GODDAMN! Thats Glam!
Ratt- Ratt (1983), Extended Play
Stephen Pearcy - Singer
Robbin "King" Crosby - Guitar
Warren DeMartini - Guitar
Juan Croucier - Bass
Bobby Blotzer - Drums
Writers: Stephen Pearcy & Robbin Crosby
Producer: Liam Sternberg (Akron, Ohio apparently there was an Akron Sound similar to Minneapolis Sound centered around Devo. He actually wrote "Walk Like An Egyptian", more of a New Wave guy, but he banged out quite the heavy metal record).
I fucking love Ratt. Ratt was one of the first bands that cemented my love of glam metal. Motley Crue was definitely my first favorite and made me want to seek out every glam/LA metal band ever. Pretty much immediately found Ratt and it was love at first listen. I feel so fortunate that I have gotten to see Ratt twice well technically three times. The first time was Bobby Blotzer's band of hired misfits, which was really more of a Ratt cover band with the original drummer. At the end time, Ratt had not toured in years so I jumped at the chance and drove 4 hours round trip to watch them along with Warrant (Robert Mason who looks like Ricky Morton as lead singer) and Bret Michaels playing all your Poison favorites. It was a pretty epic night of hairspray. The next year I saw the crown jewel of Ratt performances.
I got to see Ratt with Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini, Carlos Cavaso (ex-Quiet Riot) and Juan Crocuier on bass! Outside of seeing Robbin Crosby (who sadly passed away in 2002), this was the best possible lineup. This was the lineup that recorded the killer "Infestation" album in 2011, which smokes, definitely check out "Eat Me Alive" if you have not and check out the whole album if you have time. "Infestation" should have been the follow up to "Invasion of Your Privacy". Pearcy & DeMartini were able to capture the classic Ratt sound and even though they didnt do any Quiet Riot songs, it was cool to say I have seen Cavaso in person. The best part and the number one reason anyone should see Ratt is Juan Croucier on fucking bass. The Dude is a walking riot and totally stole the show. He does so many tricks and funny faces it is incredible. Everyone needs to see it! I had the luck of headbanging next to a hot blonde, Melissa, who was super into it and we both were marking out over Juan Croucier. Unfortunately, she had a boyfriend, who I call "Danzig" because he was wearing a "Danzig" shirt, had his arms folded and looked nonplussed about the whole situation. Ratt fucking rules dude, get your head out of your ass. I ended up running into Melissa & Danzig at Kip Winger doing all your Winger favorites UNPLUGGED, I think at LA Guns (Phil Lewis & Tracii Gunns) and last year at Sebastien Bach. Never have talked to Danzig, seems like wet blanket. But every time, she fucking rocks out hard and we have a great time. This one is for Melissa, hope you are getting through COVID-19 ok and that we will be banging out heads and screaming our lungs out while "Danzig" stands in the background with his arms folded sooner rather than later!
The most recent time I saw Ratt we lost the axemen of DeMartini and Cavaso but I had such a great time the time before watching Juan Croucier that I went again and had a blast! I think that's the night I accidentally attended Lynnfield High School Class of 1987 reunion. Shannon knew how to rock and fucking roll! One thing I have learned hot, middle-aged babes attend Ratt concerts. Honestly as long as Juan Croucier is on stage and they are playing Ratt, I'd go see them, he puts on a helluva performance.
As you can tell, I fucking love Ratt. Obviously, I want to write about them, but I dont want to write about the usual suspects like "Out of the Cellar" (probably the greatest Glam Metal album of all time) or "Invasion of your Privacy" (another perfect album). I finally listened to "Detonator" (1990) a couple weeks ago and to my chagrin it was decidedly mediocre and didnt inspire me to want to write. I could write about 1986's "Dancing Undercover", but even though it is less well-known than its predecessors (check out "Looking for Love" for the best under the radar Ratt song), it is still pretty well-known. Then I was listening to one of my favorite Ratt songs and a live staple, "You Think Youre Tough" then it hit me I can write about their debut EP! It flies under the radar and it fucking rocks just as hard as "Out of the Cellar" and "Invasion of Your Privacy".
Ratt's history is a little confusing to me but my understanding is that Stephen Pearcy had a band called Mickey Ratt in San Diego and moved to LA. He met Robbin Crosby, who joined the band. This became the nucleus of the band. Jake E. Lee was the other original guitarist, but just as Ozzy Osbourne raided fellow LA Glam outfit, Quiet Riot for Randy Rhoads, he snagged Jake E. Lee after Rhoads' tragic death. A very young Warren DeMartini, 18 years old I believe, joined the band what a crazy way to become an adult. Juan Croucier was actually originally in Dokken but departed there and joined Ratt. As much I like to be Rokken with Dokken, Ratt was the better band and the world is a better place for Croucier to be in Ratt. All this is important because there is an important distinction to be made between Ratt EP, Out of the Cellar and Invasion of Your Privacy.
The Ratt EP is the most metal album released by Ratt. "Tell The World" was originally released on "Metal Massacre" a compilation album that featured underground bands such as Metallica & Bitch. The reason for this sound is this is album where Robbin Crosby had the most influence. I think Out of the Cellar is a nice blend of the DeMartini/Crosby sounds. Invasion of Your Privacy becomes more heavily influenced by DeMartini and his more Van Halen-shred style sound. DeMartini smokes and is a great guitarist but the music became much flashier. Robbin Crosby was a badass, meat & potatoes gritty guitar player. He brought the staccato riffing of Judas Priest to the band. It was this element that made Ratt sound like the most metal of the glam metal bands.
Because of this strong influence of Robbin Crosby and his staccato riffing, the album sounds like twisted steel & sex appeal. It is 22 minutes of explosive ferocity that goes for the jugular and never lets up. Crosby's guitar literally sounds like he is bending steel with his fingers and every song is a bonecrusher. The sex appeal comes from the cocksure swagger of Stephen Pearcy who has never sound better.
The first song "Sweet Cheetah" comes from my favorite hybrid genre glam speed metal. Other classics from this genre from Ratt include "Im Insane" (another Crosby classic, you can tell Im a Crosby classic) and "Body Talks". I don't have much to say about this song besides the fact that I love it as an opener. They come at you guns blazing with speed metal and that riff, which is very Judas Priest, lets you know this a real deal heavy metal band.
The band correctly identified "You Think You're Tough" as the best song on the EP and the one that should be released as a single and make a video for. The music video which features Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx & Tommy Lee was retroactive because of the MASSIVE success of Out of the Cellar (3x Platinum) they wanted a fourth single, but instead of digging from that album they went back and pulled from the EP, a wise decision. I love this song this is such a great heavy metal song. It starts off with that perfect Judas Priest-style riff alone and then as soon as the rhythm section kicks in you have to headbang. It is compulsory. I found the perfect word for the riff, menacing. It is a menacing riff. The whole EP has this bounce to the rhythm section which I just love. I would say a similar bounce can be found on "Living After Midnight" by Judas Priest. Another aspect, I really like about this song is they add some interesting wrinkles. LA Metal songs are usually pretty straightforward. It is the same riff from beginning to end, verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus and no really tempo/time changes. It is not like thrash or progressive metal. What I like about this song is in the bridge to the chorus they have a cool breakdown and Croucier sings the breakdown on his own. I think they should have done more things like that. The solo is also the best solo on the record and the best Crosby solo. It is explosive at the start, but it doesnt shred, it has a lot of feel and texture to it. Then he leads back into the sort of breakdown that preceded it and then a little squeal before going back to that riff.
The next two songs, "U Got It" and "Tell The World", I fucking love too and wish they got played live. They both feature that bouncy rhythm section I was talking about. I love how it contrasts with the pummeling power of Crosby's guitar. "U Got It" is not speed metal but at the same time it is very uptempo and I really dig it. There is a great run from DeMartini in this after the first rendition of the chorus where you could tell where the future of Ratt was going. It similar to "Lack of Communication" which is my favorite Ratt in that it is a kickass riff with an uptempo feel and where the solo comes in a weird spot. I feel like Ratt took the Judas Priest blueprint and really did the impossible managed to keep the heavy metal integrity but make the songs filled with hooks. "Tell The World" has a similar vibe to "U Got It" just another kick ass guitar-driven song. A really great driving song. "Tell The World" has some really great guitar fills that I cant tell who it is coming from, but they rip. I will say the weakest aspect of Ratt has always been the lyrics. I love Pearcy's strained vocals it makes it sound like the words are coming out of a blender just like the grind of the guitars, but the lyrics are usually cliche-ridden and just arent really that intelligent. I think the biggest improvement between this EP and Out of the Cellar is Ratt really figured out how to write a chorus. These choruses are just barked out with some gang-shouting behind them. On Out of the Cellar, the choruses become the hook and it is the part people really latch onto.
The penultimate song is the earlier version of "Back For More" it is the one slight misstep on the EP. They really improved this song on Out of the Cellar which maybe the only reason I noticed a lot of production flaws (there is this weird bass chord thats totally out of place every so often that drives me nuts). They wrap up with a bitchin' cover of Aerosmith's "Walking The Dog" which they have played at the last two live shows I have went to and I think they do a great job metallizing the blues-rock classic with Pearcy staying true to Steven Tyler's vocal rhythm.
Since Ratt is an EP, on an independent label (they would be signed to Atlantic after the EP, and it comes before the monster of a debut album "Out of the Cellar", the Ratt EP flies under the radar. For those Ratt fans that want a little more of a harsher, metal sounding Ratt or who those Judas Priest fans that wish more Priest songs sound like "Living After Midnight" definitely give this a spin. It is 22 minutes of testosterone-addled metal that will surely leave you feeling SUPERCHARGED!
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