Susumu,
That's a tough one for me. The first three NR albums are all incredible to me for different reasons.

Dawn Patrol- I first heard "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" on a local radio station, and I was hooked at that point- then and there!! I bought the album the next day, and it remains to be one of my all-time favorites ever.

Midnight Madness- This was the album that introduced Watson's "caterpillar technique" (that's what Jeff called it in a guitar magazine- listen to his solo on "Rock in America" and you'll know what I'm talking about) which was a creative extension of Eddie Van Halen's "finger tapping" technique. EVH used three fingers for that technique- Jeff used eight. Pretty damn impressive... Overall, the album was incredible. Have you ever heard the term "sophomore jinx"? The term applies to bands that had a great debut album, but failed to repeat that success on the second album. "Madness" didn't fall into that category- this album was just as strong as the first.

Seven Wishes- If I *had* to choose my favorite NR album, this would be it. From "Goodbye" to "Seven Wishes" to "This Boy Needs to Rock", this album covers all of the bases. Great songwriting. Nuff said...

I hate to admit it, but the albums that came out after "Wishes" didn't hold my attention like the first three- but that's my personal opinion. All of the albums that came out after "Wishes" only had a track or two that I really liked (i.e. "Halfway to the Sun" from "Man in Motion", "Secret of my Success" from "Big Life", "New York Time" from "Neverland"), but I still think that NR is one of the best bands out there. Period.

They're are touring the States, and I'm looking forward to seeing them onstage again.

Later...