Night Ranger - 7 Wishes

Before people took cheap shots and shit on Winger and discovered Nickelback there was Night Ranger. They started out as a killer rock band, unleashing "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" backed by the twelve string sonic assault of Jeff Watson and Brad Gillis, who was fresh off of his stint as Ozzy's six string slinger. It was awesome.

Then came "Sister Christian" and all of a sudden it didn't matter that the same album had songs like "(You Can Still) Rock in America" and the power ballad "When You Close Your Eyes" - the guys had jumped the shark, shat the bed, screwed the pooch, sold their souls to the corporate machine, they had crossed the Rubicon, in short - they had sold out. They were a joke now, and any rock credibility was swirling the drain. They had as much cachet as Culture Club. Back then I was a card carrying member of the shit on Night Ranger club. It didn't matter that I liked their songs, and even secretly liked "Sister Christian" - they were a mock band. If they were a beer they'd be a Shanty.

"So wait a second," I can hear you asking, "don't you have Midnight Madness?" Yes, I have it ... but in my defence I only got it about a year ago. "Why did you get it?" Fine, I got it because "Sister Christian" was on it. I love that song. Fine, you happy? This is about 7 Wishes though, so let's get on with it.

Night Ranger was running in a parallel lane to the bands who were setting the foundations of what would be hair metal. Night Ranger was first and foremost a rock band that knew how to craft a pop hook with big guitars. They also weren't above trying to get lightning to strike twice. "Sentimental Street" was almost desperate in its attempt to replicate "Sister Christian" that it almost succeeds. I know I just crapped on it, sort of, but I'll give props where they're due ... it's a pretty good song, and frankly has aged pretty well.

The songs here are all pretty catchy, and nothing really takes you out of the experience. For me the song that set my ears to twitching was "Interstate Love Affair" - my goodness that's a great song. The sleeper that still gets me in the feels is the album's closer, "Goodbye." If there was a slow dance hall of fame, my goodness this song gets my nomination. 

7 Wishes would go platinum, their second album to hit a million. It would be another two years between releases, and by the time they released their fourth album Big Life, their audience was a lot smaller. The album would go gold, and it would be their last album to be certified gold, not counting their greatest hits, which is always a nice little bit of validation. 

Still on 7 Wishes, the band was still the same guys who had been around since the beginning. Jack Blades played bass and sang lead vocals. He also wrote a lot of the songs. Kelly Keagy was on drums and also sang lead. While the keyboards were never in your face, Alan Fitzgerald knew how to add the right textures in the right place to serve the songs. Then of course it was the guitar gods, Jeff Watson and Brad Gillis. Goodness gracious, they may not get the credit they deserve, but they were the real deal.

I always sort of wondered why the band couldn't maintain their momentum and sort of fizzled out and fell off the radar. They're still out there doing their thing, Jack, Brad and Kelly are still hanging in there. Which is kind of cool, just goes to show, you can still rock in America.

P.S. I happen to like Winger, and Nickelback.