Released at a time when hair metal was waning (1990), the album was a moderate success but did not reach the heights that I feel that it deserved. First track is fairly boiler plate hair metal. "Can't Get Enuff" is of course about.....sex. Singer Kip Winger sings of his addiction to his female object of affection, a very horny song. Very standard sounding, not a bad song, but somewhat cliche. Next is "Loosen Up" , a party anthem. Basically a tribute to sex and booze, a very sleazy song. The riff is fairly complex (for a hair metal song, c'mon folks). Despite the dunderheaded lyrics, I like the song quite a lot. Guitarist Reb Beach's solos are blistering hot, very good drumming comes in as well. A little too long in the tooth, but a near classic. Next comes one of my favorite songs of the 1990s. "Miles Away" was a moderate hit on radio. A power ballad, the song is incredibly catchy and powerful sounding. The keyboards and drums sound horribly dated, but it only adds to the nostalgia factor. Try not to like "Miles Away", it's a song that Bon Jovi could only imagine writing. If the song had been released 3 years earlier, Winger would have broken much bigger than they did. Shame, but great song.
"Easy Come, Easy Go" is a perfect example of late-period hair metal. Keyboard horns back up a crunchy guitar riff. A pop chorus comes in, showing that Kip Winger was certainly capable of rocking while at the same time winning the hearts of young ladies with sappy ballads. Next up is another highlight off the album. "Rainbow in the Rose" is a highly ambitious song. Containing countless chord changes and complex arrangements, the song is very progressive. Cheap-sounding keyboards somewhat distract, but the music and vocals are very good. I especially like Kip's bass playing on this song, showing that he is very underrated. "In the Day We'll Never See"begins with some guitar trickery. Then the song kicks in, with very nice lead guitars and a memorable riff. Kip's vocals shine on this song, leaps and bounds above many other glam/hair metal vocalists. The chorus is kind of repetitive, but the song has staying power. "Under One Condition" is another ballad. Honestly, I did not really like this one. It's far too slow, and feels like a rehash of "Rainbow in the Rose". Skip this one.
"Little Dirty Blonde" is the classic song about a sexy evil vixen. I feel like a song such as this is slightly below Kip's talents. The lyrics are pretty cliche and lame, and even the solo fails to impress. Not bad, but pretty average. "Baptized by Fire" again shows us the virtuosity of Kip Winger. The classical-like intro is interesting, and then a heavy riff comes in. The only part of the song I really don't like is when Kip decides to rap a la Red Hot Chilli Peppers/Faith No More. Kip just sounds ridiculous, and I would prefer that this section did not exist. Not a bad song, but a little repetitive with its constant repeating of the chorus. "You Are the Saint, I am the Sinner" comes next. A very heavy song, its a much better tale of the "evil woman" legend of heavy metal. The solo section is a bit too ambitious in its chord changes, and it distracts the listen. That's the problem with Winger, often they would write a basic song and throw in multiple chord changes. This can be good, but it can also make the listener feel lost, not having a musical base to grab on to. The title track closes out the album. "In the Heart of the Young" is a gorgeous song. Rich synthesizers, and Prog-rock like drums create a very emotive sound. The lyrics are actually quite deep as well, singing of the possibilities of youth in terms of creating their own future. A great song.
"In the Heart of the Young" is a very good album. Winger deserves to be recognized as an important part of rock music, and I pledge to make this happen. If you like hair metal and progressive music, give Winger a chance.
Rating-8/10
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