Band : Night Ranger
Album title : Somewhere In California
Label : Frontiers Records
Distributor : Rough Trade Benelux
Release Date : 17/06/2011
Release : CD

They were a great band back in the eighties, and seem to have managed to live up to that reputation going into the following century.  When re-uniting in 1996 it must have been with great doubts, after all, besides people who knew them in their heydays, who would be interested in Night Ranger.
Four years have passed since their last studio album, and there’s been a line-up change – Eric Levy is now on keyboards, and Joel Hoekstra on guitars, but the backbone of the band is still the same as in the beginning.

To say they re-invented the genre is a bridge too far, but for a band that can say it’s been around for some thirty odd years, it’s amazing with how much energy this is played.  They sound just as eager as at the peak of their career.
My favorite tracks on this album are : ‘Time Of Our Lives’, ‘Growin’Up In California’ and ‘Lay It On Me’, but the other songs aren’t bad either. The sound, despite the changes in line-up, is reminiscent of their eighties sound as well.    For those of you who liked Night Ranger in the eighties, this is one album you shouldn’t miss.  Back is the stadium rock…  It’s a shame they only do a few shows in Europe with Journey, because I’d loved to see them perform live.

98/100

Erik Morren.