Artist Spotlight: Night Ranger

Like a yearbook photo, Night Ranger brings back cool memories of a simpler time when men were men, women were women and rock stars ate guitars.

Time to cover one of those definitive Mr. Mike bands, Northern California's very own Night Ranger. Originally Ranger until they found out there was another band with that name, Night Ranger ruled the mid-80's as Arena Rock Power Balladeers with a penchant for "guitar face" solos and sideways playing drummers. Jack Blades (bass/vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums/vocals), Jeff Watson (guitars), Brad Gillis (guitars) and Alan Fitzgerald (keyboards) took their experience built up supporting Sammy Hagar and Ozzy Osbourne and played the 80's rock market perfectly. When I first started listening to a lot of music I tuned in to America's Top 40 in about January of '83 and the song stuck for 3 straight weeks at Number 40 was "Don't Tell Me You Love Me". The fast beat, catchy chorus and twin guitar attack impressed me and I played my recording off the radio for about a month until my Columbia Records tape came in the mail, pink outlined spine and all.

Dawn Patrol (1982)

I got Dawn Patrol in the mail and quickly played it on my tape player. Side A was a perfect slab of 80's power rock. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" still rocked out. "Sing Me Away" was a nice mid tempo pop song that they played on Solid Gold. "At Night She Sleeps" was a zippy piece of pop rock with a memorable synth hook. "Call My Name" was a dramatic ballad with ambulance sirens in the back ground. "Eddie's Comin' Out Tonight" let Watson and Gillis really cut loose with an extended twin guitar solo.

Like a lot of albums, Side B got a little less memorable except for their title song "Night Ranger" which alternated between a slow chugging groove and hard rock frenzy. A lot of summer days were spent sitting in my hot room listening to Night Ranger. I really liked how they attacked their music with the determination of a Football team. They ran, spun and crashed into each other with staged but effective abandon. Being young and having my last bit of interest in sports, I related to Night Ranger's athletic style of performance. And Brad Gillis' whammy bar based guitar style remains distinctive to him.

Midnight Madness (1983)

Night Ranger toured hard to build up interest in their act. After narrowly dodging oblivion when their label Boardwalk Records went under, the quintet moved to MCA for their second album. Branding was important in the record business at this period of time, so Night Ranger essentially made the first album over again with slightly sharper hooks. They even used the same producer as the first, the late Pat Glasser, who understood more than anyone who would produce the band afterwards the need to magnify the sound on every instrument and then balance them so every piece could be heard clearly without burying other parts.

Midnight Madness led off with "(You Can Still) Rock In America" aka "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" part 2. The song served as Night Ranger's political manifesto, don't think just Rawk! But it was the power ballad "Sister Christian" that elevated the group to headlining status. The arrangement that moved from pristine piano to thunderous drums and a soaring guitar solo was a once in a career event capped by an emotional vocal via Kelly Keagy. Despite most people having no clue what the song was about (it was later revealed to be about Keagy's sister, Keagy would sing "Sister Chris oh your time has come..." and the other band members thought he was saying "Christian" hence the name change) the penultimate power ballad was a Top 10 smash. It has since achieved cult status, even popping up in movies like Boogie Nights. The album closing Keagy acoustic ballad, "Let Him Run", was never a single but held a "Stairway To Heaven" sort of status among my high school class.

The rest of the album rocked hard and was more memorable than the first, even album tracks like "Rumours In The Air" or "Chippin' Away" were popular among the rocker crowd. They became every one's favorite band for that brief time period between Journey and 80's Pop Metal. My friends ran into the band in a restaurant in San Francisco and got autographs which increased their "local band" standing with us folk in the Bay Area. This was one of the first Lp's I ever bought. A Classic and the band's first Platinum album.

7 Wishes (1985)

...And if remaking the first album worked well last time, then it was time to do it again! 7 Wishes was a predictable but effective follow up recreating the sound of Midnight Madness with a bigger budget and shinier production. Pat Glasser returned for a third time in the Producer's chair, guiding the band as they became more keyboard heavy. The lead single "Sentimental Street" followed the blueprint of "Sister Christian" and rewarded the band with a second Top 10 hit. Songs like "This Boy Needs To Rock" and "Interstate Love Affair" appeared on movie soundtracks to increase the group's career momentum (Explorers and Teachers were the movies, respectively). The band had achieved status as the "It" band of the moment. 1985 was theirs!

It may be a little unfair to say 7 Wishes was the same as the first two albums, only because there was a definite nod to the rising Pop Metal scene. "7 Wishes" lightly head bangs while members of Motley Crue were roped in for backing vocals on the anthemic "Night Machine". Naturally, the band's sound was softened by the increased presence of Alan Fitzgerald's keyboards particularly on "I Will Follow You". "Faces" was a local favorite, but it was the hit "Goodbye" that really caught attention. Though it only charted as a Top 20 single, this expanded version of "Let Him Run" became the most popular song off the album and helped push sales for the record to Platinum.

On New Years Eve of 1985 I saw Night Ranger play at the Cow Palace along with Eddie Money. They put on a phenomenal show and as it was no seating I was able to get within a few feet of the stage where I could see everything up close. Just before midnight the band stopped to countdown the new year and then dropped balloons from the rafters as they launched into "Four In The Morning". At the end of the show Kelly Keagy threw his drum sticks into the crowd where skirmishes broke out on the floor over them. I think I sensed it was the beginning of the end because I thought "In a few years no one is going to be fighting over these sticks." Turned out I was right.

Big Life (1987)

The band returned to the studio with two things in mind: First, try to avoid writing poppy songs and second- switch producers. Both moves turned out to be the death knell for Night Ranger's career. Tired of not being taken seriously as rockers, Night Ranger pushed to write songs a little differently than before. The guitar solos got longer and Jack Blades writing became jauntier yet in an odd move the band went with a slicker sound. Producer Keith Olsen encased the band's trademark guitar oriented approach in synthesizer carbonite. In some songs you can barely hear the guitar at all until the solo comes along. The steely synths took away much of the group's character making them sound much more generic.

The new writing approach meant fewer hit songs and that's exactly what happened. The power ballad "Hearts Away" was pleasant but couldn't hook an audience the way prior love songs did, even when they tied it in with a Shampoo ad. "Rain Comes Falling Down" became a fan favorite as did the drum heavy "Better Let It Go". One of my personal favorites, "Color Of Your Smile" appeared on this album and remains a song I play often. But fan favorites don't sell records and Night Ranger was forced back to reality with a Gold record this time around.

In the midst of the non commercial approach was a commercial move that was beyond comprehension. The lead single was a movie soundtrack song for a Michael J Fox movie called "The Secret Of My Success". Produced by David Foster who was clearly in Chicago mode, the song was a pop rock tune with a stiff arrangement and fake horns that both engulfed the band's personality and made them seem like guests in their own song. Blatantly commercial, the song failed to become a smash hit leaving the group compromised both artistically and on the pop charts.

I saw the band live a second time on this tour with Tesla at the Concord Pavilion that summer. Night Ranger put on a slicker but still exciting show proving they hadn't lost all their magic. But their were problems.

Man In Motion (1988)

Those problems culminated with the ouster of keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald. I don't know the official reason why he left, I just assumed he was blamed for the failure of Big Life. At this point, Night Ranger was finding their fan base shrinking amid the flurry of Pop Metal bands like Poison and Ratt eating up the market. With Fitzgerald gone, the group announced "The Guitars Are Back" for the new Man In Motion album. The lead single, the power ballad "I Did It For Love" was written by Glen Ballard in a desperate attempt to woo listeners. They tried to do everything the opposite of Big Life to keep the career going. They weren't successful.

I never bought or heard the rest of this album. My college roommate had it and said it sucked so I didn't bother with it. Night Ranger was done in my mind and they broke up shortly afterward. Jack Blades would team up with Tommy Shaw (ex-Styx) and Motor City Madman Ted Nugent for two albums with Damn Yankees. Solo albums by other members followed but it seemed nothing could resurrect them.

Feeding Off The Mojo (1994)

Nothing except Brad Gillis and Kelly Keagy who revived the band as a power trio with bassists/vocalist Gary Moon. I have yet to hear a single song from this album, the cover alone seemed like an embarrassment and how do you have twin guitars with one guitar player? Around this time I saw Jeff Watson, but not as a performer. He was observing his girlfriend Susan Z play a set at a Napa winery. Susan Z was ahead of her time in that she sat on a stool facing the audience in a skirt unintentionally flashing her Z to the audience.

Why they would try to compete with the Soundgardens and Pearl Jams of the world was beyond me. I guess everyone has bills to pay, even 80's rock stars.

Neverland (1997)

By 1997 Damn Yankees was long gone and Susan Z had not been able to convince anyone of her Jewel like charms so the original group reunited. Neverland featured a more mature Night Ranger. More ballads than ever before showed up and the song writing wasn't quite as strong, but there were good moments. The acoustic based "Forever All Over Again" and the frantic rocker "New York Time" were memorable as well as the Jack Bladesish "Slap Like Being Born". The lack of Pat Glasser meant the production was still a little too slick but that was OK. They had turned in a decent disc to herald their return.

Most of my memories of this disc have to do with playing the tape copy in the car while going to work or visiting our friends. Our friends lived in an area that was sitting on top of smelly water, I think it was sulfur water. Smelled like rotten eggs. While this album isn't bad, that smell comes to mind when I hear this album now and again.

Seven (1998)

This is the seventh album only if you don't count Feeding Off The Mojo, but Night Ranger made another return with this disc. Where Neverland was a little reserved and slickly produced Seven was the opposite. The guitars crunched and a renewed emphasis on rocking out took precedent on Seven. While this resulted in a more entertaining album, particularly on the opening "Sign Of The Times" and the closing "Revelations" the songs still weren't up to their peak level. Seven comes across like a former heavyweight champ who's a little punch drunk from too many shots to the head. The will and muscle is still there but the rhythm is slightly off.

Still, Seven provided me some fun Rawk moments at a time when there really wasn't any. I played the disc quite a bit, though I found the lead single "Panic In Jane" disappointing because it was one of the worst songs on the album.

Hole In The Sun (2007)

Not available in this country, I have yet to hear anything from this album. The reviews I've read say it is more modern but still has some classic elements. Alan Fitzgerald had left or been dropped again in the 9 year interim between albums. Jeff Watson was fired shortly after the release of the disc, making it even more interesting. Hopefully this will get released in the US so I can finally hear what may be the final Night Ranger album.

Night Ranger still tours as far as I know playing the classic hits for the balding rock fan crowd like me. They may never recapture the spirit of their early records particularly with the passing of Pat Glasser, yet just knowing somewhere these guys are knocking out "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" makes me feel better. A side note, last year Jack Blades reteamed with Tommy Shaw to release a covers album that was very nice. With virtually no shot at ever making a full comeback, Night Ranger will just have to rock on in our collective memories. Or on You Tube. Whichever you choose.