The recent comeback of Night Ranger was celebrated by a studio album called “Hole In The Sky”. As if to drive the point home that all is well in the Ranger’s camp, a double live album was also released - this “Rockin’ Shibuya 2007”, the recording of a gig in Japan, where the band seems to maintain a loyal fanbase.
I like comparing Night Ranger to Van Halen in the sense that both bands play a well-vintaged brand of Pop Metal and both bands could always boast the militancy of first-rate musicians within their ranks. It had been Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis that replaced the then recently deceased Randy Rhodes (following a brief stint by Bernie Torme) with Ozzy Osbourne’s band to perform on another, more well known, live album – “Speak Of The Devil”. The 1st CD bursts open in style with a mini-medley of ‘This Boy Needs To Rock’ and Deep Purple’s ‘Highway Star’. Amongst the moments worthy of mention are 'Drama Queen' and 'Eddie's Comin' Out Tonight', these two having appeared on the “Hole in the Sun” album and the delivery of early classics such as ‘Eddie’s Comin' Out Tonight’.
In comparison to the first CD, CD2 is more poppy and laid-back, having a number of power ballads on it, such as ‘Goodbye’ (from the “Seven Wishes” album), ‘Sentimental Street’ and ‘Forever All Over Again’. This last song also showcases the acoustic guitar dexterity of Brad Gillis – apart from that, the ballads are pretty much mood killers. Eventually, in ‘Whatever Happened’, Night Ranger go back to being Night Ranger, or rather the Night Ranger that always sounded more credible – meaning songs like this in mid-tempo Rock, gripping hooks, sharp melodies and impressive Bluesy Rock fretwork.
In this double-live, Night Ranger touch down at most of their albums but especially the early ones – “Dawn Patrol” and “Midnight Madness“ - and the more recent ones. The band / audience chemistry sometimes sounds shaky but of course a live album is far more welcome then the lazier option of a ‘Best Of’ type of anthology. “Rockin’ Shibuya 2007” might not be the ultimate representation of a band that has sold in excess of 16 million albums worldwide, but it’s a valid retrospective on Night Ranger’s enduring talent.
