Into the Fire is cut from the same cloth as Barnet Dogs and is perhaps even slicker, thanks to the introduction of synthesizers.

It is, however, a bit more varied than the single-minded Barnet Dogs, finding space for the power ballad "Where Do We Go from Here" and the soft rock "Strangers," which suggests the hits he'd soon have writing for America.

This alone brings some welcome variety to Into the Fire, but Ballard also dabbles with arena power-pop on "Here Comes the Hurt" -- by some measure the best, radio-friendly cut here -- a piano-pumping New Wave rocker called "I Will Be There," and the gonzo mock-disco of "Don't Go to Soho," which is genuinely bizarre.

Elsewhere, the record sounds like a genetically engineered hybrid of Loverboy, Aldo Nova, and Billy Joel -- a blast of 1981 that's a garish and occasionally fun time capsule.