Ratt & Roll or Pay the Toll was the catch phrase used by classic 80’s hard rock band Ratt all through their career. I even had a shirt that had that very phrase on the back. For the nearly 27 years, Ratt has been “Ratt & Rolling” through thick and thin. The death of original guitarist Robin Crosby, the departure of bassist Juan Croucier and even a change in singers didn’t keep RATT down as they continued to weather the storms and move forward. In 2005, Ratt reunited with original singer Stephen Pearcy and later recruited former Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo to round out their strongest lineup to date. 2010 saw Ratt releasing a brand new album on Roadrunner Records called “Infestation.” In all honesty, I was a little curious how a “new” Ratt album would sound in 2010. Most bands of their genre have tried to release new albums and most fall flat sounding dated, nostalgic and completely uninspired. Ratt’s “Infestation” sounds very much like classic Ratt but is also surprisingly fresh and new sounding. The songs are very guitar heavy, riff laden Rock & Roll and it’s a really easy album to listen. I’d even say that it’s probably their most consistently great album since Out of the Cellar. I doesn’t take a brain surgeon to get into Ratt’s music but that’s the point. It’s fun, tongue in cheek hard rock that has a very good place here in 2010. Hearing this album really got me excited to check them out live again after many years so when I heard they were here in Atlanta opening for The Scorpions I jumped at the opportunity to check them out.
Ratt took the stage at 7:30 sharp and came out firing on all cylinders opening with the Invasion of Your Privacy opener “You’re In Love.” My first thought was “Holy shit! These guys look amazing for their age!” They were so full of life and just looked like they were having a blast. Even singer Stephen Pearcy who’s never been known for being charismatic was quite animated even after a recent hernia surgery. My second thought as the band went straight into the 2nd song “Lay It Down” was “Damn! These guys sound fucking amazing!” I was so floored at how great they sounded. There was this tightness to them that I never really associated with Ratt. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a Ratt fan for about 25 years now but I never really thought of them as a “great band.” I thought they were really good so even though I went in with low expectations, the band was truly a “great band.”
Ratt played with all the energy and musical tightness of a band 1/2 their age. They were focused and locked in with each other as there was a vibe of unspoken communication between them. You can tell that this is a band that knows each others moves at all times. Drummer Bobby Blotzer and bassist Robbie Crane play so tight in the groove with each other that they could and did at time stop on a dime with each other and pick up right where they left off without even really looking at each other. The addition of former Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo seems to have added a new level of energy and musical exploration for the band. It was really quite amazing to see a band with two of the genres best guitarists trading off leads back and forth like some sort of wicked musical tennis match during the Ratt classic “Way Cool Jr.”. As opposed to trying to upstage each other, it was like they were rooting each other on as they traded solos of face melting proportions back and forth.
Ratt went on to perform the Stephen Pearcy/Carlos Cavazo penned “Best of Me” from the new “Infestation” album which is such a great song. It sounds enough like the classic material to fit nicely. The set was full of classics like “Lack of Communication”, “Lovin’ You’s A Dirty Job” and “Wanted Man” which were played like they were brand new songs. These songs were received with very vocal approval from the audience and while these songs took me back in a nostalgic time machine of sorts, I was really impressed with how well these songs have stood the test of time. Unfortunately Ratt albums suffered from poor production quality over the years so while the albums themselves sound dated, the songs themselves still have a good home 20 something years later. While all the classics went over extremely well, it was the classic Out of the Cellar track “Back for More” that brought the house down. The audience sang the chorus at the top of their lungs which brought smiles to the band as they looked on from the stage. Pearcy led the audience in a call and response sing along during which he acknowledged the large number of “kids” that were in attendance. “Atlanta, we’ve been coming around for 25 years or so and you’re still coming back for more. And now you’re bringing your rug rats!” The audience roared with approval as the band went on to close out the song. The classics weren’t the only thing that made up Ratt’s set this night. It was really cool to see the band dig a little deep and pull out a couple of really deep tracks like “Nobody Rides For Free” and the Out of the Cellar track “The Morning After.” These were nice surprises to hear and even more surprising was the audience reaction to these songs. There were a lot of Ratt & Rollers this night and they were not shy in the least to show their appreciation and their approval.
Ratt closed out the show in classic form with the song that started it all for them, “Round and Round.” The audience went absolutely nuts as they sang along with every song, fists pumping in the air and all. Seeing Ratt in 2010 was a really amazing experience for me. While the songs themselves were a nostalgic trip, it wasn’t a dated experience. I didn’t long for the old days while listening to these songs. They sounded so fresh and full of life that I was enjoying them in the very moment I was hearing them. Ratt’s performance wasn’t so much a Blast from the Past as much as a Blast from the Now! Ratt completely exceeded my expectations and has made a nice comfy spot back in my life. It’s so nice to see a band from my youth still out doing what they do best and doing it really well. I’m more than happy to Ratt N Roll any chance I get and I will be keeping up with these guys without a doubt.
[svgallery name=”Ratt – July 14, 2010 – Atlanta, GA”]
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