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Trollheart · 06-29-2011, 11:01 AM

Dawn patrol --- Night Ranger --- 1982 (Boardwalk)

Ever heard one track by a new band and rushed out to buy the album on the strength of that one track? It doesn't happen that often to me, but back in 1982 I heard “Don't tell me you love me”, the opener from Night Ranger's debut album, on the radio, and immediately hied me to my local rock record shop, demanding the innkeeper there relieve me of my cash and place in my sweaty hands the album which contained such a gem. And so he did, and happy he was to do so.

And happy was I when I got the album home and spun it, and found to my everlasting relief that it wasn't a one-track-wonder! No, although “Don't tell me...” is far and away the best track on the album, there are other prizes therein too. But I get ahead of myself.

Night Ranger were formed back in 1982 under the name Ranger. It wasn't until they had their debut recorded, finished and pressed that they found out, rather belatedly, that a band already existed with that name, and were forced to change it at the eleventh hour. As vocalist Jack Blades (cool name, huh?) had written a song for the album called “Night Ranger”, they settled on this as their new name. The handful of copies which had already been pressed which bore the name “Ranger” were destroyed, so find one and it could be worth something!

It's a hard rock/heavy metal album through and through, and doesn't let up for one second. There are NO ballads on it, not even a slow song. The band throw down the gauntlet from the beginning, with the screeching “Don't tell me you love me” pounding its way out of the speakers. Starting off with a double-guitar attack, courtesy of Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson, it's only seconds before the rhythm section, in the shape of Blades on bass and Kelly Keagy on drums, smash in and the song just takes off. You can probably guess from the title that it isn't exactly a love song, more an anti-love song, as Blades croons ”Don't tell me you love me/ Don't tell me/ I don't wanna know!” Eh, yeah: call me in the morning, like, I'll be on the road outta town! It's a powerful, frentic opener with simply savage guitar solos and the kind of hooks that surely should have made it at least a top ten single, though staggeringly it only just barely crept into the top 40! The keys of Alan Fitzgerald make their presence known too, though the song is driven along on axepower mainly. It's a song that just drags you along as you hold on for the ride, and by the time it ends, like the musical equivalent of smashing your car into a wall at 60 mph, you just feel like you've gone twelve rounds and barely survived to tell the tale! Yeah, it's THAT good!

So, to be fair, it's going to take one hell of a track to top that, and there isn't one on “Dawn patrol”: this is the pinnacle of the album, but that isn't to disparage the rest of the songs at all. It's sort of like, well, having a race with a load of good drivers and Michael Schumacher. The other guys are probably all great, but they're up against the master, and there's no contest. Or substitute your own favourite sporting analogy here. Anyway, “Sing me away” is less breakneck than “Don't tell me you love me”, but a great song nevertheless, in the same vein, but with a more relaxed lyric, as Blades recalls a girl he once knew. Again it's quite commercial, almost AOR as compared to the previous heavy metal stormer, and would have made a good followup single, but it seems only the one was released from this album. Night Ranger wouldn't achieve their worldwide fame until the next album on which resided a little song called “Sister Christian...”

Blades truly is the architect of this band. He sings, plays bass and either writes or has a hand in writing every track on the album. “At night she sleeps” is another power rocker, somewhat in the mould of the Scorpions, with a great thumping drumbeat and a weird, quirky little keyboard riff, recalling the Cars at their best. God-damn it, THIS would have made a good single, too! Who was in charge of marketing this album??

When the first piano notes of “Call my name” are heard, you would definitely be forgiven for thinking ah, here's the obligatory ballad! But weren't you listening earlier? I said there are NO ballads on this album. None. Nada. Zip. Zero. No, this song begins slowly, but quite unexpectedly it kicks off and becomes yet another rocker. Bad move? No, not really, as it's a great track, and rather cleverly it ends as it began, with the quiet piano and a restrained vocal from Blades, but in between there's some metal mayhem, believe me! Police sirens, even! I kid you not! Certainly some balladic lyrics though: ”Summer kisses never last till September/ I thought you'd understand/ Holdin' hands ain't exclusive to lovers /Guess it was part of your plan/ The tender moments were part of your plan.”

Next we come to one of the standout tracks on the album, the glorious “Eddie's comin' out tonight”. Starting off with a deeply bassy keyboard intro, it's not long before the guitars take over as Blades introduces us to Eddie: ”He wears his trousers real tight/ And his skin's so white/ He lives beyond his means/ He wears Italian shoes/ That are used to good news/ They walk behind the scenes/ He lives a tenderloin life/ The street's his type/ In the alley's where he's king/ He got a grin on his face/ Says he loves the rat race/ He always plays to win!” Alan Fitzgerald really comes into his own on this track, where his keyboards have been somewhat subdued beneath the twin guitar tongues of Gillis and Watson. It's a powerhouse of a track, and in many ways, bringing side one of the album to a close (hey, bear with me! I'm fast approaching 50, ok? When I bought albums they were on vinyl and had two sides...).

Have to say that after that things go not downhill, but certainly level out a bit. “Can't find me a thrill” is a good rock song, as is “Young girl in love”, whereas the less said about “Play rough” the better (”So ya wanna play rough tonight?/ It's all in the way that you roll the dice/ Wanna play rough tonight? Better think once, better think twice.” Hmmm. Yeah. OK...); it's not until the penultimate “Penny” that things get back on track. To be fair, “Play rough” is purely Jack Blades' composition, and he also wrote two of the better tracks on his own, “Eddie's comin' out tonight” and “Call my name”, so I guess anyone can have an off-day.

The aforementioned “Penny” reminds me of Journey at their heaviest: good hooks, great chorus and backing vocals, but it's still a long way from “Sing me away” or “Eddie”. The album finishes on the title track --- well, the name of the band: there IS no title track. “Night Ranger” is a growling, snarling mid-paced rocker, which suddenly and unexpectedly kicks into thrash metal territory, with Keagy going absoutely Animal (remember the Muppet Show?) behind the drumkit, and the two axemen responding gleefully before the track slips down a gear and fades out on its original beat. Also contains a rather obvious section where the fans are expected to cheer, or clap, or cheer and clap. I guess I would. Not a bad closer but I think “Penny” would have been a better choice to end the album. I

All in all, after the heady adrenalin rush of “Don't tell me you love me”, “Dawn patrol” does its best to live up to the promise of that track, and on some songs the boys almost get it right, on some they fail utterly. But for a debut this is no mean shakes. There's many a band gone on to bigger things that did not produce such an impressive first album. But hey, take my advice: listen to it just for “Don't tell me you love me” --- worth the price of admission on its own!

TRACKLISTING

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

Suggested further listening: “Midnight madness” and “Seven wishes”, though avoid “Big life”...

06-29-2011, 11:01 AM	#50 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Dawn patrol --- Night Ranger --- 1982 (Boardwalk) Ever heard one track by a new band and rushed out to buy the album on the strength of that one track? It doesn't happen that often to me, but back in 1982 I heard “Don't tell me you love me”, the opener from Night Ranger's debut album, on the radio, and immediately hied me to my local rock record shop, demanding the innkeeper there relieve me of my cash and place in my sweaty hands the album which contained such a gem. And so he did, and happy he was to do so. And happy was I when I got the album home and spun it, and found to my everlasting relief that it wasn't a one-track-wonder! No, although “Don't tell me...” is far and away the best track on the album, there are other prizes therein too. But I get ahead of myself. Night Ranger were formed back in 1982 under the name Ranger. It wasn't until they had their debut recorded, finished and pressed that they found out, rather belatedly, that a band already existed with that name, and were forced to change it at the eleventh hour. As vocalist Jack Blades (cool name, huh?) had written a song for the album called “Night Ranger”, they settled on this as their new name. The handful of copies which had already been pressed which bore the name “Ranger” were destroyed, so find one and it could be worth something! It's a hard rock/heavy metal album through and through, and doesn't let up for one second. There are NO ballads on it, not even a slow song. The band throw down the gauntlet from the beginning, with the screeching “Don't tell me you love me” pounding its way out of the speakers. Starting off with a double-guitar attack, courtesy of Brad Gillis and Jeff Watson, it's only seconds before the rhythm section, in the shape of Blades on bass and Kelly Keagy on drums, smash in and the song just takes off. You can probably guess from the title that it isn't exactly a love song, more an anti-love song, as Blades croons ”Don't tell me you love me/ Don't tell me/ I don't wanna know!” Eh, yeah: call me in the morning, like, I'll be on the road outta town! It's a powerful, frentic opener with simply savage guitar solos and the kind of hooks that surely should have made it at least a top ten single, though staggeringly it only just barely crept into the top 40! The keys of Alan Fitzgerald make their presence known too, though the song is driven along on axepower mainly. It's a song that just drags you along as you hold on for the ride, and by the time it ends, like the musical equivalent of smashing your car into a wall at 60 mph, you just feel like you've gone twelve rounds and barely survived to tell the tale! Yeah, it's THAT good! So, to be fair, it's going to take one hell of a track to top that, and there isn't one on “Dawn patrol”: this is the pinnacle of the album, but that isn't to disparage the rest of the songs at all. It's sort of like, well, having a race with a load of good drivers and Michael Schumacher. The other guys are probably all great, but they're up against the master, and there's no contest. Or substitute your own favourite sporting analogy here. Anyway, “Sing me away” is less breakneck than “Don't tell me you love me”, but a great song nevertheless, in the same vein, but with a more relaxed lyric, as Blades recalls a girl he once knew. Again it's quite commercial, almost AOR as compared to the previous heavy metal stormer, and would have made a good followup single, but it seems only the one was released from this album. Night Ranger wouldn't achieve their worldwide fame until the next album on which resided a little song called “Sister Christian...” Blades truly is the architect of this band. He sings, plays bass and either writes or has a hand in writing every track on the album. “At night she sleeps” is another power rocker, somewhat in the mould of the Scorpions, with a great thumping drumbeat and a weird, quirky little keyboard riff, recalling the Cars at their best. God-damn it, THIS would have made a good single, too! Who was in charge of marketing this album?? When the first piano notes of “Call my name” are heard, you would definitely be forgiven for thinking ah, here's the obligatory ballad! But weren't you listening earlier? I said there are NO ballads on this album. None. Nada. Zip. Zero. No, this song begins slowly, but quite unexpectedly it kicks off and becomes yet another rocker. Bad move? No, not really, as it's a great track, and rather cleverly it ends as it began, with the quiet piano and a restrained vocal from Blades, but in between there's some metal mayhem, believe me! Police sirens, even! I kid you not! Certainly some balladic lyrics though: ”Summer kisses never last till September/ I thought you'd understand/ Holdin' hands ain't exclusive to lovers /Guess it was part of your plan/ The tender moments were part of your plan.” Next we come to one of the standout tracks on the album, the glorious “Eddie's comin' out tonight”. Starting off with a deeply bassy keyboard intro, it's not long before the guitars take over as Blades introduces us to Eddie: ”He wears his trousers real tight/ And his skin's so white/ He lives beyond his means/ He wears Italian shoes/ That are used to good news/ They walk behind the scenes/ He lives a tenderloin life/ The street's his type/ In the alley's where he's king/ He got a grin on his face/ Says he loves the rat race/ He always plays to win!” Alan Fitzgerald really comes into his own on this track, where his keyboards have been somewhat subdued beneath the twin guitar tongues of Gillis and Watson. It's a powerhouse of a track, and in many ways, bringing side one of the album to a close (hey, bear with me! I'm fast approaching 50, ok? When I bought albums they were on vinyl and had two sides...). Have to say that after that things go not downhill, but certainly level out a bit. “Can't find me a thrill” is a good rock song, as is “Young girl in love”, whereas the less said about “Play rough” the better (”So ya wanna play rough tonight?/ It's all in the way that you roll the dice/ Wanna play rough tonight? Better think once, better think twice.” Hmmm. Yeah. OK...); it's not until the penultimate “Penny” that things get back on track. To be fair, “Play rough” is purely Jack Blades' composition, and he also wrote two of the better tracks on his own, “Eddie's comin' out tonight” and “Call my name”, so I guess anyone can have an off-day. The aforementioned “Penny” reminds me of Journey at their heaviest: good hooks, great chorus and backing vocals, but it's still a long way from “Sing me away” or “Eddie”. The album finishes on the title track --- well, the name of the band: there IS no title track. “Night Ranger” is a growling, snarling mid-paced rocker, which suddenly and unexpectedly kicks into thrash metal territory, with Keagy going absoutely Animal (remember the Muppet Show?) behind the drumkit, and the two axemen responding gleefully before the track slips down a gear and fades out on its original beat. Also contains a rather obvious section where the fans are expected to cheer, or clap, or cheer and clap. I guess I would. Not a bad closer but I think “Penny” would have been a better choice to end the album. I All in all, after the heady adrenalin rush of “Don't tell me you love me”, “Dawn patrol” does its best to live up to the promise of that track, and on some songs the boys almost get it right, on some they fail utterly. But for a debut this is no mean shakes. There's many a band gone on to bigger things that did not produce such an impressive first album. But hey, take my advice: listen to it just for “Don't tell me you love me” --- worth the price of admission on its own! TRACKLISTING 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 Suggested further listening: “Midnight madness” and “Seven wishes”, though avoid “Big life”... __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 11-04-2011 at 10:50 AM.