!RATT!

After diving deep into Bowieville I noticed I was craving something a little less... arty? Depressing? LOL.  The antidote when I find myself taking life too seriously is some good old fashioned 80s glam rock. 

Who is the best 80s hair/glam rock band?  Motley Crue is up there, but that title goes to RATT. At least according to Nick. Since this is Nick's page that's the only opinion that really matters. Thanks for the validation, Nick! Hey, my pleasure, Nick. Let's go. 

Juan Crucier (Bass), Bobby Blotzer (Drums), Stephen Pearcy (Vocals), Warren DeMartini (Guitar), Robbin Crosby (Guitar)

The band known as RATT started out as Mickey Ratt.  According to lead singer Stephen Pearcy's autobiography they even had Mickey Mouse ears as part of their logo at one point... but instead of a mouse it was..... a moose... NO!  A rat, you maroon!  Actually, reading wikipedia, the origins go back further than Mickey Ratt:  The origins of Ratt date back to 1973 in Hollywood, with a band called Firedome, founded by singer Stephen Pearcy with a few friends. In 1974, the band broke up, with Pearcy forming Crystal Pystal. The name Crystal Pystal was changed to Mickey Ratt at some point in 1976.

Crystal Pystal...... LOL

There are a couple recordings out there of RATT before they were RATT.  Two of those I really like.  Obviously the engineering is not great on these as they were demos from 45 years ago, but that is part of their charm.  

Year: 1980ish

Song: Top Secret (demo)

I love the raw sound of this.  The guitar tone is great, even though the recording itself is not so good. I love the feedback at the beginning before it breaks into the main riff. This also shows they never had to do much with Stephen Pearcy's voice, effects-wise.  He sounds great on this low quality recording. I'm Top SECRET.  At 1:40 there is a very classic-rock-style guitar section that I enjoy immensely. 

Year: 1980ish

Song: Cry In Time (demo)

Jake E. Lee is best known as Ozzy's guitarist after Randy Rhodes died.  He played on the Bark At The Moon and Ultimate Sin albums.  I love his work on those albums!  I learned at one point that Jake E. Lee played with Mickey Ratt for a time and is the guitarist on this demo Cry In Time.  You can hear hints of what he will go on to do with Ozzy.  He is always playing something, filling every second of time. This one is a bit of a slow groove.  I only discovered these demo songs a year or two ago and am still getting to know them so I hear something new every time I listen. Around 3:15 there is an instrumental section and I can totally hear that in an Ozzy song!

By 1983, Ratt had signed with a production company and released their first EP as RATT.  This EP has one of my favorites, You Think You're Tough.  This EP is not on any of the streaming sites so is only available on old-school vinyl.  When I first started collecting records I saw this in one of the local shops but passed it up thinking it was pretty common.  Two and a half years later I am still on the lookout for it!  It's on YouTube though!!

Tawny Kitaen's legs.  Yes, she let real mice crawl on her for this cover shoot. BRUH

Year: 1983

Album: RATT EP

Song: You Think You're Tough

This is just a great 80's rock song, man.  It's got a great groove and the main riff is stellar.  If you listen to this song I guarantee you will have Stephen Pearcy in your head singing "you're talks gettin OH-old".

The RATT EP sold over 100K copies and the band was signed by Atlantic records.  RATT immediately started writing more songs for what would become their first full length album, Out of the Cellar.  Out of the Cellar was among the first 20ish albums I got when I started buying vinyl.  It is up there with Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil and Guns n Roses' Appetite For Destruction as the cream of the crop of 80's rock and roll.  

Tawny Kitean again.  Now she crawling over to see what the steam from the sewer smells like... hey, at least there aren't rodents this time!

Out of the Cellar is pure 80's rock magic.  Some info from my best friend, Wikipedia: Out of the Cellar is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Ratt, released in 1984 by Atlantic Records. The album was an immediate success, with wide airplay on radio and heavy rotation on MTV of its singles, especially the hit "Round and Round". The album is certified as triple platinum by the RIAA.[9] The album brought Ratt to the top of the glam metal scene in Los Angeles. Out of the Cellar would prove to be the band's most successful album.[4][10][11]


Produced by Beau Hill, Out of the Cellar features Ratt's best-known hit, "Round and Round". It also contains other popular songs such as "Wanted Man", "Lack of Communication", and a re-recorded version of "Back for More". The latter song originally appeared on the EP Ratt. "In Your Direction" was a song that Pearcy wrote when the band was still called Mickey Ratt. "I'm Insane" and "Scene of the Crime" were songs Crosby had co-written and performed with his pre-Ratt band, Mac Meda, featuring future Riverdogs vocalist Rob Lamothe. "Wanted Man" was co-written by bassist Joey Cristofanilli, who had briefly substituted for Juan Croucier. Original lyrics for "She Wants Money" and "Lack of Communication" have been posted on Croucier's website.[12]

Over the years I have learned to love nearly every song on this album.  This is one of the few albums that I can play at home and my 8 year old will actually listen to instead of yelling at me to "TURN IT OFF", lol.

Track#1  -Wanted Man

The great thing about covering 80's bands like this is the terrible/wonderful music videos!  Wanted Man has a simple riff but the guitar tone is great.  Stephen Pearcy has a one-of-a-kind voice.  No one else sounds like him.  One of favorite vocalists of this era.

Track #2 - You're In Trouble (live performance)

This is one of Ratt's songs that I was not familiar with until I bought the vinyl and started listening to the entire album.  I dig that it starts with just the bass and drums.  

Track #3 - Round and Round

Even those who don't follow rock music will know this song... assuming you were between the ages of 5 and 50 in 1984.  This video has everything.... RATT..... rats..... um, Milton Berle.... then um... Milton Berle in drag....LOL.  Why the heck is Milton Berle in this video?!  His nephew Marshall Berle was the band's manager and asked him to.  Do me a favor, would ya, unc?

Track #4- In Your Direction

Another track I wasn't familiar with before owning the album.  It's one of my current favorites, probably because it's fresh to my ears.  The starting riff is almost classic metal-ish.  I also like the Tommy Lee-like drum work.  Hitting the bass drum with the snare. Something both energizing and relaxing about this song somehow.  Great instrumental break and solo around 2:25.

Track #5 -  She Wants Money

Another deep cut.  These songs are so damn catchy! Not exactly complicated, but sometimes I'm not in the mood for music that makes me think, lol.  Fun song with upbeat verses, musically.

Track #6 - Lack of Communication

What's the word I would use to describe this song... yes... DRIVING.  This has a steady beat all the way thru and gets me in the zone.  What zone you ask?  80's rock and roll zone, dammit!  

Track #7 - Back For More

More 80's video magic here, folks.  So extremely cheesy. Their drummer is such a meat head. lol. Back For More was one of their earliest songs re-recorded for Out Of The Cellar.  It is also on the Ratt EP.  I'm not sure if I like this one better because its actually better or because its the one I grew up with.  The world may never know.....

Track #8 - The Morning After

Stephen Pearcy likes the phrase "know what I mean?".  He uses it a few times in this song and we will see in the next album it pops up again. He is the king of 'know what I mean?'. He does it well, so I'm not complaining.  Some cool dueling guitars around 2:25.

Track #9 - I'm Insane

"I'm off my rocker... I fell outta my tree."  Another driving rock song.  Very straight forward and I love it.

Track #10 - Scene Of The Crime

This last song reminds me of their second album, style-wise. A little slower.  This one has a bit of a pre-chorus / chorus thing that I really like.  "You broke the law in the first degree, cold-blooded bitch going out on me."  An extremely ironic lyric considering Stephen Pearcy is an admitted cheater incapable of monogamy.  Hey, he said it himself in his autobiography!  Was a good read, by the way. "Sex, Drugs, Ratt and Roll: My Life in Rock"

Ratt's second full length album, Invasion of Your Privacy, was released in July 1985.  

There are a lot of good songs on this album.  They don't veer very far from the sound on Out Of The Cellar.  No ballads, just 100% rock and roll.  All the same musicians and same subject matter.  I can't say I like every song like their debut, but I like quite a few!  Well, show us, Nick!  I'm getting to it, Nick!  Back off!

Song: You're In Love

Yep, that's Ronald Regan in the short clip before the music starts!  One of these years I will watch one of the movies he was in.... maybe.  This was my favorite Ratt song for a long time. I love the main riff.  Again, not complex, but great!  You can tell from the live footage in this video that they had come a long way since the live footage on their first couple videos.  That stage setup is massive now!

Song: Never Use Love

Another great riff on this one!  Stephen Pearcy credits Robbin Crosby for being the heart and soul of most of the classic Ratt riffs.  He says that's why the later Ratt albums just don't sound the same.  

Song: Lay It Down

Speaking of great riffs!!!  Lay It Down has one of the best Ratt riffs ever.  I also love the heartbeat bass drum throughout. One of the best Ratt songs, period!  What does 'lay it down' mean?  Who cares?  This may take the cake for cheesiest Ratt video, by the way. So awesome LOL.

Song: Give It All

I'm not sure why exactly, but I love the verses on this song.  And you'll notice at 35 seconds in you will hear 'YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN'.  Thank you Stephen,  yes, I think we all know what you mean.  🤪

Song: Between The Eyes

Another deep cut that was not a big hit, but I love it.  It's a little more chill than many of Ratt's songs but both the verse and chorus are pure ear candy.  One of my favorite vocals from Stephen Pearcy.  He always stays in his lane and doesn't attempt a lot of cheesy acrobatics with his notes.  He saves all the cheese for the lyrics HAHA.                                Goteeeeem!  

Ratt released Dancing Undercover on August 9, 1986, their third album in three years. Per Wikipedia: The album was a relative disappointment with most music critics at the time of its release, as it took on a heavier sound than the ones on the previous albums. From a commercial standpoint however, the album kept Ratt's string of consecutive platinum albums alive, managing to sell over a million copies in the United States alone. Popular tracks generated by the album included "Dance" and "Slip of the Lip".[citation needed]

In an effort to be taken more seriously, Ratt broke from the tradition of featuring a woman on the cover. Instead, they opted for gritty black-and-white portraits of each of the five band members. Likewise, the album does not contain a single power ballad amongst its ten tracks and even features experimental forays into thrashier and heavier sounds. The song that reflected this shift most strikingly was "Body Talk", which was featured on the soundtrack for the 1986 Eddie Murphy film The Golden Child.

Look at 'em.  Givin you the 'smolder'.

Body Talk was not just on the soundtrack for The Golden Child, but the video made it into the movie itself.  Here is the clip:

Eddie Murphy is great, "Hey, hey... in my pocket.. there's a whole thing of tic tacs... take as many as you like... please.."

My favorite track on Dancing Undercover is Slip of the Lip.  Once again, super catchy verses and chorus.  Enjoy!

The only other song I wanna bring up from Dancing Undercover is Take a Chance.  It seems a little different than many other Ratt songs.  The riff is a little... bouncy?  I also like Stephen Pearcy's vocal performance on this one.  He keeps repeating 'cause I've been through it' and that hooks me for some reason.  In his autobiography he talks about how he was an avid motocross kid and had a near-fatal accident as a teenager so he has definitely been through 'it'.  

Ratt released Reach for the Sky in 1988.  They released a couple singles from it but I just can't get into the album.  There are parts of songs that I like but... nothing worth mentioning here.  NO!  I'm not talking about Way Cool Jr!  You cannot make me!

The last album with the original five members as a cohesive unit was 1990s Detonator. I like this album quite a bit.  Great guitar work, as always.  A little more polished, maybe?  I typically don't really like the polished sound but it seems to go well with Pearcy's rasp.

PRESS IT!!!!!!

The video for Shame Shame is actually pretty cool.  Well, compared to thier 80's videos.  I can see why Stephen Pearcy was a huge groupie magnet.  He's a handsome feller!!

The other song I love from this album is Lovin' You Is A Dirty Job.  Yes, it's a corny played-out lyric but you should be used to that by now!  Why do I love it when he says "'woke up in the mornin'"?  Stephen Pearcy seemed to change his vocal style a little on this album, sometimes I really like it but sometimes not so much.  Why I dig the way he says 'mornin' I may never know, but, whatevs!

Ratt went on to release a couple more albums and broke up and reunited a couple times.  In 1992 Pearcy left the band to form Arcade.  They have some pretty good stuff out there. Master riff writer Robbin Crosby let people know in 2001 that he was diagnosed with HIV and died the next year from a herion overdose.  Today members are still touring in a couple different versions of the band.  Keep rockin' you old bastards!!! I know I will!!!

✌💜🤘