Audio CD review:
Night Ranger - Rock in Japan

Night Ranger - Rock in Japan

Band: Night Ranger Title: Rock in Japan Rating: Release Date: 01 June, 2001 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Neverland 2: Touch of Madness 3: My Elusive Mind 4: Sing Me Away 5: Someday I Will 6: Brad Gillis Guitar Solo 7: Rumours in the Air 8: Jeff Watson Guitar Solo 9: Eddie's Comin' Out Tonight 10: Sentimental Street 11: Goodbye 12: Forever All Over Again 13: Slap Like Being Born 14: When You Close Your Eyes 15: New York Time 16: Don't Tell Me You Love Me 17: Sister Christian 18: (You Can Still) Rock in America

Customer Reviews Outstanding.... Everything a live album should be. . . The raw gritty feeling of a live session but still a feel for the original source material. If you like Night Ranger, you will love this album. From a technical standpoint, the instruments and vocals are perfectly engineered to be heard over the crowd noise. . Great Music proving You Can Still Rock... It is a good mix of music from the "Neverland" CD, showing where the band was ten years after their prime, along with the hits from the eighties. If you are a fan of Night Ranger's music, you will dig the song selection here. The music alone, for the most part, is exactly what I was hoping to hear. This is the same song selection that has been repackaged several times in recent years. If you can find this CD in any packaging, buy it. The guitar work is stellar, and vocally the band can still harmonize better than most bands in their genre. The high points on this CD include Jeff's guitar solo, most of the hits we know and love from the eighties are included, and great guitar solos within the songs we know and love. Here are the weak points. The packaging -- skimpy liner notes and a photo of the band that is older than my kids! Considering this concert was recorded in 1997, yellow spandex on the front cover can not possibly help in the effort of selling this CD. Since the music, not the packaging, makes it or breaks it for me, here is where the music slips a bit. First, Brad's guitar solo is little more than noise. He has always delivered monster licks. When it comes to melodic solos and whammy bar magic/funkiness, very few guitarists can touch this guy. His solos within the context of the band's songs are dead on perfect; however, his solo track leaves a lot to be desired. Second, the keyboards are buried on a few tracks. When a band has a keyboard player as talented as Fitz, he shouldn't be buried. There is enough space across the stereophonic spectrum to let all players be heard. Regardless, the high points far outshine the low ones. Buy the CD, crank it up, and show the next generation what good, melodic rock is all about. . You can see a complete list of all Night Ranger discography, or go back to the Night Ranger tabs