Customer Reviews

Rock in Japan

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are a fan of Night Ranger's music, you will dig the song selection here. 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. 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.

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.

This live album features many of Night Ranger's classic hits, as well as several songs from their 1997 album Neverland. Plus it has guitar solos from each of the guitarists. It's an awesome album and worth the price, even buying it as an import.