Detonator

For their fifth and final album (at least until their 1999 reunion), Ratt fired their longtime producer Beau Hill and replaced him with Desmond Child, who had overseen Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet and Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation, among other hits. Child focused their grooves, forced them to write big hooks, and blew up the drums and guitar to stadium proportions. The formula works on a variety of different songs. “Loving You Is a Dirty Job” is a big stout sing-along, while “All or Nothing” and “Scratch That Itch” are nasty boogies in the vein of Aerosmith. “One Step Away,” “Can’t Wait On Love” and “Givin’ Yourself Away” feature grinding riffs that give way to poppy choruses, in the tradition of Ratt’s signature song “Round and Round.” Detonator was a fine effort, but it failed to catch on with the public and was the first Ratt album not to go platinum. Maybe their time was up; maybe they were just unlucky. In any case, Detonator remains the most underrated record of the band’s career, and should definitely be reconsidered by fans of Ratt and other Desmond Child-produced projects.