*Laura wrote:"Brigade" is one of the fewest rock albums that I know that has NO fillers or "twins" ( like most of the Nickelback songs are, for example lol). Just like you said - perfection from top to bottom.
You bet!
*Laura wrote:And Eric...on that album he set the bar so high that even
he will have a problem with it.

Indeed. I love Eric's guitar playing, but I think his vocals are at a high level on "Ah Via Musicom" too. He sounds fantastic on songs like "Desert Rose," "High Landrons" and "Forty Mile Town" (a favorite of mine).
Outside of "Cliffs" being amazing, I remember hearing "Trademark" in 1990 and my jaw hitting the floor. It just contains some of the most perfect and emotive guitar playing, and I think to this day it represents a nice snapshot of Eric's mixed bag of tones (pristine crystal clear tones to violin-like leads).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB6HA350kv8
I love all of Eric's albums, but AVH definitely has that something special throughout.