THE MOTELS: "All Four One"

Original released on LP Capitol ST-12177

(US 1982, April 24)

The Motels' third album "All Four One" finds the group working the fine line between mainstream arena-rock and quirky new wave pop. Their roots lie in the sleek, polished Californian hard rock that dominated late-'70s and early-'80s album-oriented radio, but "All Four One" has a shiny new wave production, complete with keyboards and processed guitars. Still, it plays like arena rock, especially since Martha Davis oversings each track, but its best moments - "Take the L" (out of lover and it's over) and the single "Only the Lonely" - are embarrassingly catchy guilty pleasures that make the album an entertaining nostalgia piece. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)