I don’t want any of you Metal Legions to tell me that you didn’t see this one coming. What’s that? You didn’t? Well okay, I guess I should believe you when you tell me that you never expected that Geoff Tate would eventually announce the formation of his own Queensryche and start to map out his touring plans after being fired as the singer for the original Queensryche. Maybe I am just still shocked about that particular case scenario.
Continue reading Double Your Pleasure, Double Your……Queensryche!!! →
Artist: Ratt
Title: “Tell The World: The Very Best Of Ratt”
Label: Rhino Entertainment
Release Date: 8/21/2007
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 4/5
Following in an almost hot on the heels pace of their DVD release “Ratt: Videos From The Cellar: The Atlantic Years” came “Tell The World: The Very Best Of Ratt” – a twenty song greatest hits compilation that will surely give you something tasty to sink your teeth into. I had to admit that I always liked the early material from Ratt because even though they were often lumped into the Glam Rock movement of the eighties, there was just something about their level of guitar work and overall melody that made them so much more appealing than 80% of the other bands that came out around that time. The release covers the bands Atlantic Records years and as result omits everything from their debut EP which in some sense is a crying shame since at least two of those numbers are worthy of placement here. I am speaking of course about the stellar “You Think You’re Tough” which even had an early video in the infancy years of the MTV generation. Also missing is this very albums title track of “Tell The World” and it made me wonder who thought that was a good idea. Fans of the band who already own the long ago released collection called “Ratt & Roll 8191” should plan on keeping that in their collection a little longer since there are tracks presented there but not here. Now back to this particular collection because despite these couple of concerns it is a really solid one that is worth owning. Add to this the fact that all tracks are remastered and as result are a lot “bigger” than we first heard them on the individual CD’s that some of us have in our music libraries.
Continue reading “Tell The World: The Very Best Of Ratt” by Ratt →
Artist: Ratt
Title: “Videos From The Cellar: The Atlantic Years”
Label: Rhino Entertainment
Release Date: 7/31/2007
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 4/5
Continuing their fulfillment of the wish-list dreams of many eighties Hard Rock and Metal fans, Rhino Entertainment delivers “Ratt: Videos From The Cellar: The Atlantic Years”, a DVD compilation that presents their two out of print home videos along with several others that never received an official release. It was during this period in Hard Rock history that MTV was in full-swing and really showed a lot of actual videos as opposed to the seemingly endless reality programs and juvenile dating shows that they are most known for today. With Ratt being one of the most popular attractions that the genre had in its roster of bands their individual albums would of course come with a number of videos. The band debuted with “Out Of The Cellar” which was a rough-edged but pop-savvy recording loaded with memorable anthems and powerful guitar hooks. This album gave birth to three videos that are presented here and from their original VHS release “Ratt: The Video” (1985). It was great to see the “Round And Round” clip again since it was so tongue in cheek with a drag-queen Milton Berle doing his thing while Ratt performed upstairs from a huge banquet table. What Metal fan from way back can forget when the waiter served a tray full of rats to the table or when guitarist Warren DeMartini crashed through the ceiling to perform his shredding solo in front of the shocked dinner guests.
Continue reading “Videos From The Cellar: The Atlantic Years” by Ratt →
Where Heavy Music & Pop Culture Collide
