Somewhere in California [Import]

Absolutely corking stuff. The sound is right back to classic-era Night Ranger and the album is chock full of memorable hooks and quality playing. The production is great and the songs are instantly accessible. At this stage in their careers some bands are just going through the motions, but Night Ranger sound incredibly fresh here. If you're a fan of the band's first 3 albums then this will be right up your street. The ideal soundtrack to summer (if we get one).

brilliant new disc from night ranger infact i cant stop playing this disc whether in the car ,computer or i pod,this is easily one of the best melodic (AOR) rock albums i have heard in years & i listen to a lot. do yourself a favor and buy!!!

As a fan of 80s rock, I can't get enough of this stuff and it's nice to see bands doing what they did/do best rather than trying to get heavier and dark. If we want heavier and darker (which usually means less melodic, forgettable songs, etc. - Europe - you know who you are;o) we'll listen to the modern bands.

Anyway, full marks for the return to form.

The thing that lets it down is the sound. It's 'ok' but it could be amazing. One of the problems, and it's likely to be the main culprit is that it's been absolutely smashed at the mastering stage (that's the technical term for very, very heavily application of a 'peak limiter' to get maximum volume). IMO, there's absolutely no need for this, it could still have been made loud enough without going this far. The effect of very heavily limiting can be increased distortion (lack of clarity), serious reduction in dynamics (no punch to drums etc), loud sounds modulating quiet ones and the list goes on...

This album suffers from most of them to some extent. It's also possible that certain choices at the time of mix aren't helping. In the 80s it was common that the drums and vocals were the loudest. The guitars were 'carved' around them. This allowed for plenty of reverb to be added to both drums and vocals to increase their perceived size. On modern albums (and to some extent this one), the guitars are the loudest (aside from quiet bits which always sound better for obvious reason). The title track is an exemplar of this, there could be far more impact when the drums come in for example. The result is that the drums sounds small and lifeless and so do the vocals, where you want sounds to have 'bite' they are 'rounded off'. I guess some people like this...I don't ;o)

The last Bon Jovi album was also mastered hot (approx -9db rms, still about 2 db quieter than this album!) but the mix was such that they got away with it. A heavier band with lots of guitars who have got it right is Judas Priest. The last couple of albums have struck just the right balance.

When you've got song with lots going on, running at full tilt, you need breathing room in the tracks and this just isn't here for the up-tempo rockers on this album especially 'Growin' up in california'. Shame.