Brad Gillis, Kelly Keagy and Jack Blades are the three original guys left in Night Ranger. It is hard to believe that 2011 marks the bands’ 30^th anniversary. The trio of rockers , who have struggled over the last few attempts to make a new Night Ranger album that will truly appeal to Night Ranger fans, will on, June 21^st, release what is their best overall album to date.

Somewhere in California is by far the bands hardest rocking album ever. Brad Gillis plays his ass off from start to finish. While Jeff Watson is no longer a member of the band, Joel Hoekstra join Gillis in lead guitar harmony throughout the album. One can’t help but crank this one up and dance around the room. Better yet, open the sunroof and crank this one up while speeding down the highway.

The albums starts off with “Growing Up in California” which is an autobiographical tune of how Night Ranger came to be. The album is full of fun, California style hard rock with “Lay It On Me,” “Bye Bye Baby” and “It’s Not Over” leading the way.

The neat thing about this album is that it does not sound like an ‘80’s album, yet is sounds like an ‘80’s album. The classic style is there, the guitar playing is there and the harmonies are there yet the production makes this one very much fit in with the modern day. That is NOT to say that Night Ranger are trying to sound modern, as this is the most classic sounding Night Ranger album to come out in the last ten years. However, the modern production of the album allows the tunes to really jump out of the speakers and take the listener on a rock n roll trip through time.

This is a solid album, start to finish and a return to excellence for Night Ranger. It will be among our Best Albums of Year for 2011, guaranteed.