Album Spotlight: Night Ranger - Don't Let Up

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you already know, if you're new, let me enlighten you. I only write about stuff I like. I don't have the time to listen to, much less, write about stuff I don't like. That being said, Night Ranger's new album Don't Let Up is excellent. Now I'm going to go off on a tangent before I get back to that album.

I grew up in the 80s, and by that I mean twelve to 22 years old. That's growing up time. Night Ranger always fell into a strange place in music. Historically they might get lumped in with the hair/sleaze/glam bands of the time. But it always felt like they were not at home there. They also weren't at home with other stuff that was popular at the time, Flock of Seagulls, Eurythmics, etc. They fell into a weird place between metal and techno (not that they ever came close to techno, but that's where they fell).

There were a lot of bands in that grey place, Bon Jovi, INXS, The Cult, Duran Duran, Def Leppard, etc. The 80s get a bad rap, but go back and listen to the music, there was a lot of good there.

While never reaching the commercial success, I've always thought Night Ranger was comparable to Bon Jovi: guitar driven hard rock that was softened enough to be palatable to the masses.

Fast forward to 2017. Night Ranger is still making that kind of music. Great songs featuring guitar, big choruses, big harmonies. This album Don't Let Up, along with their 2014 album High Road may be the best they've done in their career. Not that anyone will pay attention.

I just commend Night Ranger for putting out new music when so many of that era just tour based on their track record, which Night Ranger could certainly do. Hell, people would probably come out just to hear "Sister Christian".  But they are so much more than that.

Sure, age has taken its toll on Jack Blades and Kelly Keagey's vocal chords, but even though a bit gruffer, still sound excellent. The musicianship just keeps getting better. And that's saying something since guitarist Brad Gillis could have had a gig with Ozzy had he chosen.

35 years after the release of their debut album Dawn Patrol, Night Ranger are still bringing it and staying true to what they do. More mature? Sure. What you would expect. Rocks? Yep. And they keep expanding their boundaries. One song that stands out is the honky-tonk/Southern rock sound of "(Won't Be Your) Fool Again".

With so many bands not making new music because there is no money in it now, I commend the one's who still have to scratch that creative itch. Buy, stream, download, whatever you do, this album. It's good. Is it great? Probably not, but there is not a bad song to be found. And really, isn't that what we want in an album? No skipworthy songs?

Here's a taste of the new album:

Retro Album Spotlight: RATT: Dancin' Undercover

RATT's third full length album, Dancin' Undercover, is my favorite RATT album. Not saying it's their best or most important, just my favorite. Glam metal purists and RATT diehards, come at me.

Out of the Cellar and Invasion of Your Privacy are more iconic, but there is something about Dancin' Undercover that resonates with me. A lot of it has to do with time and place, but the music holds up.

The entire album had groove. The title was apropos. Had a lot of rockers dancing undercover. The only negative for this album is that "Way Cool Junior" was not on it.

Of course, it starts of with the song "Dance", which sets the mood for the album: it's gonna be a fun party record. RATT never went for anything heavy socially, just fun. And this record is the epitome of that. Want a fun party record? This is it. And it makes this old rocker want to move, much to my daughter's chagrin.

No social commentary, no introspection, just fun party rock.

Throw Back Thursday: Rough Cutt: Take Her

Rough Cutt looked and dressed the part of the 80's rock scene. I always felt they were way underrated for their music. Chances are, if you're reading this, you have no idea who Rough Cutt is/was.

Here is live version of "Take Her" from their 1985 self-titled debut album:

Album Spotlight: Lita Ford: Time Capsule

So Lita Ford dug up some old songs from the 80's  that featured Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, Gene
Simmons, Dave Navarro, Billy Sheehan, Bruce Kulick and Jeff Scott Soto.

Then Lita went and put them all together and released an album.

The results are magical. At least for those of us that love 80's hard rock.

Time Capsule is raw. It's unadulterated. It rocks. And above all, it's good.

While Lita has never had the pipes to create awe-inspiring vocals like Ann Wilson or Lzzy Hale, or the shredding ability of Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhoads, her combination as a singer/guitarist/songwriter puts her in the realm of hard rock royalty.

It's just a shame these songs never saw the light when it might have mattered.

Here are couple of tracks from Time Capsule.

Retro Album Spotlights: Billy Squier

Yes, the plural in "spotlights" is intentional. I initially was going to do only Billy Squier's breakout album Don't Say No. But then I started listening to Emotions In Motion again.

Keep this is mind, at one point Def Leppard opened for Billy Squier. For context, that was Leppard's Pyromania tour.

Billy Squier himself has said that Don't Say No is the best album he's ever made. I prefer Emotions In Motion.

Don't Say No has the four monster songs: "In The Dark", "The Stroke", "My Kinda Lover", (those three open the album) and "Lonely Is The Night". Emotions In Motion had the never-forgettable "Everybody Wants You" and the lesser known "She's A Runner."

I'm not here to tell Mr. Squier that he's wrong, just giving my personal preference.

Listen to the first three songs of Don't Say No and you're hooked. "In The Dark" is a rock masterpiece. This is where Squier excels. As a songwriter of good songs. The we get "The Stroke", which incidentally is the first Billy Squier song I ever heard. And now one of the most sampled songs ever. Then it bleeds into "My Kinda Lover". Another rock classic.

"You Know What I Like" is a good rocker, but nothing special.

"Too Daze Gone" is the most underrated song on the record. It's bluesy, it's Stonesey. It's groovy.

"Lonely Is The Night" is the other big song.

"Whadda You Want From Me" is very Zeppleninesque with some Van Halen thrown in.

"Nobody Knows" is the clunker on Don't Say No. The falsetto is not appealing. The song itself is not good..

"I Need You" is bubblegum rock with big guitars. While not a bad song, it's nothing special.

The song 'Don't Say No" is not bad. The choice to fade into the first verse, however, was bad. The whole song seems disjointed.

Emotions In Motion starts out where Don't Say No left of with the iconic "Everybody Wants You".

Then things go off the rails a bit with the Rod Stewart inspired "Emotions In Motion" . I like things off the
rails. One of my favorite tracks on the record.

"Learn How to Live" is vintage Billy Squier in the verses and bridge, but the chorus is pedestrian.

"In Your Eyes" is a good ballad.

"Keep Me Satisfied" evokes boogie-woogie, blues inspired Aerosmith.

"It Keeps You Rockin'" is a straight up Billy Squier rocker. Nothing special, but not skip-worthy.

"One Good Woman" is one of those groovy rock songs that we all love (ok, maybe not all, but I do). Reminiscent of vintage Styx.

"She's A Runner" is what the quintessential 80's hard rock ballad aspired to be. Billy Squier wrote the book that 80's pop metal followed.

"Catch 22" is another song that you could hear Rod Stewart and/or the Faces recording. It's bluesy sultry rock at its best, replete with horns.

The album closes with "Listen to the Heartbeat", which is not a bad song, but it's time to restart the album at track one.

Trixter and BulletBoys New Releases

Trixter and Bulletboys both came out in the tail end of the 80's hard rock scene, right before Nirvana blew it all up. They both had minor hits, Trixter with "Give It To Me Good" and BulletBoys with "Smooth Up In Ya".

Then, like any band that rose to prominence on the hard rock scene during the mid-to-late 80's/early 90's not named Bon Jovi or Motley Crue or Guns 'n Roses, were quickly forgotten.

Both bands had new records come out recently. And for the most part, nobody's going to hear them. Certainly not on radio.

Is either record a musical masterpiece that will go down in the annals of history as a great record? Nope. But if you're a fan of that era of music, it's better than a lot of stuff that came out at the end. The songs are good. The playing is excellent (guitar solos anyone?). The vocals hold up.

With so many artists of that era hanging it up, fighting amongst themselves or just giving up on releasing new music, this is worth checking out.

Here is Trixter with "Rockin' To The Edge of the Night" from their new record Human Era:




And "Rollover" from Bulletboys new record Elefante':

Album Spotlight: Koritni: Night Goes On For Days

Koritni's latest record Night Goes On For Days could have come straight out of the 80's. And that's a good thing. This Australian band with a French guitarist sounds like they grew up on the Sunset Strip, or Indiana or Mississippi. Confused yet?

Koritni could have easily come out of the mid to late 80's LA sleaze rock scene. Or feel right at home with the Mississippi Delta blues inspired Southern Rock of the 70's. Even touches of American heartland sentiment a la John Mellencamp.

Whatever, they make it all work in a sound that I find refreshing. Mostly it's just good, fun, 80's style hard rock. If you're a fan of that era, these guys do it right.

And they self-aware of what they are doing. Enough to make fun of themselves as is evident in this track, "Rock'nRoll Ain't No Crime":