Don't Let Up is a fitting title for the latest release from veteran rockers Night Ranger, their 12th album overall in a career that now spans 35 years. The opening greatness that is "Somehow Someway" (which has more than slight nod to Journey) shows that this band has refused to just 'let up' and go away, that they are still very capable of crafting irresistible hard rock fare littered with tasty twin guitar soloing. Here in 2017, the band are comprised of
Jack Blades (bass, vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums, vocals), Brad Gillis (lead & rhythm guitars), Eric Levy (keyboards), and Keri Kelli (lead & rhythm guitars), and this new configuration is ready to take on the world as if it was 1988 all over again.
Considering they haven't worked together all that long, Gillis and Kelli sure knock it out of the park here on Don't Let Up, the duo trading blistering leads and raunchy riffs on the catchy hard rocker "Running Out of Time", balance their riffs & solos perfectly alongside the tasty organ from Levy on "Day and Night", and offer up majestic twin harmonies on the soaring title track. "Say What You Want" is another stellar hard rocker with blazing guitars and keyboards as well as strong vocals from Keagy & Blades, and the band even throw in a few soft ballady numbers with "Truth" and "We Can Work it Out". Gillis' wild whammy bar excursions are a joy as always to hear, and he's firing away with reckless abandon alongside Kelli's more linear styled leads on the raging rocker "Jamie", another tune with killer vocals from Blades and Keagy. The one miss here is the blues piece "(Won't Be Your) Fool Again"...one thing Night Ranger has never been is a blues band, and I don't recommend they start now.
Once again, Night Ranger turns in a very solid collection of accessible hard rock songs that show they have plenty of up their collective sleeves, with no signs of slow-up anywhere in sight. Guitar fans rejoice, as there is also plenty of dazzling six-string acrobatics going on throughout Don't Let Up from the new duo of Brad Gillis and Keri Kelli. Good stuff!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
01 SOMEHOW SOMEWAY
02 RUNNNG OUT OF TIME
03 TRUTH
04 DAY AND NIGHT
05 DON'T LET UP
06 (WON'T BE YOUR) FOOL AGAIN
07 SAY WHAT YOU WANT
08 WE CAN WORK IT OUT
09 COMFORT ME
10 JAMIE
11 NOTHING LEFT OF YESTERDAY
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