The chink-a-chink of muted guitars mixed with synth strings precede the big snare-led verses of the first tune and title track of Night Ranger’s 2014 studio release, High Road. The soaring choruses on this good time summer rocker singer and bassist Jack Blades penned with his son Colin certainly sets the stage for another solid release from Night Ranger. “Knock Knock Never Stop” is much heavier – from the big double-guitar opening to what might be Blades’ best vocal performance across these 11 songs. “Rollin’ On” is even heavier, with superb backing vocals in the chorus and guitar work from Brad Gillis and Joel Hoekstra once again get into. The middle section instrumental especially is hot and heavy showcasing how hard Night Ranger can rock.
We get Eric Levy’s arpeggiated synth and light piano touches on the ballad “Don’t Live Here Anymore,” with some subtly expressive bass playing from Blades. The main riff on “I’m Coming Home” is unforgettable, while “X Generation” builds itself into a full-throttle rocker. It’s power ballad time again on “Only For You Only,” supported by some fine harmonies and what might be one of Gillis’ most dramatic leads on record. Blades and drummer Kelly Keagy hold down the heavy bottom end at the opening of “St. Bartholomews,” another very heavy one with the guitars flipping deftly all over the mix.
“Brothers” sees some slide and a nice acoustic change-up from all the rockin’. The melody is very McCartney-like and we get a big repetitive ending, complete with honky tonk piano and sing-able almost “Hey Jude”-like fun that makes this the best tune on High Road. “L.A. No Name,” listed as the bonus track, is an uncharacteristic Night Ranger instrumental featuring Gillis and Hoekstra killing it with their acoustics, as they hammer, float, generally weave around one another. This was one Gillis told me simply sprang from a day he and Hoekstra got together and started playing to one another, eventually creating what may be the perfect closer for this supremely enjoyable, rockin’ eleventh studio release from Night Ranger.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
