Upon 1981's
Small Change album,
Prism fell apart. After the band brought in singer
Henry Small to replace
Ron Tabak, there were constant disagreements as to which route the group should take: a harder rock & roll one or one that was geared more toward radio pop. This led to a wholesale change within the lineup, and only
Small was left when
Beat Street was recorded in 1983. Even with
Timothy B. Schmit helping out on vocals,
Beat Street contains none of
Prism's past arena rock charm or instrumental stamina. The tracks are watered-down attempts at playing pop/rock with lyrics that sound as if they've been written overnight. Without
John Hall behind the keyboards or
Tabak's singing,
Prism just wasn't
Prism anymore. Lackluster efforts like "Nightmare," "Wired," or "Dirty Mind" are muddled and stale; "Is He Better Than Me" tried to imitate the band's only Top 40 Billboard appearance of "Don't Let Him Know," but contains none of the hooks or the passion; and "Blue Collar" is a wannabe
Bachman-Turner Overdrive track.
Beat Street was blatant evidence that
Prism was on their last legs, and their breakup finally occurred after this album was released. Capitol released an
Over 60 Minutes with Prism collection in 1988, but none of
Beat Street's tracks made the cut.