Ratt – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

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For most of 2018, I have been reviewing all the Ratt albums from the Ratt E.P. in 1983 all the way to 2010’s Infestation. It has been an enjoyable ride walking through the history of the band, all the ups and the downs, the good and the bad and loving every minute of it (wait that is Loverboy)…and loving watching the wax or cd spinning round and round (much better).

Ratt has been a love/hate relationship.  While I love most of what they do, they don’t always deliver the goods and I tried to be as honest as I could be throughout the review processes.  I believe I was brutal where I needed to be and kissed their ass when it deserved it as well.  I hear they band is planning a new album in 2019 and when it comes I will review it in detail like the others and I will update this list and put it where it belongs among the classics or the crap.

You can go back and read each review in detail by just clicking on the album title.  This ranking will be just a summary of the good and bad of each album.  I hope you enjoy.

THE WORST – RATT (1999):

The hardest review of them all to write. I couldn’t connect to this album when it came out or even now.  The production quality was horrible; Stephen’s vocals needed some cleanup and weren’t always up to par; the double guitar of Ratt of old was gone and so the songs were missing that punch; and overall it was just bad.

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Ratt – ‘Infestation’ – Album Review

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After the album ‘Ratt (1999), the band had a very troubled time.  Stephen Pearcy left the band (again) and started his own band that eventually tried to use the Ratt name, but the other members sued and won.  The remaining Ratt members continued on as a band…or at least made several attempts with many line-up changes.

In 2000, the current Ratt was Warren DeMartini, Bobby Blotzer, Robbie Crane, John Corabi (Motley Crue) and Robert Mason.  Robert was brought on as lead singer, but left shortly after when the band couldn’t get a major label deal.  That brought on Jizzy Pearl at lead vocals.  This would remain the band until at least 2006.

In 2002, the band and fans were delivered some bad news.  Original guitarist, Robbin Crosby, passed away from a Heroin overdose.  He had long battled  with addiction and it finally grabbed hold for good.  Robbin has also been battling HIV, but the drugs got to him first.  Any hopes of the original band getting back together were quickly dashed.

In 2006, Jizzy would leave and Stephen Pearcy rejoined the band.  Then 2 years later, John Corabi would leave and he was replaced by Carlos Carvazo from Quiet Riot.  The line-up was now complete for the next album…whew, that was exhausting.  Wait, where is Juan Croucier?  He was out doing his own thing.  He comes back to the band, but not for many years.

Finally, in April 2010, Ratt released their seventh studio album called ‘Infestation’.  It had been over 10 years since the last album and with all the line-up changes and the fact the last album was so bad, my expectations for this release were pretty low.

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My Sunday Song – “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman

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For My Sunday Song #112, I am going to talk about “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman.  Released on April 6th, 1988, and on her self-titled album, “Fast Car” was a massive hit reaching all the way to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  I remember seeing the video on MTV and thinking what an amazing and beautiful song.  It was not like anything else on the radio at the time.

The song is an acoustical track with just Tracy, an acoustic guitar and some percussion.  Tracy is a folk pop or folk rock singer and her haunting vocals are so impactful and heartfelt that you believe the hardships this person is facing.  It was her vocals performance that made me fall in love with this song (and this album).  It was the most honest performance from I song I had heard on the radio at that time.  It made me think, if she could write such a powerful song, what else can she write about.  And the album doesn’t disappoint.

The song is about a young woman who has grown up with a very rough life.  Her dad is an alcoholic and her mom left them.  She had to quit school to take care of her dad and they were very poor.  She has a boyfriend and she dreams about taking a fast car and driving to the city and starting over and having a better life in the city.  Sadly, her boyfriend is a drunk just like her dad and she can’t break free from the hold poverty has on her world.  Such a sad song and story, yet it is so beautiful.

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Friday New Releases – October 5th

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Welcome to October.  Halloween decorations will start going up and Fall should be arriving soon…well I am in the South so I guess we don’t get Fall weather until Christmas.  The new releases are still coming fast & furious (great title for a movie franchise…I wonder if it has been done).  There are two releases from 2 of my favorite singer songwriters and there are just so many to choose you should be able to find something.  My choices are in Blue.  Let me know what interests your or I am missing anything so people will know.

  • 91OE1mUg7jL._SX522_  Matt Nathanson – Sings His Sad Heart – (Acrobat Records):  Matt Nathanson, what can I say.  He is one of my favorite Singer-Songwriters out there today.  I have seen him live 3 times (all is an opener…I need to see him as a headliner).  This album will be there when I get home on vinyl along with his Def Leppard Cover E.P. on vinyl as well.  This will consume most of my listening this weekend.  His lyrics are insightful at times, quirky, funny and sometimes damn near brilliant.  I can’t say enough good things.  Damn…I hope I haven’t built him up too much to disappoint…nah..can’t happen.

  • 81Hjd0GYwOL._AC_UL115_  Steve Perry – Traces – (Fantasy): The legendary Journey singer is back with his first album in over 20 years and I could not be more excited.  I can’t say I am a huge fan of what I have heard so far, but that doesn’t matter.  Any new music by this man is welcomed and will be listened to for time to come.

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The Original vs. The Cover – “Zombie”

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For this installment of The Original vs. The Cover, we are tackling the Cranberries song “Zombie and comparing to the cover by Bad Wolves.  The song was written by Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries back in 1993 and was released on their 1994 album ‘No Need to Argue’.  The Cranberries had pretty good success with the song, but the song was never released as an official single in the U.S. so it never made the Billboard Top 40. The song helped the album go on to sell over 7 million copies in the U.S.

The song was a very big political statement for the band.  It was about the IRA bombing in England in 1993 which killed two children, Jonathan Bell and Tim Parry.  The band is from Ireland and this hit too close to home for them.  For those that don’t know, the IRA is a militant group that has been trying for years to get the British troops removed from Northern Ireland.  Dolores wrote the song as an anthem for peace.  The song also speaks to the year 1916 which is how long the fighting has been taking place over this issue.

For me, I now look at the song differently.  I think the song was also talking about depression.  The lyrics do speak of war and fighting and it is obvious what the song is about, but with the lines repeated a lot “in your head / Zombie”, I looked at as the mental anguish the singer was fighting with herself as she did suffer from depression and sadly took her life on January 15th of this year, 2018. Maybe I am trying to read too much into it.

THE CRANBERRIES

The Cranberries song was a departure for the band sonically.  The band was an alternative rock band with some pop flare to them as well.  This song was more grunge sounding than anything they had done.  It was very dark, angry and Dolores’ delivery of the lyrics made you feel that anger and the pain of losing the children and the heartache the family’s must have felt.

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1971 – The Greatest Year in Music?

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If you are new to the site, I started this series with the year 1987 and then noticed that 1991 and 1983 were also a couple of the greatest years in music.  I got to thinking, was there a pattern that every 4 years we have another great year in music.  Well theory didn’t last long as I don’t think the next two years I researched were “great” years in music.  Those years were 1979 and 1995. If you want to explore all the years I have examined so far, click on the link below…

1979 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1983 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1987 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1991 – The Greatest Year in Music?

1995 – The Greatest Year in Music?

Now that my theory is busted, I am just going to start looking for the “Greatest” year in music.  I am going to start with 1971.  Will 1971 be another great year or will it be the greatest year.  Let us explore and see and then decide at the end.  But first we have to ask What were the top albums of the year?, What were the debut albums from some of the great rock bands? and What was going on in the world of music that year?

NEWS:

What were some of the biggest news events that happened in 1971?  I couldn’t find any one big thing that happened.  Nothing new was invented such as the walkman or the CD.  There were a couple things of note.

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June 27th & July 4th – Music promoter, Billy Graham, closed two of the most famous music venues, The Fillmore East in New York City closed on June 27th and closed with The Allman Brothers (the band recorded their famous live album their 3 months earlier) and on July 4th the Fillmore West in San Francisco closed with Santana, Credence Clearwater Revival and the Grateful Dead (not a bad night).

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My Sunday Song – “Blue On Black” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band

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For My Sunday Song #111, we are going to examine “Blue On Black” by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band.  The song was released in 1998 and was off their album ‘Trouble Is”.  “Blue on Black” was #1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart where it stayed for 6 weeks and it stayed on the charts for around 42 weeks.  It also won the Billboard Music Award for Rock Track of the Year.  Not bad for a Blues song.

“Blue on Black” as a song can mean anything to the listener.  Kenny won’t say what it means, but people interpret it as either losing someone whether by death or end of a relationship or that the relationship was abusive.  For me, I view at as the end of a relationship.  I don’t see it as abusive but it ended badly with things were said that shouldn’t have been and maybe anger got the best of them and someone was push and shoved.  But you interpret it as you want.

Another interesting thing about the term ‘Blue on Black’.  The idea for the song came from Kenny wearing a shirt and those two colors were the main colors of the shirt.  Tia Sillars, one of the songwriters, thought how when you take those two colors and put them together you actually don’t get a new color.  The dominance of the black just absorbs the blue and still makes black.  I take that to mean when things are dark and you are blue, you can get consumed by it and things just get bleaker.

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Friday New Releases – September 28th

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Have a seat and prepare to stay awhile.  There are a ton of releases this week and the most we have had on the list in quite awhile.  A lot of these are throwback artist that have been around a very long time and it is awesome to get some new releases from them even if there are some greatest hit type packages.  My favorites are highlighted in Blue.  Let me know what you are interested in or if I missed anything.  Thanks and have a great weekend!!

  • 81hCUUPoqkL._SX522_  Tom Petty – An American Treasure – (Reprise Records) – From the press release…The 60-track set unveils dozens of previously unreleased recordings, alternate versions of classic songs, rarities, historic live performances and deep tracks that spotlight Tom’s remarkable depth and evolution as a revered and tremendously influential songwriter, recording artist and performer. An American Treasure marks the first release of Tom Petty music since the artist’s tragic passing in October 2017.  I don’t think I can add to that.

  • 81bnBPxAMdL._SX522_  Billy Idol – Vital Idol: Revitalized – (Capitol Records):  I love Billy Idol and not sure I need another Vital Idol, but if it is as creative and good as the first, than this will be a nice addition.  Plus it has a remix of “Save Me Now” which is one of my favorite Idol songs.  I will get this one.  I didn’t see a video, so here is Save Me Now (Original).

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Billy Squier – “The Stroke” (45 Single)

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Back in 1981, Billy Squier came screaming on to the scene with the classic track, “The Stroke”.  This was the song that introduced me to him and kept me a fan all these years.  The song did fairly well on the charts reaching #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the song comes from his second album ‘Don’t Say No’ which went on to be a triple platinum selling album.

Now admit it.  You have always thought this song was about masturbation, didn’t you?  “Put Your Right Hand Out / Give a firm handshake”…always led you to believe that Mr. Squier was manhandling his little…”guitar” for lack of a better word.  Ok, I didn’t want to say dick, so there, now I have said it.  However, the song is actually not about that at all.

The song is about the Music Business and how it treats it’s talent.  How with “the stroke” of a pen, the musician signs their life away and becomes the property of the record label. They promise them the “big break”, get their music everywhere (“spread your ear pollution”) and promise fame and fortune.  However, when the hits dry up, the label drops you (“when you’ve found you bled me / slip on by”).  And when you look at the song from that perspective it is really a great song…okay…when you look at it the dirty way it is also a great song…either works!

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Ratt – Ratt (1999) – Album Review

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After the album ‘Collage’ in 1998, the band signed with a label again and this time it was Sony. In July of 1999, they released their self-titled album “Ratt” or 1999 since their debut E.P. was titled ‘Ratt’.  The album was very bluesy and not quite the Glam rock (with a blues edge) as they had done before which is a good thing as we are in 1999 and not 1989.

The band was down to three original members…Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini and Bobby Blotzer.  There is still no Robbin Crosby or Juan Croucier.  Replacing Juan on Bass is Robbie Crane making his first appearance with the band.  They didn’t replace Robbin which means only one guitar and that is a one of the negatives of the album.  The dual guitar sound was always a “Ratt” sound.

Out of all their albums, this is the one I am least familiar with.  I had lost interest with anything new from them and what I heard I didn’t like.  So, I had passed and have not ever owned this album and still don’t. I will pick it up if I ever catch it in the used section of a record store (is that giving away anything on my review???).

This has been a very hard post to write for me.  I have had to take a lot of time as I wanted to give the album a fair shake as I really love this band.  I needed to be inspired to write something about the album and although I am writing this post now, I still don’t know really what to say.  I will do my best though.

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