The Alarm - Declaration (1984)

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The Alarm's first full-length album was, to a certain extent, a collection of the singles they had been releasing since October 1982: "Marching On," "The Stand," "Sixty Eight Guns" (number 17 U.K.), "Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?" (number 22 U.K.) and "The Deceiver" (number 51 U.K.). As such, it had a strident, immediate appeal that was also somewhat relentless: The Alarm seemed to play every song as if it was the climax of their set. In the short term, that excited listeners, however; Declaration was a number six hit in England and broke through to the Top 50 in the U.S. In retrospect, it's more smoke than fire. AMG