The Fixx

The Fixx's debut album, Shuttered Room, suffers from inconsistent and unmelodic songwriting, but producer Rupert Hine helps turn the group's generic new wave into engaging synth pop. Even with Hine's support, only a couple of tracks ("Red Skies," "Stand or Fall," "Shuttered Room") stand out, yet the band's clean, mechanical attack makes the record enjoyable.

The Fixx's music stood out from '80s radio, even though they shared the airwaves with numerous techno bands and new wave groups. They had an intangible quality to their lyrical flow and musical rhythm that kept them from sounding like everyone else. On One Thing Leads to Another, the indistinguishable characteristics become evident as all of their best songs are played out, making for quite an amusing compilation.

Jim Steinman (the melodramatic writer behind Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell) is the author of many of the tracks here, and they have his typical rock & roll Sturm und Drang, especially when the backup group consists of members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Also on hand are The Blasters, Maria McKee, and Ry Cooder. The album's hit single turned out to be Dan Hartman's "I Can Dream about You".