Still rockin'

San Francisco band Night Ranger began their reign in 80s rock with Dawn Patrol, their 1982 debut album. The band’s first five albums sold over 10 million records. Their biggest claim to fame lies in hit songs like “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” and “Sister Christian” – the ultimate piano power ballad that helped them garner worldwide fame. After being a dominant force through most of the 1980s, they broke up temporarily in 1989, only to reunite in 1996. Hole In The Sun is the band’s ninth studio album and first since the release of Seven in 1998.

One of the many meritorious songs on this album is the captivating “Whatever Happened.” Musically, this catchy song sounds like The Cars meets The Outfield – the perfect mix of new wave and ’80s pop/rock. Lead singer/bassist Jack Blades’ deep, quasi-monotone voice in the verses gives off a Tom Petty-esque sound at times, and he even sounds a little bit like Art Alexakis from Everclear in this song.

“Whatever Happened” shows that the band has a little bit of a punk side thrown in with their hard rock, pop/metal sound, and yet
“Revelation 4AM,” the band shows that they still have the ability to write big time power ballads. The song starts out softly, with an acoustic guitar playing a progression that sounds like a mix of classical and blues. The song then explodes with a driving wall of sound that contains enticing guitar riffs and harmonized vocals from Blades and drummer/vocalist Kelly Keagy. The chorus has the same thundering, fervent sound as what made “Sister Christian” an ’80s pop/rock staple.

Hole In The Sun has an almost perfect mix of fast and slow songs; songs that interchangeably go from infectious guitar riffs to ardent melodies. They have clearly shown that they’re not afraid to go in a new direction, while still managing to retain the sound that made them one of the quintessential ’80s bands. If somebody took four or five of the best bands from the late ’70s to the early ’90s and put them in a blender, the end result would likely be something similar to this album.