Night Ranger
Seven (CMC)
by Scott Hefflon
Look, we were young, OK? Night Ranger‘s debut, Dawn Patrol, caught us at a time (early ’80s) when, like, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, and Journey were called rock. Jack Blades had (and still has) a voice about as “rockin'” as Don Dokken (who hit the scene at about the same time), which is to say, like some limp-wristed acoustic-guitar-strumming loser who wants your pocket change. In olden days, Jack would be called a balladeer. The fact that he’s in a “rock” band is a sure sign that the general public likes pop music more than gritty rock, despite the fact that it goes flat much more quickly. Blades is guilty of being in Damn Yankees (a band gun-toting Ted Nugent should be horrified he was ever affiliated with, but for some reason isn’t – I consider them as empty as cash-cow radio-pests like the Spin Doctors and Mr. Big, culminating in the unrockness of one-hit wonders like Third Eye Blind) as well as the Damn Yankees spin-off, Shaw*Blades, also with Tommy Shaw, yet another not-very-rock pretty-voiced pansy-boy who couldn’t get a job after Styx realized Kilroy Was Here may’ve sold at the time, but no long-time fan would ever respect them again.
(5226 Greens Dairy Rd Raleigh, NC 27616)