RAGE: Run for the night LP. Top melodic Hard rock / A.O.R 1981. Mint condition.

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British ’80s rockers RAGE, are worth your attention.
“Run For The Night” was Rage’s third and last record, and although their previous is considered the best, I have a soft spot for this one, the more melodic, AORish of the bunch.

Signed to the fast rising independent label Carrere, Rage issued two well received albums before settling in to record their third album, this slightly more refined “Run For The Night”, a record that would be the band’s bid to hitch their wagon to the more melodic, arguably AOR side of Rock genre.
Indeed, Rage noticed the commercial & catchy sound of acts from the other side of the ocean, like Survivor and Foreigner, was the path to follow, still feeling unmistakable British.

Self produced, for “Run For The Night” the band enlisted the help of fellow Liverpool songwriter Steve Morris of revered AOR rockers Export, to help with material. For the first time they also utilised well crafted keyboard support lending a bold sheen to their third and final album.

From opener “Cry From A Hill” you’ll know this is a ‘different’ Rage: an anthemic mid-tempo melodic rocker with lots of keys in the background.
Next, “Fantasy” will remind you Aldo Nova and not only for the title but for its catchy chorus and that ‘Canadian sound’ which brings to mind Loverboy as well.
“Can’t Say No” has some Urgent in it (featuring a great Steve Morris guest solo), the Americanised “Light Years” is absolutely Boston / Scholz, while “No Prisoners” (love the backing vocals) is not far from the first Export in terms of sound.

“LadyKiller” is killer indeed, driven by a monster guitar riff akin Coney Hatch and an overall feeling which made ’80s AOR / hard so great. A highlight.
Of course, with this Rage ‘new’ melodic rock approach also arrive the band’s first (and last) ballad ever; the smooth title track plenty of nice atmospheres.
“Never Before” is totally Loverboy, then the band wraps the album with the hard rocker “Rock Fever” via a strong twin guitar attack in the vein of the band’s second album.

“Run For The Night” is pretty unknown for Brit AOR / Melodic Rock fans & collectors, perhaps due to Rage’s previous more hard rocking delivery. But this album is full of catchy melodies and sticky choruses in the best early ’80s AOR tradition.

“Run For The Night” was always a hard to find piece because the label did not properly supported the recording, and only a first LP batch was pressed.
If you love any of the bands mentioned above, grab this one immediately. This Rage final album is a must for all classic AOR / Melodic Rock fans out there, especially from the first half of the ’80s.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Rage  Run For The Night
Label: Carrere  CAL 149
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Hard Rock

Tracklist:
A1 Cry From A Hill
Written-By Mick Devonport

A2 Fantasy  [Written-By Dave Lloyd, Steve Morris]
A3 Can’t Say No
A4 Light Years
Written-By Mick Devonport
A5 Ladykiller
Written-By Dave Lloyd , Steve Morris

B1 No Prisoners
Written-By Jenkins
B2 Run For The Night
Written-By Dave Lloyd , Steve Morris

B3 Badlands
Written-By Mick Devonport

B4 Never Before
Written-By Mick Devonport

B5 Rock Fever
Written-By Dave Lloyd

Bass Keith Mulholland
Drums John Mylett
Engineer Geoff Higgins
Guitar Mick Devonport, Tony Steers
Lead Guitar Steve Morris (tracks: A3)
Producer Rage
Saxophone Paul Owens
Vocals Dave Lloyd

RAGE (UK) – 1983 RUN FOR THE NIGHT
ARTIST: Rage (UK)
ALBUM: Run For The Night
LABEL: Carerre
SERIAL: 66046
YEAR: 1983
LINEUP: Dave Lloyd – vocals * Mick Devonport – lead and rhythm guitars * Terry Steers – rhythm guitars * Keith Mulholland – bass * John Mylett – drums

TRACK LISTING: 01 Cry From A Hill * 02 Fantasy * 03 Can’t Say No * 04 Light Years * 05 Ladykiller * 06 No Prisoners * 07 Run For The Night * 08 Badlands * 09 Never Before * 10 Rock Fever


Background:
In my younger days, Rage had always been on my radar, after hearing them on the ‘Tommy Vance Friday Rock Show’ Released on the French label Carrere, where of course you could find Saxon. Originally this UK group came from the ashes of the 70s favourites Nutz. It has always been difficult for British bands to succeed in the AOR territory, especially during the period this was released, the press being obsessed with Iron Maiden, anyone daring to offer anything new or melodic usually got a caning, remember the decline of Saxon and the pounding Def Leppard took when they set sail for the US. Although Rage was given every chance, they managed to secure a support position on the Meatloaf tour on the back of this album. However after this release and the subsequent tour, the group disappeared into the night.


The Songs:

Off and running with ‘Cry From A Hill’ (if I am to be honest its more of a slow jog really), which would appeal to John Farnham followers and is similar to his biggest tune, ‘You’re The Voice’. You get the feeling that a battalion of Scots pipers are going to sound off, but thankfully we are spared the bagpipes. Its a somewhat brave beginning and still sounds good today. Whats strange is that this track was written by Devonport, whilst this style would be taken further by Dave Lloyd with 2AM.

While ‘Fantasy’ has a real ring of Aldo Nova to it, and not just in the choice of song title, it contains a plectrum of keyboards and whilst the opening track was a quiet stroll, ‘Fantasy’ is much more straightforward AOR, bristling with delightful verses and a positive chorus. Melody displayed with pinpoint precision.

This just gets better with ‘Can’t Say No’, I feel this was the best song Rage ever committed to vinyl. You can see where fellow AORsters Tobruk got some of their ideas from, and may I be so bold as stating it was better than anything FM ever produced (bit of a low blow there!). However the group should not get all the credit, many of the best tunes here feature Steve Morris, he of Heartland, Export, Gillan and Shadowman fame. Actually Steve did his own version of this tune on the 1986 Export album ‘Living In Fear Of The Private Eye’. Back to the track, well it dips and dives, providing all the hallmarks of an AOR classic. It sprints through every AOR clich and has all the finer points to achieve a fine AOR moment.

‘Lightyears’ has a remarkable Roadmaster guitar opening and is very American. The pomp sound remains throughout the tune and is a change in style with more penetrating keyboards and a very relaxed feel. An excellent tune but like the whole album, it would benefit from a ‘Rock Candy’ remastering.

The good songs are spreading like wildfire and further eloquence is revealed, because next we have ‘Ladykiller’, clean cut opening with quality backing vocals that have been projected well, mixed with glacier clear guitar riffs. Quality is never amiss here, an absorbing tune throughout.

‘No Prisoners’ is a fairly good melodic track with Foreigner style backing vocals that are quite pleasing that crop up at strategic points.

The title track is really the first ballad on this release. Its a rambling piece, initially led by piano but rarely catches fire. The album benefits from a pinch of variety but the saxophone solo drags the song down further till we reach mediocrity levels. It does remind me of another lost UK band, Kiss Of The Gypsy.

‘Badlands’ edges on Status Quo and Slade.

‘Never Before’, actually gets to the airport in an attempt to make the trans-Atlantic crossing, but is more Huey Lewis inspired than anything else. The song is different and adds a nice break in the chorus (which actually has been popping in my head during the day a number of times!) that helps it being quite individual. Its just that the southern feel doesn’t assist in reaching an optimum point, thus an average result again I’m afraid.

Bringing up the rear is ‘Rock Fever’, see what I mean about the titles, obviously Rage have been in discussions with Saxon. Quite ironic really as it has their label mates similar opening and continues as a NWOBHM track. While much of the bands early creative energies are on the wane, its a more encouraging way to finish, a typical British attempt.


In Summary:
‘Run For The Night’ is an album that showed a lot of promise, especially with the first six tracks. I would have hoped, that this album may have helped push them forward, building on this solid foundation to produce an amazing fourth album. Of course this wasn’t to be. Many groups have used outside writers in the past and as a result the essence of the band has been lost, but in this instance the introduction of Steve Morris (just look at his contributions, ‘Fantasy’, ‘Can’t Say No’ and ‘Ladykiller’) had a real positive effect, this could have been the catalyst to use similar inputs and give the rewards to the group that they deserved. One LP that has been lost in the appreciation that was born in the UK, perhaps in the same bracket as Tygers of Pan Tang album ‘Burning In The Shade’, considering both were criminally ignored.

Rage

Comments:
It reminds me a lot of Airrace and Baby Tuckoo. I love the Brit sound. So, it definitely worth checking out!
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I love all Rage albums. I always thought that “Never Before” would have been a great single, I really like the use of the Sax on that song. I would have given my left ‘nut’ to have seen one of those shows….
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This is a good album. “Ladykiller” simply rocks with authority, similar to anything FM or Coney Hatch could do, while “Run For The Night” provides a fine vocal/piano intro with some tasty sax licks highlighting this ballad. Yeah, not your typical melodic hard rock record but still very effective. David Lloyd is a fine vocalist with a good tone & he sings well. “Fantasy” & “Can’t Say No” are similar to early 80s Uriah Heep & would have fit well on “Abominog” or “Head First” albums.
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Great album!!! One of my favourite melodic Hard rock /A.O.R albums of all time. I’d love to own this one on CD. Time for a re-release? Seriously, if you’re into 80s style melodic rock you should check this one out. I love it anyway!
“Lady Killer” is my favourite on the album. Awesome song!
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The other two albums,”Nice&Dirty” and “Out of Control” are really good ones.I do not know about this album but if it is as the ones i mentioned…thumbs up!!
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Rock/AOR de la época que pasa el Test. Empieza con la Hímnica “Cry From a Hill” para luego pasar al mejor tema del disco en mi opinión: “Fantasy” muy AOR a lo Aldo Nova (coincidencia que Aldo tenga su clásico tema del mismo nombre), “Light Years” es Boston total! muy buena y “LadyKiller” con unos punteos melódicos contagiosos, las mejores. El Tema-Título es una balada muy a lo John Cougar de su primer album. La 6,8,9 y 10 en segundo rango, buenas. Vale. 8/10
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“Cry From A Hill” is a tight song,quite a highlight one,”Fantasy” is far the best in my humble opinion, it has that AOR beat, you know, “Light Years” is pretty catchy, “No Prisoners” is a solid one & “Rock Fever” rocks. Dave Lloyds’ vocals help a lot!!! 84/100

RAGE: Run for the night LP. Top melodic Hard rock / A.O.R 1981. Mint condition.

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Weight 0.25 kg

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