NIGHT RANGER
40 Years And A Night With The Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Frontiers Music Srl
November 1st, 1982 marked the debut release from San Fransisco Bay Area rockers NIGHT RANGER. The album was Dawn Patrol and it would start the band off on a journey through the 80's that would see them sell millions of albums, headline arenas worldwide and become a regular staple on MTV.
Fast forward 40 years to November 9, 2022, at the Key Bank State Arena in Cleveland, Ohio for the Second Annual "Danny Ripepi Memorial Concert", a special night to celebrate the life of Danny Ripepi, brother of tour manager Ed Ripepi who tragically lost his life in a 2020 auto accident. To make this night even more memorable the band brought in Cleveland's own Contemporary Youth Orchestra to play along with them performing some of their greatest hits in a live-recorded performance. The end result is Night Ranger: 40 Years And A Night With The Contemporary Youth Orchestra which drops on Frontiers Music SRL, October 20, 2023 and will be available on CD, Vinyl (Including limited editions), DVD, Blu Ray and digitally across all streaming services worldwide.
The core nucleus of NIGHT RANGER, founding members Jack Blades (vocals, bass), Brad Gillis (lead and rhythm guitars) and Kelly Keagy (vocals, drums) along with Keri Kelli (lead and rhythm guitars) and Eric Levy (Keyboards) combine with the CYO to deliver an arrangement of reimagined rock classics that make this album one for your collection.
I've been a NIGHT RANGER fan from the beginning and thru the years I've seen these guys perform all over the country some seventy-plus times, but when I heard that they were going to record an album with an orchestra I was admittedly a little apprehensive. I've heard other rock band's albums with symphony orchestras and the songs are changed completely from a great rock song to an orchestrated alternate version of the song. That's not the case here, what NIGHT RANGER has done along with the CYO is deliver enhanced versions of their classics and they're incredible. One thing that can't be understated is that it takes a great live band to pull this off. While so many bands from the 80's struggle with not just lineup changes, but energy and performance, NIGHT RANGER, while not immune to member changes, have solidified their lineup of Blades, Gillis, Keagy, Kelli and Levy. Jack Blades may not own the fountain of youth but he has a key to the place, he hits the stage on a mission to kick your ass from the front row to the parking lot while delivering his vocals as crisp as he did when this band started. Few guitarists in the history of rock music can match the stage presence of Brad Gillis, he's mastered his craft and I can tell you this dude loves what he does. The man behind the kit, the one and only Kelly Keagy just continues to amaze, pounding the skins and giving incredible vocal performances. With two of the most accomplished players as there are in Keri Kelli and Eric Levy rounding out their lineup, NIGHT RANGER 40 years in are a live act very few want to follow. Combine that with the CYO, an accomplished group in their own right having shared the stage with the likes of STYX, PAT BENATAR and JEFFERSON STARSHIP just to name a few, what you get as an end result are two contrasting musical forces coming together to create a rock performance for the ages.
40 Years And A Night With The Contemporary Youth Orchestra delivers a hits laden set, that fans old and new will enjoy reliving and discovering for the first time. As mentioned, these tracks aren't changed, they're played as they've always been played adding the orchestra really adds an element to the songs that shows that the creative spirit in this band is still alive and kicking. The band's biggest hits "You Can Still Rock In America", "When You Close Your Eyes" and of course "Sister Christian" off of Midnight Madness along with "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" and "Sing Me Away" off of the debut Dawn Patrol as well as "Sentimental Street", "Four In The Morning" and "Goodbye" off of Seven Wishes are here and reimagined live with the CYO as well as a couple of surprises such as "Call My Name" and "Night Ranger" from Dawn Patrol and "High Road" from 2014's High Road.
My hopes for this album is that the casual NIGHT RANGER fans will hear it and want to dive deeper into their catalog because this is a band that has so much more to offer than their biggest hits. And for the newer fans they'll hear a great live album and want to go catch these guys live because there are few bands that bring a live performance on the level of NIGHT RANGER, and I believe that they've captured that spirit on this album.
5.0 Out Of 5.0
