This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Riddle me this: How many ’80s hair-metal rockers can you get into an old pair of spandex pants? A: All of them.
That’s the only conclusion one can draw from the endless parade of long-faded stars who have presumably given up careers in the drive-through food-services industry lately to make one last grab for rock’s brass ring. The latest to emerge from obscurity are Ratt, whose new self-titled disc is their first in almost a decade. They needn’t have bothered; the dated guitar heroics, reheated Bon Jovi anthems and power-ballad cheese herein could have been lifted from any of their old albums. Next time, they should at least try to rewrite Round And Round, their most memorable song. But while Ratt have lost their bite, surprisingly, Great White still have teeth. Maybe it’s because their blues-based rock never gets old; maybe it’s because frontman Jack Russell still pens sex-and-dope songs with titles like Rollin’ Stoned and lines like “When the police showed, I told ’em ‘Kiss my ass.’ ” In other words, they may have reformed their band, but they haven’t reformed their ways.
