At the very forefront of the NWLAHM in the early 80’s were Ratt. Their brand of commercial metal was a standout at the time. They had a good image, strong guitar players, and a ‘battened down’ rhythm section.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Ratt
ALBUM: Ratt
LABEL: Music For Nations, Time Coast Records
SERIAL: MFN 2, TC- 2203
YEAR: 1983
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Stephen Pearcy – vocals * Warren De Martini – guitars * Robbin Crosby – guitars * Juan Croucier – bass * Bobby Blotzer – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 You Think You’re Tough * 02 Sweet Cheater * 03 U Got It * 04 You’re In Trouble * 05 Tell The World * 06 Back For More * 07 Walkin’ The Dog
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Ratt Background
At the very forefront of the NWLAHM in the early 80’s were Ratt. The origins of the band come from San Diego. In particular, the predecessor band called Mickey Ratt.
Their brand of commercial metal was a standout at the time, with a good image, strong guitar players, and a ‘battened down’ rhythm section.
The latter in particular gets a mention.Croucier coming to the band via a stint with Dokken. Blotzer had previously appeared with Swiss artist Vic Vergat on his ‘Down To The Bone’ album.
Fellow L.A rivals Dokken and Motley Crue appear to contribute the most in terms of influences. But then again most of the bands from that era and location were listening to each other.
This was Ratt’s first recorded product, and eventually wound up as one of the first releases on the Music For Nations label in 1983.
The Songs
The album is in fact an EP, played at 45rpm on the turntable. It’s immediately obvious that the band have something to offer. All of Side One is fantastic metal.
‘Sweet Cheater’, ‘You Think You’ve Got It’, plus the rampant ‘U Got It’ are all superb by 1983 standards.
There’s an early version of ‘You’re In Trouble’ which begs for ear-time.
Side Two is not as good. Though it does feature a rather heavy version of ‘Walkin The Dog’, the old 60’s classic to end the record.
In Summary
As history will tell us, Ratt went onto bigger and better things, and released a handful of superb albums from 1984 through to 1990. It saw some of their songs breaking into the charts.
However, this initial EP which got the ball rolling for them is an overlooked gem. It sees them at a time when they weren’t influenced by the hype going on around them during this era.
Congratulations must also go the UK label Music For Nations for having the foresight to licence this recording. This was before Ratt became major label superstars with Atlantic.
Ratt on Video
Sweet Cheater
Click to go to YTM album page.
