THE GROOVEMAN'S COLLECTION

REVIEWS FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION

Day: February 23, 2021

NIGHT RANGER – Dawn Patrol

February 23, 2021 /

This is the first and best Night Ranger album released in 1982. They came onto my radar because guitarist Brad Gillis had been the replacement in Ozzy’s band after the tragic death of Randy Rhonda. Gillis came in to help Ozzy finish that tour. When the tour was finished, he didn’t take up the offer to join full time as he wanted to concentrate on the his band. Then typical Sharon she went into full bitch mode, and accused Gillis of joining Ozzy’s band just to get publicity for Night Ranger.

If you want to hear what Gillis sounds like playing for Ozzy, he is on the live Sabbath covers album, Shout At The Devil. Believe me, he is on fire on that record, and that will be the best you have heard Sabbath songs played. Night Ranger are unusual in the fact that they have two lead vocalists, drummer Kelly Keagy, and bassist Jack Blades – and they both are really good.

The album starts off with one of the two mega songs on the album, Don’t Tell Me You Love Me. An absolute belter of a tune. What comes next is what the band became famous for (well in America at least) – catchy melodic pop rock songs. You have to remember, Journey were huge at the time and every label wanted bands that sounded like them. Sing Me Away, and At Night She Sleeps, are perfect examples of this. Obligatory ballad, Call My Name, is next. I am not a big fan of ballads as they were nearly always a record company requirement at the time. Side closer, Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight is next, and thankfully it rocks with a fat riff from Gillis.

Over to Side 2 we go, and Can’t Find Me A Thrill is a classic example of hair rock of the time – a fat riff and a big sing-a-long chorus. Young Girl In Love is another great pop rock song that reminds me of Cheap Trick – the masters of pop rock. Play Rough is more of the same – big riff and big chorus. Penny is a doppelgänger of the last two tunes. When you find a formula don’t change it. Last track is the other mega track, and the one the band were named after, Night Ranger – and what a monster of a tune. It starts pretty normal before we get to rock out in the middle section with some killer playing.

I know they had bigger hits after this album, but this is my favourite because its before they sold their soul completely to the label.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

TALK TALK – It’s My Life

February 23, 2021 /

I’ve heard Talk Talk described as intelligent pop. I haven’t got a clue what that means. All I know is that they wrote great records and Mark Hollis was a genius. They were lumped in with the New Romantic movement at the time, and most rock fans would have passed them by due to that. It wasn’t cool to like pop bands if you were a metal head. It’s definitely synth-pop for sure, but they are very clever songs with great arrangements. Hollis has a very distinctive tone to his voice and is unmistakable. There is a lot of experimenting with tones and sounds on the record, and the band would pursue these later on subsequent releases as they left the pop behind and were going into a post rock direction.

Dum Dum Girl was the third single from the album, and opens up the record. A very clever synth-pop record with great lyrics. Such A Shame and Renee are up next, and are very eighties sounding and slow paced, but again the vocals and melody reign supreme here. Last song on this side was the lead off single, It’s My Life, and is the track that everyone will be familiar with. It is a great tune with a big hook and chorus that Hollis sings perfectly. Great tune!

Flipping over to Side 2 with Tomorrow Started – a very melancholic song with mix of electronic and acoustic instruments. Compared to other bands at the time, they were way ahead in terms of how they used synths and programming. The Last Time is quite an upbeat song compared to the rest of the album, and Hollis’ vocals do remind me of Brian Ferry – especially on this track. It’s noticeable that all of the singles were from Side 1, and Side 2 is a lot more about the album than the quick hit. Calling The Night Boy reminds me of It Bites, especially in the chorus – another great song. Does Caroline Know is synth-pop-funk, and a departure from the rest of the album. Album closer, It’s You, has a very Japan feel to it and is a nod to the future with subsequent releases.

A great album. Not my favourite, as that would be Spirit Of Eden, which would come later. A really good example of synth-pop of the time.

7.5/10 from The Grooveman.

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