running)" and "Everytime I Think of You," reached highs (if one could call them that) of 64 and 73 respectively. The album built on the first, but in the three years since 1986, music tastes had changed and the soft rock/AOR genre was not as popular as it once was. The album did break into the Top 40, reaching a high of 34, but it only appeared on the charts for two weeks. This was to be their last chart entry.