Rocktober Album #9: Ratt – Out of the Cellar (1984)

I meant to post this on Friday, but forgot to email it to myself before I left work.  Ratt is a classic Sunset Strip hair band.  They've always seemed a little sleazier than some other bands, and I don't mean that as a bad thing.  Their music is gritty, catchy, and usually packs a nice punch.

Lead singer Stephen Pearcy has a raspy voice that lends itself well to hair band music.  The band had two lead guitarists, wunderkinds Warren DiMartini and Robbin Crosby (who was the band's main songwriter).  Tragically, Crosby contracted HIV in 1994 and died of AIDS and heroin in 2002.  In Ratt's episode of Behind the Music (filmed in 1999), he said, "When I die, nobody cry at my funeral, in fact let's all have a party; I've lived the life of ten men. I lived all my dreams and more."  Hell yeah.  The rhythm section was comprised of bassist Juan Croucier, who also spent time in Dokken, and drummer Bobby Blotzer, which is an awesome rock and roll name.

Out of the Cellar was the band's debut album.  It has gone triple platinum, reached as high as #7 on the Billboard album charts.  The album features Ratt's highest charting song, "Round and Round," which got to #12 on the Billboard charts.  "Wanted Man" also cracked the Top 100 (#87), and, in addition to the videos for those two songs, the videos for "Back for More" and "Lack of Communication" received some decent airplay on MTV.

Before she was in Bachelor Party, doing cartwheels on the hoods of Jaguars, hosting America's Funniest People, or stabbing husband and major league pitcher Chuck Finley's leg with a high heel, legendary '80s video vixen Tawny Kitaen dated Crosby.  Thus, she is the woman on the cover of Out of the Cellar, crawling like a rat(t).

As you can see, there is not as much Ratt on Playlist.com as there should be.  For that, I blame Stalin as much as anyone.

1.  "Wanted Man"

The first song on the album is a dark rocker, so it lets you know what Ratt's all about.

2.  "You're In Trouble"

You would listen to this song if you were in a den of cobras.

3.  "Round and Round"

This is, of course, Ratt's most well-known song, and rightfully so.  It's a great hard rock song, with sinister-sounding verses, a catchy chorus, and sweet guitars.  To top it off, the video featured Milton Berle in drag.

4.  "In Your Direction"

This one starts off with a solid riff and is, as most of the other songs on the album are, a good rock song with some sweet guitar solos.

5.  "She Wants Money"

This might be my favorite song on the album.  It's fast, catchy, and probably true of most women who hung around with the guys in Ratt around the time this album was being made.

6.  "Lack of Communication"

This song starts off with a nice repeating riff.  The mantra, sung in the background throughout the song, is "lack of communication / back off."  As with many of their songs, this song rocks.

7.  "Back For More"

You would listen to this song if you were in a den of cobras.  Again.

8.  "Morning After"

As you know, the morning after pill is the official birth control device of Hair Band Friday.  Sadly, this song is not about RU486.  In the chorus, Pearcy since, "I'll leave the morning after."  That just makes things awkward.  Hit and run, my friend.  Anyway, the song kicks ass.

9.  "I'm Insane"

This is another fast-paced ball buster with a driving beat and a blistering guitar solo.  It's one of those songs that you immediately start tapping your foot to without even thinking about the fact that you're in a den of cobras.

10.  "Scene of the Crime"

The album ends with another solid, gritty hard rock song.