Review Summary: Ratt comes back for one last round.
Year 1990. Ratt is slowly falling apart. Personal tensions pile up. But they manage to force themselves into working together one last time. And they are not alone. They've got Desmond Child. The man responsible for co-writing some of the biggest hits from Bon Jovi and Aerosmith among others joins another established rock act to catapult them into stardom. He actually brings Jon Bon Jovi along for the ride. And... fails. But can we blame him? Robbin Crosby, once a great guitar player was now so doped up on heroin that he could barely play and mostly stuck to rhythm guitar. Stephen Pearcy's voice was getting worse and worse. Taking all that into consideration it's actually pretty amazing how ambitious Ratt must have been when planning this release. Modified style, a new, renowned song-writer, a huge guest star? Damn.
So as I've already said, Detonator did not blow people's minds, but it did not blow entirely either. The album actually starts in the best way possible. "Intro to Shame" is Warren DeMartini trying some more melodic playing, with a really good feeling that is violently interrupted when "Shame Shame Shame"'s main riff hits. The drums come in and the greatest track of the album starts. It is now clear that Ratt sounds different than before. Guitars are pushed to the background a little, drums are louder and Stephen Pearcy's vocal is clearer (not cleaner, mind you) and the gang vocals don't sound like typical mid-80s glam metal anymore, this time they are done more Skid Row-style.
Warren DeMartini really shines in this song. He is probably the biggest winner here. He's now free to show off as much as he likes, so except for the head-cutting main riff, he throws in quick, short solos, one after another until he finally gets a chance to completely take the front stage and... displays a more restrained, atmospheric playing, that results in one of his most memorable guitar solos to date.
Up next is the other Ratt classic here. It starts with another amazing riff. Lead-guitar is less prominent in this song, as it's mostly a sing-along hit-ready track. The chorus is insanely catchy, making this easily the most memorable track on the album. And also it shows how Ratt is not a band that takes themselves seriously. The lyrics are so bad, it's comedy gold. I mean, there is no way they were standing there in the studio straight-faced hearing Stephen sing this: "You break my heart in pieces but I've got the glue to glue it. Girl, lovin' you's a dirty job and I'm the man to do it."
And now you can pretty much turn the album off. I mean, there are some pretty enjoyable tracks and then there are those that Stephen Pearcy brings down. "Scratch That Inch" is okay, but the most memorable thing in it is Blotzer's monotone drumming in the chorus. "One Step Away" is a typical pop rock song, brings nothing new to the table. The guest spot is put to good use, Jon Bon Jovi's backing vocals make "Heads I Win Tails You Lose" a little better, even though he is given only three lines in the chorus to sing. The whole song is pretty good, maybe the third best on the album actually.
"Hard Time" is not a complete disaster only because of how great Warren DeMartini's guitar sounds. Not necessarily his best playing, but I'd listen to a whole album of just this. Stephen Pearcy's vocals however are unbearable. "Top Secret" on the other hand is pretty average guitar-wise. Well, the solos are rather competent and the song is catchy and totally fine vocally. All that make it a decent album closer. "All Or Nothing" is similar to "Way Cool Jr." in style but it's not as good and you will forget it very fast. "Can't Wait On Love" and "Givin' Yourself Away" are both awful, no redeeming factors to be found here.
And... that's all, folks. Ratt came back for another round and got knocked out. Well, they sold over half a million copies of Detonator so it is still a nice addition to their already impressive résumé but they must have expected more from this recording session. The upcoming years saw Ratt breaking up multiple times, going through many line-up changes, two simultaneously active line-ups, Robbin Crosby's death and somewhere in the middle of it all, two completely forgotten and pretty bad records were released before finally, after many, many years, a proper comeback album and the best Ratt effort since Invasion Of Privacy came out of nowhere. But that's a story for another time.
Recommended Tracks:
Shame Shame Shame
Lovin' You Is A Dirty Job
