Riding high on 1982’s Rocky III hit “Eye of the Tiger” Survivor went back into the studio with guitars a-blazing ready to lift themselves up from One Hit Wonder status to real Rock N Roll Stars. Unfortunately, their planned backfired. They would have to wait until the following release Vital Signs to hit the big time.

The title track, “Caught in the Game” is one of the hardest rocking songs the band ever released. This one falls into the category of “What the hell? This should have been a hit.” Alas, it was not a hit and the album quickly fell from the charts despite other rocking tracks such as “Santa Ana Winds,” “What Do You Really Think” and I Never Stopped Loving You.”

Survivor went into survival mode after this one tanked. They soon lost their vocalist to voice related health issues and nearly escaped slipping into obscurity. The oddest thing about this album is that it is actually pretty good. Sure, it sounds like 1983 so one could say it is dated nowadays but back then this is what was on the radio. The band did indeed get caught in the game and they nearly lost. This one is worth checking out to hear that even bands that were the ‘next big thing’ can run into bad luck and have a miss with an album that should have been a hit.