{"id":19869,"date":"2012-05-05T06:14:07","date_gmt":"2012-05-05T11:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=19869"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:05:39","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:05:39","slug":"jack-blades-rock-n-roll-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/jack-blades-rock-n-roll-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Blades | Rock N Roll Ride<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Rock N Roll Ride<\/em> is the semi-biographical 2nd solo album by Night Ranger and Damn Yankees front-man, Jack Blades. Jack has been on quite an impressive ride for 30 years, beginning with Night Ranger\u2019s classic 1982 debut Dawn Patrol, and if this release is any indication, he has no plans to exit the ride any time soon!<\/p>\n

Coming off the heels of last year\u2019s excellent Night Ranger release Somewhere in California, Jack releases a collection of mostly hard-driving, guitar-blazing tracks with the obligatory ballad thrown in. The songs are catchy, the hooks are big, the choruses are mammoth and the production is pristine. It\u2019s basically everything you\u2019d expect from someone with his pedigree and he brings along some of his Night Ranger brethren and a few other rock and roll heavyweights to join the fun. Fellow Rangers Brad Gillis, Kelly Keagy, Eric Levy and Joel Hoekstra make guest appearances as does Cheap Trick\u2019s legendary singer Robin Zander who co-wrote one of the tunes and even adds his vocals to it. Additionally, Jack\u2019s son Colin contributed as did other musicians like Will Evankovich, Christian Cullen, Alan Hertz, and Whitesnake\u2019s Brian Tichy. Overall, it\u2019s not a perfect release but it\u2019s pretty darn good. Although he\u2019s been at it for over three decades, this release shows that Jack is still at the top of his game.<\/p>\n

The album starts off very strong with two of the best tracks on the album kicking things into high gear. The lead track (and video) \u201cBack in the Game\u201d is a high-energy rocker that sets the tone for the whole album right from the starting gate. It features blistering guitar work and a big melody. Lyrically, it\u2019s an uplifting tune, advising that when you get knocked down, get back up and get \u201cback in the game\u201d. Interestingly, Jack\u2019s son Colin lends his vocals to this track and is also featured in the video as a soldier. Two of his greatest inspirations are music and American military history so he combined the two into this song\u2019s video and dedicated it to all of the military heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.<\/p>\n

The second song is the title track and is another big rocker. As good as the opening track is, this one manages to be even better. This could easily be the lead track as it too sets the appropriate hard-rocking tone and has the advantage of being the title track and basically a summary of Jack\u2019s life. The chorus is extremely catchy and the crunchy guitar work is reminiscent of Blur\u2019s classic \u201cSong 2\u201d. Drummer du jour Brian Tichy sits behind the skins on this one. Two songs in, and it\u2019s already clear that this release is something special.<\/p>\n

Next up is the mandatory ballad \u201cHardest Word To Say.\u201d With landmark ballads like Night Ranger\u2019s \u201cSister Christian\u201d and the Damn Yankees hit \u201cHigh Enough\u201d the bar is set pretty high for any Jack Blades ballad and this one definitely lives up to expectations. It\u2019s musically awesome and lyrically poignant. This is a song of lost love where the singer knows that the relationship is over but still feels strong enough for his lover that he can\u2019t bring himself to utter the hardest word to say\u2026 goodbye.<\/p>\n

The next song, \u201cAnything For You\u201d is interesting because it was co-written by Robin Zander who also put in a guest vocal on the song. It\u2019s a slower number with a Beatle-esque quality. It\u2019s got a strong George Harrison sound and vibe to it.<\/p>\n

Other standout tracks include \u201cLove Life\u201d, \u201cSay You Will\u201d and \u201cHey Now.\u201d \u201cLove Life\u201d is the 5th track and it kicks the tempo back up after the two slower songs. It too is an upbeat, optimistic tune about loving life and enjoying the California lifestyle. Thematically, this could easily fit on Night Ranger\u2019s most recent release, Somewhere in California, as could the next track \u201cWest Hollywood\u201d, which is a psychedelic track that channels Tom Petty (to a somewhat eerie level), placing the listener at the intersection of Haight-Ashbury, right down to the lyrical nod to Hendrix with the line \u201cAre you experienced in love?\u201d This was actually co-written with Jack\u2019s son Colin. \u201cSay You Will\u201d is another up-tempo rocker, this time featuring a nice lead solo from fellow Night Ranger band-mate Brad Gillis. Kelly Keagy plays the drums on this one as well as the bluesy gospel rocker \u201cHey Now\u201d that closes the album. It features another exceptional blistering lead and has a real Black Crowes feel to it. A nice, interesting way to wrap up the album.<\/p>\n

Other tracks include \u201cBorn for This\u201d, lyrically celebrating people\u2019s passions, \u201cDon\u2019t Give Up\u201d, another motivational track with a killer chorus, and \u201cRise and Shine\u201d, a song that starts off slow with a moody Doors-like atmosphere due to the keyboards and then launches into a full-on guitar attack.<\/p>\n

Overall, this is a very good album and an excellent follow-up to last year\u2019s impressive Night Ranger release. It brings the listener along on Jack\u2019s lifetime journey of rocking for a living. It\u2019s got big guitars and big melodies and highlights the vocal prowess of Jack\u2019s voice as well as his impressive songwriting ability. When melodic hard rock is done well, it allows the listener to escape into a vision of sunny skies, palm trees and cruising down the avenue in your convertible \u201965 Mustang with your best girl by your side. So grab your Turtle Wax and put a shine on your favorite cruising vessel because this release is definitely done right. Strap yourself in and get ready for a rock and roll ride!<\/p>\n

Band:
\nJack Blades: Bass, guitar, acoustic guitar, lead and backing vocals
\nJoel Hoekstra: Guitars and solos
\nWill Evankovich: Acoustic Guitars, mandolin, additional guitars, coral sitar guitar, backing vocals
\nKelly Keagy, Brian Tichy: Drums
\nEric Levy, Christian Matthew Cullen: Keyboards<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tBack In The Game
\n2.\tRock N Roll Ride
\n3.\tHardest Word To Say
\n4.\tAnything For You
\n5.\tLove Life
\n6.\tWest Hollywood
\n7.\tBorn For This
\n8.\tDon’t Give Up
\n9.\tSay You Will
\n10.\tRise And Shine
\n11.\tHey Now<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website:\thttp:\/\/www.jackblades.net\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins Staff Writer — Rock N Roll Ride is the semi-biographical 2nd solo album by Night Ranger and Damn Yankees front-man, Jack Blades. Jack has been on quite an impressive ride for 30 […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[5158,374,2693,1464],"class_list":{"0":"post-19869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-damn-yankees","8":"tag-frontiers-records","9":"tag-jack-blades","10":"tag-night-ranger"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}