Great Rock Albums of 1988: Night Ranger- Man in Motion

At least the 80smetalman curse can’t be blamed for the lack of success of Night Ranger’s “Man in Motion” album. For those who don’t know, the 80smetalman curse is that if I really like a band or a record it seems to be doomed not to be big. Examples, take three bands I have plugged on here. Black Emerald have broken up, Slave to Sirens are on a hiatus and are looking for a new singer and drummer and though Greywinds are still going, they haven’t gained that much attraction. However, back in 1988, I didn’t even know that Night Ranger had put this album out because in the UK, they were and probably always be known for two big songs, “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” and “Sister Christian.” The thing is that now I have listened to “Man In Motion,” I think it’s now my favourite Night Ranger album.

When I heard this album, I was blown away how much it rocked! The power chords come in straight away on the opening title cut. The heavy keyboards from their previous two albums were toned down and the guitars turned up. Now, this could have been down to the departure of keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald, which in one sense was a shame because he was good but on the other hand, it did open the door for guitarists Jeff Watson and Brad Gillis to show what a great guitar duo they were.

Jeff Watson and Brad Gillis leading the way for Night Ranger

Here’s another paradox which confronts me in regards to the album. Normally, the hit single is not my favourite track on most albums but in this case, it is. “Reason to Be” is a cooker of a song which wouldn’t be out of place on many metal albums. After an ear catching acoustic intro, the song kicks into full gear and just simply rocks out and has a cool guitar solo. It was released as a single and was the highest charter making it to #’48. Logic dictates that I shouldn’t like it but I really do.

The second best track, I guess I can call this one the hidden gem, comes right after. “Don’t Start Thinking (I’m Alone Tonight)” takes me back to Night Ranger’s first two albums, “Midnight Madness” and “Dawn Patrol.” When I listen to this track, I keep thinking that they should have kept this sound all along. And the party doesn’t end there. A heavy metal intro brings in “Love Shot Me Down” and that metal sound continues all through the song. Man, I do love the guitar solo but unfortunately, Wikipedia isn’t letting onto which guitar virtuoso plays the solo on it.

Flashbacks of “Sister Christian” come through when I hear “Restless Kind.” I think they were definitely trying to recapture that former glory with this one and I do say that it comes pretty close but let’s be honest here, there is only one “Sister Christian.” Still, as far as power ballads go, it’s a good one. They go in a KISS direction on “Halfway to the Sun” as it does sound comparable to 80s KISS. It’s still a good song.

“Here She Comes Again” is more 80s pop rock and maybe should have been released as a single. It’s not a bad song but definitely not my favourite on the album but the fickle record buying trendy public might have bought it. More KISS vibes come through on “Right On You.” If fact, this one sounds more KISS than the previously mentioned KISS sounding song. It’s a great fun song to rock out to and things keep on rocking with “Kiss Me Where It Hurts.” It has the classic Watson/Gillis guitar solo tradeoff which is something I have always liked about Night Ranger.

The album closes with two decent but unspectacular tracks, “I Did It For Love” and “Woman in Love.” The former was released as a single abut only got to #75. Listening to it, I thought it might have done better but there’s better tracks on the album. “Woman in Love” does bring the album to a rocking close and it’s a good way to end things because I have difficulty picturing it being anywhere else on the album.

Track Listing:

1. Man in Motion
2. Reason to Be
3. Don’t Start Thinking (I’m Along Tonight)
4. Love Shot Me Down
5. Restless Kind
6. Halfway to the Sun
7. Here She Comes Again
8. Right On You
9. Kiss Me Where it Hurts
10. I Did It for Love
11. Woman in Love

Night Ranger (1988)

Jack Blades- bass, lead and backing vocals

Brad Gillis- guitar, backing vocals

Jeff Watson- guitar

Kelly Keagy- drums, lead and backing vocals, percussion

Jesse Bradman- keyboards, backing vocals

Additional Musicians:

Alan Pasquale, Claude Gaudette, Eric Persing, Joyce Imbesi, John Purdell- additional keyboards

John Purdell, Kevin Chalfant- additional backing vocals

It was great that on “Man in Motion,” Night Ranger went back to a more hard rocking sound and without sounding like Rick Springfield. This is a cracker of an album which was why it didn’t have the commercial success it should have.

Next post: 38 Special- Rock and Roll Strategy

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

To sign the petition to have Bruce Dickinson receive a much deserved knighthood, click the link: https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson

Great Metal Albums of 1987: Tony MacAlpine- Maximum Security

Back in 1987, it was very easy for people to accuse guitarists who made instrumental albums of trying to copy Yngwie Malmsteen. True, there are some similarities to Yngwie when I listen to Tony MacAlpine’s second album, “Maximum Security,” but I must severely stress, SOME. Track 2, “Hundreds of Thousands,” sounds like it came straight from Yngwie. And while there are more moments which may sound similar to the Swede, Tony is definitely not a Yngwie clone.

Starting with the obvious, there’s the fact that there are no vocals on the album, it’s pure instrumental. That’s the next point, Tony adds an extra dimension to his work by playing keyboards on it as well and it comes through straight away on the album’s opening track. Where his keyboard skills really shine is on the track, “Etude #4 Opus #10,” written by Chopin. You get two minutes of some fine keyboard work, thus showing Tony’s versatility.

Of course, Tony doesn’t have Yngwie’s ego, thank God. Tony has two guitarists come along and jam with him on three tracks. George Lynch of Dokken fame trades solos with him on two tracks, “Tears of Sahara” and “The Vision.” The other contributor is none other than Jeff Watson from some band called Night Ranger. You might have heard of them. Jeff plays on “”The King’s Cup” and does a super job too. This paring makes this track the best one on the album. Of course, what sticks in my weird mind the most on that particular track is that it opens with a drum roll similar to the Kreator classic, “Pleasure to Kill.” Both of these guitar wizards add an extra layer of guitar goodness for Tony.

The tracks where Mr. MacAlpine is at his fingerboard smoking best on his own, are “Key to the City” and “The Time and the Test.” It’s difficult for me to put it down in words but he just totally shreds those two tracks. Obviously, he shreds well on the others as well, “Sacred Wonder” especially. To sum it up, you get more than just an album with a guitarist playing all the way through it, you have some fine compositions here.

Track Listing:

1. Autumn Lords
2. Hundreds of Thousands
3. Tears of Sahara
4. Key to the City
5. The Time and the Test
6. The King’s Cup
7. Sacred Wonder
8. Etude #4 Opus #10
9. The Vision
10. Dreamstate
11. Porcelain Doll

Tony MacAlpine

Tony MacAlpine- guitar, keyboards, bass

George Lynch- additional guitar solos (tracks 3 and 9)

Jeff Watson- additional guitar solos (track 6)

Deen Castronovo- drums (tracks 1-3, 5 and 6)

Atma Anur- drums (tracks 4, 7 and 9-11)

Not that I care about such things, “Maximum Security” was Tony’s only album to break into the charts. I am not surprised because he shows he is such a talented musician all around. It makes it more of a shame that he seemed to almost vanish after.

Next post: Motley Crue- Girls, Girls, Girls

About four years ago, I wrote a post calling for Bruce Dickinson to receive a knighthood. What I should have been doing is posting the link with every post since. I have seen the error of my ways so with every post from now until Bruce receives his gong, I will post the link to my petition here. I hope all of you, especially my British followers, will sign it.

https://www.change.org/p/special-honours-committees-for-knighthoods-a-knighthood-for-bruce-dickinson

Another petition I have started and this is not metal related is that I am petitioning the NFL to have next year’s Philadelphia Eagles v Pittsburgh Steelers game played in London. I hope you will sign that one too.

https://www.change.org/p/nfl-2022-steelers-eagles-game-to-be-played-in-london

To buy Rock and Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com

Great Rock Albums of 1985: Night Ranger- Seven Wishes

The release of Night Ranger’s third album, “Seven Wishes” confirmed to me what I already knew, Night Ranger were not heavy metal. This didn’t stop the unknowing from continuing to label them as such and it made me grind my teeth at times. The first single, “Sentimental Street” was all the proof one needed. That song is supposed to be a power ballad, I use that term loosely because it is heavily over synthed. All that did was take me back to their more superior power ballad, “Sister Christian” which wasn’t so. Just a fine use of the piano. On the other hand, while I have always believed that Night Ranger was never heavy metal, they definitely weren’t a top 40 band either, in spite of having several songs in the top 40. The best label to give Night Ranger would be melodic hard rock.

I thought that now I’m back from my client holiday, I’d treat you to at least one photo from it. This is the fog lifting off Lynmouth Harbour.

Back to the “Seven Wishes” album. While many metalheads dissed this album back in 1985 and I admit, the first single nearly put me off. Fortunately, I had known for years never to judge an album on one single, so I took the plunge. In spite of what was said about Night Ranger at the time, this album still rocks in many places. Additionally, unlike singles from their first two albums, none of the songs remind me of Rick Springfield. Unlike, “Sentimental Street,” the guitars dominate more than the keyboards, the only exception might be the title track. Even then, there is a fab guitar solo on it as with all the songs, the talents of the guitar duo of Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson are put to maximum use. More proof that I’m mellowing a little with age, I like “Sentimental Street” more now than I did in 1985.

Actually, “Seven Wishes” is an album of two halves for the most part. Part one is the more keyboard oriented songs and singles. “Four in the Morning” was the second single and though not as keyboard oriented, the whole song screams “Single for radio!” Saying that, “I Need a Woman” really cooks and if you only listened to the first five songs, might seem slightly out of place. However, the album goes total rock on the second half of the album. “This Boy Needs to Rock” starts things off perfectly and the rest of the album follows through. “Interstate Love Affair” is my vote for hidden gem on the album. I just love that intro and the way it rocks to the mind blowing guitar solo. Yep, it gets my vote. The closer, “Goodbye” is, in my not so humble opinion, a better power ballad than “Sentimental Street.” Better still, it’s the best song to end the album on a high.

Track Listing:

1. Seven Wishes
2. Faces
3. Four in the Morning
4. I Need a Woman
5. Sentimental Street
6. This Boy Needs to Rock
7. I’ll Follow You
8. Interstate Love Affair
9. Night Machine
10. Goodbye

Night Ranger

Jack Blades- bass, lead vocals

Jeff Watson- guitar

Brad Gillis- guitar

Alan ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald- keyboards

Kelly Keagy- drums, lead vocals

While Night Ranger aren’t heavy metal, they can’t be simply dismissed. Their brand of melodic hard rock is played very well as this album shows.

Next post: My Second Book Review

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Great Rock Albums of 1984: Billy Satellite

Like Jethro Tull, Billy Satellite is the name of a band. As far as I know, there is no individual with that name. Also, like the Bangles, their debut album came and went in 1984 with little notice except for keen persons like myself who had an ear out for some good straightforward rock. Unlike the Bangles or Jethro Tull, this self titled album would be the band’s only release and they would drift off into obscurity living only in my memory.

Their album is the reason why Billy Satellite has lived in the back corners of my mind for over three decades. It is a really cool down to earth straight ahead rock album. All the elements to make the album great are there. Good vocals, some cool guitars and a sound rhythm section with a keyboard accompaniment that brings out the flavour of the mix really well. So, my question is, why didn’t people take more notice of Billy Satellite? My only suggested answer is that with all of the heavy metal that was flying about at the time, they simply got lost in the hysteria. They definitely aren’t a heavy metal band but they were a hell of a lot better than a lot of the non metal in this year.

If you want something to compare them to, then the closest would be Night Ranger but that might being doing them a disservice. They were unique enough to not need any comparison as far as this album is concerned. The first three tracks come straight at you with some of that good straight ahead rock that I have been talking about. The opener was also the highest charting single (#64). It is a good track but I like the following one, “Last Call.” That is the standout for me with all the elements of a good hard rock song present. Track #3 is a good one too before the two ballads, “Trouble” being the better of the two. Then things go back to heavy rock with the cool, “Rockin’ Down the Highway” and continue to do so for the rest of the album. “Turning Point” has a slight blues feel to it and the tempo change works well on the album. It has a good guitar solo but notes don’t reveal which guitarist is responsible. That leads nicely to “Bye Bye Baby” which borders on a ballad and a rock song. Rock returns for sure with “Standing with the Kings” and that leads to the closer which ends the album very well.

Track Listing:

1. Satisfy Me
2. Last Call
3. Do Ya
4. I Wanna Go Back
5. Trouble
6. Rockin’ Down the Highway
7. Turning Point
8. Bye Bye Baby
9. Standing With the Kings
10. The Lonely One

Billy Satellite

Monty Byrom- guitars, vocals, keyboards

Danny Chauncey- guitars, keyboards

Ira Walker- bass

Tom ‘Fee’ Faletti- drums

While sitting here typing this, I have come to a conclusion as to why Billy Satellite didn’t go further in 1984. It was that they were about four or five years too soon. Thinking about some of the bands in the late 80s, Danger Danger and Hurricane and Winger, these guys would have fit in well with that group. Unfortunately, they were five years too soon and although they had a cool album, it didn’t do well enough for them to continue. They would split and go their separate ways.

Next post: Bruce Springsteen- Born in the USA

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Great Rock Albums of 1983: Night Ranger- Midnight Madness

An huge argument raged throughout the mid 1980s and for some, it still does today. It is even briefly debated in “Rock and Roll Children.” Was Night Ranger heavy metal? Pure metalheads gave a resounding no because of the band’s use of keyboards and softer, more commercial rock, especially in regards to the album following this one. However, this didn’t stop the rest of the world from claiming they were. My opinion in this matter can be found in the title of this post. You probably noticed that I didn’t call Night Ranger’s “Midnight Madness” album a great metal album.

Listening to the second album from Night Ranger, it is quite easy to see why many of the less knowing would call it a metal album. Most of the first five songs do rock, although I still wouldn’t call them metal. Even the ballad, “Sister Christian” ranks up there as a very good power ballad. It did influence some metal bands who wanted at least one on their album to write their ballads in this style.

My first experience of the album came in the form of “You Could Still Rock in America.” Like the classic, “Don’t Tell Me You Love,” I thought this too was a Rick Springfield song at first. Another example of irony in my life, I first heard it after spending four weeks in London. My first musical experience there wasn’t great. The people I was staying with were all top 40 dance junkies and they tried to insist that there was no place in London to find the hard rock I loved so much. After lamenting the first two weeks, I did discover a really cool rock pub in Croydon in South London and things got better after that. Then I went to my first Donington Festival so my I ended up enjoying my London stay. When I returned, I heard this song playing on the radio and thought, “Damn right, you can still rock in America.” Saying that, I was glad that earlier reports about music in the UK were proved totally wrong.

Apart from “Sister Christian,” the only really commercial oriented tracks are “When You Close Your Eyes,” another hit single for the band and “Passion Play.” The latter is a bit harder than the former but doesn’t rock like the rest of the album. Tracks that really do rock, besides the opener, are “Touch of Madness” and “Chippin’ Away.” “Rumours in the Air” is pretty cool as well. But what makes this album rock, even the songs that don’t rock as much is the guitar duo of Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson. One or the other or both in some cases, lay down some serious guitar heat in every song, except the acoustic closer. When people talk of guitar duos, the ones mentioned are Tipton/Downing, Smith/Murray or Gers/Murray (same band), Ojeda/French and the original guitar duo, Walsh/Felder. After hearing this album again after so many years, Watson/Gillis needs to be included among the others.

Jeff Watson and Brad Gillis leading the way for Night Ranger

Track Listing:

1. You Can Still Rock in America
2. Rumours in the Air
3. Why Does Love Have to Change
4. Sister Christian
5. Touch of Madness
6. Passion Play
7. When You Close Your Eyes
8. Chippin’ Away
9. Let  Him Run

Night Ranger

Jack Blades- bass, lead vocals

Jeff Watson- guitars, keyboards

Brad Gillis- guitars

Alan ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald- keyboards

Kelly Keagy- drums, lead vocals

True metalheads like me do not consider Night Ranger heavy metal. However, they did know how to rock as the album “Midnight Madness” clearly shows. In 1983, they did rock America.

Next post: Marillion- Script For a Jester’s Tear

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Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

 

 

 

 

 

Great Rock Albums of 1982: Night Ranger- Dawn Patrol

 

The debut album, “Dawn Patrol” from Night Ranger would spark off a great debate that would last for several years. Were Night Ranger a heavy metal band? My opinion on this question lies in the fact that I am visiting the album in my great rock albums section and not the great metal albums one. However, the problem back then was with mainstream radio. Many deejays were to quick to put any music with a hard power chord into the heavy metal category thus infuriating metalheads like me for a number of years. For me, the answer to the debate would be solved with Night Ranger’s 1985 album.

Another reason why I don’t class Night Ranger as metal is because the first time I heard their most well known song, “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” I thought it was being sung by Rick Springfield. You have to admit, the chorus is very much like Springfield and when that mind blowing guitar solo came in, I simply assumed that he managed to find a great lead guitarist to play on it. Well, I was partially right because both Jeff Watson and Brad Gillis are great guitarists.

“Dawn Patrol” is for the most part a good hard rock album but does venture across the border into  progressive rock. The mentioned big single is a great rocker in spite of my earlier comments about it being a Rick Springfield tune. Three and four years later, it was still played every Friday night at the heavy metal night at a club on the outskirts of East London. That club is a McDonald’s now but that’s not important. However, the album boasts other hard rocking jams as well. “Young Girl in Love,” “Penny” and “Play Rough” to name just three and I would be quick to put forward “At Night She Sleeps.” Then there are less hard songs like “Sing Me Away” which is keyboard dominated. Whatever category you want to put Night Ranger in, you can’t get away from the fact that these guys can really play, especially on this album.

Track Listing:

1. Don’t Tell Me You Love Me

2. Sing Me Away

3. At Night She Sleeps

4. Call My Name

5. Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight

6. Can’t Find Me a Thrill

7. Young Girl in Love

8. Play Rough

9. Penny

10. Night Ranger

Night Ranger

Jack Blades- bass, vocals

Jeff Watson- guitar

Brad Gillis- guitar

Alan ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald- keyboards

Kelly Keagy- drums, vocals

Night Ranger, in my view, were never heavy metal. They were a great hard rock band in the early 1980s, which their debut album clearly shows. True, they would go more commercial with later albums and turn metalheads like me off of them, but “Dawn Patrol” is more hard rock than anything and it 1982, got people like me excited.

Next post: Gillan- Magic

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London