Ratt : The Atlantic Years : 1984 - 1990 Unboxing Reviews
Ratt : The Atlantic Years : 1984 - 1990 : 5 CD Box Set
Ratt : The Atlantic Years : 1984 - 1991 : Vinyl Deluxe Box Set
The Vinyl set features all 5 albums remastered on 180g black vinyl, the rare "Nobody Rides For Free" 7" single.
12 page replica tour book (featuring rare and never before seen photos from Ratt's personal archives), 11"x17" WANTED POSTER, bumper sticker, replica backstage pass, and guitar pick in a custom lift top box.
The vinyl set is mastered by Andy Pearce and the whole band were involved in the production of the LP box set as well.
The CD set features all 5 of the studio albums in a side loading box. All albums feature the classic line up of Stephen Pearcy (vocals), Warren DeMartini (guitars), Robbin Crosby (guitars), Juan Croucier (bass/vocals), and Bobby Blotzer (drums).
1984’s Out Of The Cellar kicks off proceedings, and the line-up here features vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarists Robbin Crosby and Warren DeMartini, bassist Juan Croucier and drummer Bobby Blotzer. From the outset, from the opening chords of Wanted Man, it’s a glammy full frequency sonic assault that mixes full on crunchy guitars with melodic AOR breaks. Some of the songs Crosby had written in his previous band. The producer Beau Hill was apparently a novice but does a fine job, given the style and target audience, and the album went triple platinum in the US, spawning an MTV hit or two; one of the videos featured Tawny Kitaen, who also appears on the album’s cover. Occasional shred and guitar harmonies make for a good album, but there isn’t much in the way of change of pace of feel.
The following year’s Invasion Of Your Privacy followed suit, and went double platinum in the US. More tours, radio play and hits followed. The sultry shot of a scantily clad model on the cover lays the cards on the table in terms of the continued musical style. Pearcy’s vocals match the zeitgeist perfectly, and hits like Lay It Down are an enjoyable listen.
1986 saw third album Dancing Undercover, more hit singles including the opening track Dance, and tours with the likes of Cheap Trick, Queensryche, Poison and Cinderella. Some of the tracks verge on straight heavy metal, but even on those Pearcy’s vocals give that sleaze edge. An enjoyable track is Body Talk, which was used in the Eddie Murphy film The Golden Child.
Fourth album Reach For The Sky, released in 1988, another solid album, still managed to go platinum in the US, but the sales were notably down from earlier albums. While it still had a glam edge, it was not as sleazy as earlier efforts. Way Cool Jr was one of the catchy sleazier tracks, but that part of Ratt’s sound was largely lost to the likes of Poison, Crue and G’n’R. Absolutely nothing wrong with the album. It’s solid, but a little more ordinary at the same time.
In order to try to recreate past glories, produced Desmond Child was brought in for 1990’s Detonator. And without being overtly sleezy, there is a distinct move to a more commercial glam metal/pop (not too dissimilar to the then recent transition made by Kiss). Still solid, a power ballad and all, full credit for keeping going in the face of grunge, a trend that successfully killed off much better bands. But the album only managed gold sales, which would signal the end of an era. Joe Geesin
Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
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13 май 2023
