Ratt Albums (7)
'Dancing Undercover'
Release Date 8/11/2009
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
L.A. pop-metal merchants Ratt thought they were being wise by knowing that they shouldn't mess with a successful formula, so after scoring multi-platinum sales with their first two albums, they decided to reprise most all of their attributes for their third, 1986's Dancing Undercover. Unfortunately, times were quickly changing and a second generation of younger, prettier pop-metal bands was rising up to challenge them (Poison, Cinderella, et al.), so as they trotted out their latest batch of soon-to-be-platinum-selling hits, Ratt had no way of knowing it would be their last brush with the top. Dancing Undercover's slightly disappointing chart peak of number 26 provided an early indication that things were not as they had once been (both of its predecessors had gone Top Ten), and when followed by similarly under-performing new singles "Dance," "Slip of the Lip," and "Body Talk," the decadence die was undoubtedly cast. Increasingly sluggish business on tour would come next (the band first fired, then rehired opening act Poison when it became obvious they were moving more tickets), and despite the presence of a few more perfectly decent album cuts like "One Good Lover," "Drive Me Crazy," and "Looking for Love," Dancing Undercover simply failed to connect with consumers like previous efforts. As for Ratt, they were about to find themselves facing possible "extermination," after fading inspiration and increasing personal strife contributed to the near-career-killing debacle that was their fourth album, 1988's Reach for the Sky. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ratt's comeback effort, Collage, wasn't a blockbuster success, but it was a success. More importantly, it arrived at the right time, just as the group and its hair metal peers figured out how to carve their own niche -- not quite an oldies act, but not a chart contender, either. Strong ticket sales and Collage led to a major-label deal with the reactivated Portrait, which released Ratt in the summer of 1999. The eponymous title evidently signals that this is a new beginning for Ratt -- even if there's only one new member, bassist Robbie Crane -- and it is, to a certain extent. The music is the most mannered and mature the band has ever made, heavy on mid-tempo numbers; even the heaviest songs don't really rock hard, they're just louder. Even stranger, the group doesn't really try anything new, but they sort of retreat to the sound and style of the classic album-oriented rock era -- the late '70s -- and they've never done that before. In other words, it never rocks with abandon like early Ratt, nor does it ever have any strong, indelible hooks or melodies (it comes the closest on the closer, "So Good, So Fine"). Guitarist Warren DeMartini does have a few interesting licks scattered throughout the record, but vocalist Stephen Pearcy sounds subdued, even worn-out, which doesn't add any life to songs that need some spark. The worst thing is, it's possible to hear where Ratt wants to go with Ratt -- how they still want to rock but not rock out, how they want to have melodies and intriguing sonic textures -- but the record just lies there. They know what they want to do, how they want to mature. Now they just have to figure out how to execute it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ratt's comeback album Collage finds the Los Angeles hair-metal band acting as if the '90s were the '80s, meaning that they're just turning out the same three-chord, good-time party rock as before. Surprisingly, the band doesn't sound nearly as tired as they did on Detonator, the last album they recorded before breaking up, performing these entirely predictable songs with some passion. That doesn't make Collage a great record, especially since the group fails to write really memorable hooks, but it is competent and fitfully enjoyable and a perfectly respectable comeback effort. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Invasion of Your Privacy'
Release Date 10/25/1990
Tracks 10
Label Atlantic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Released just over a year after their blockbuster double-platinum debut, Ratt's second album, Invasion of Your Privacy, contained all of the same ingredients that helped launch the band to MTV and radio success: a batch of commercially savvy pop-metal tunes and a half-naked model on the cover. This may seem like an overly simplistic analysis, but it helps make the point that, for all its many positive attributes (including a number nine chart peak), Invasion of Your Privacy was very much a creative holding pattern for the group. If anything, returning producer Beau Hill merely helped Ratt fine-tune their songs and give them a brighter pop sheen (including some telltale electronic percussion), but although there were still hit singles to be had via riff-driven opener "You're in Love," "Lay It Down," and "What You Give Is What You Get," none of these challenged the first album's "Round and Round" in terms of commercial or cultural ubiquity. Nonetheless, another largely consistent selection of tracks (including fan favorites "Give It All" and "Between the Eyes") helped Ratt avert most accusations of looming creative stagnation, and the full flowering of budding guitar hero Warren DeMartini (while still leaving some lead work for co-axeman Robbin Crosby -- the band's heart and soul) was a highlight in and of itself. Ultimately, no after-the-fact nitpicking can change the fact that Invasion of Your Privacy was a perfectly respectable effort, much loved by Ratt's fans, and easily avoided any hints of a sophomore slump. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Although often targeted as one of the worst offenders in the much maligned hair metal scene of the '80s, Ratt's distinctive sonic signatures and generally high level of musicianship are often overlooked. Granted, the lyrics are usually vacuous and the music doesn't possess much staying power as the years go by, but, as pop-metal bands go, Ratt were better than most of their peers. Guitarist Warren DeMartini, in particular, is responsible for some of the most memorable riffs and most masterful solos of the genre. Ratt's fourth album, Reach for the Sky, wisely follows the same formula of the three records that preceded it, yielding some of the band's best material, along with the usual amount of filler. They scored a minor hit with "Way Cool Jr.," (which flaunts a groove Aerosmith would be proud of), and tracks like "City to City" and "No Surprise" also emphasize the band's strengths. But stuff like "I Want a Woman" and "Chain Reaction" demonstrate singer Stephen Pearcy's unfortunate inclination toward dumb rock clichés, a component of Ratt that consistently undermines the musical achievements of the band. ~ Andy Hinds, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ratt's fifth album, Detonator, finds the band breaking a long running relationship with producer Beau Hill, who helped develop the band's sonic trademarks through the '80s. The results on Detonator are clean and focused, but lack some of the live-sounding energy of the band's earlier work. What's more, the presence of hit makers like Desmond Child and Jon Bon Jovi suggests that the band has lost some confidence in its abilities to write songs -- and ironically, Detonator was the first Ratt album not to achieve platinum sales. Still, there are some strong moments here, including the crushing, detuned guitar riff of "Shame Shame Shame" and swaggering "All or Nothing," which (along with the rest of the album) spotlight the considerable skills of guitarist Warren DiMartini. The lyrics, as usual, are dumb. Detonator, released on the eve of the grunge explosion of the early '90s, would represent the end of Ratt's golden era. ~ Andy Hinds, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ratt's aptly named debut album, Out of the Cellar, may have suggested they were underdogs of the then burgeoning L.A. glam metal scene, but this five-piece made up of brash young San Diego transplants and relative local veterans was in fact a force to contend with, and already gunning for the top of the heap. Having established a good buzz with their eponymous EP one year earlier, and then signed with powerhouse Atlantic Records as a result, Ratt now transposed their high-energy hard rock (derived from usual suspects Van Halen and Aerosmith, plus the staccato riffing of Judas Priest) into a multi-platinum-bound juggernaut that reached number seven on the Billboard charts, and initially outsold the more notorious Shout at the Devil, released months earlier by their friendly rivals Mötley Crüe. Not that it's difficult to understand why, since Out of the Cellar was a consistently entertaining listen from start to finish, thanks to strong album tracks like "Wanted Man," "Back for More," and the frenetic "I'm Insane," and also spawned a massive MTV and radio smash with "Round and Round." After all, a single gigantic hit is all a band needs, and "Round and Round" was an absolute monster, peaking at number 12 on the charts and going on to achieve immortality as one of the defining songs of the 1980s. It was also an impossible act to follow, as things turned out, and even though Ratt would continue to prosper for years to come, Out of the Cellar eventually came to represent a premature career high point. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
