Band:	Ratt
Album:	Dancing Undercover
Style:	Glam metal, Hard rock
Release date:	1986
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. Dance
02. One Good Lover
03. Drive Me Crazy
04. Slip Of The Lip
05. Body Talk
06. Looking For Love
07. 7th Avenue
08. It Doesn't Matter
09. Take A Chance
10. Enough Is Enough

Dancing Undercover saw sunset strip alumni Ratt make slight changes to their formula on this third studio outing. Featuring a more hard rock tone, Dancing Undercover started the band's forays into adding new flavours to their glam sound that would carry on until their break up five years later. A good effort and enjoyable listen, Dancing Undercover is an admirable attempt at shifting the band's sound.

Many commentators regard the shift in sound on this album as taking in heavier tones akin to thrash metal and point to "Body Talk" as a kind of proto-glam thrash song; it is an exaggeration; heavier than their previous work for sure, but this isn't Slayer by a wide margin. The band move from the pop end of the glam spectrum to a spot near W.A.S.P., still glam but with a heavier tone. Does the shift in style suit the band? In short, yes. Tracks like "Looking For Love" manage to bridge the band's glam roots with a deeper musical tone that makes for compelling listening.

The decision to alter their sound does go a long way to highlighting the talent of the ban;, they weren't the slouches on their instruments that was sometimes the case in the 80s. DeMartini and Crosby throw out some very enjoyable solos throughout this album, though no outstanding riffs. Croucier's bass is underrated, holding down the rhythm while not tying himself at the hip to Blotzer's drums, which is a good thing as the drums are probably the weak point. Blotzer keeps rhythm ok, but he sounds mechanical, with no flair or personality to be heard in his playing.

All the songs are equally good, with none I could point to as standing above the rest; this is an admirable quality, as it is the first album by the band I don't feel the need to skip a track. I would say pick a track at random and you'll find something to the song you will enjoy.

Where does the album fall flat? The album is full of strong tracks, but none of them are more than that; it's an enjoyable listen, but I couldn't point to a song that I'd be desperate to hear again. It's an enjoyable spin every once in a while, but no tracks demand regular listening. The band found the middle ground between creating classics at the expense of a few filler tracks to creating neither; in this instance, it doesn't seem to enamour itself with me. With no valleys or peaks, the album gets lost in the middle and as a result doesn't stand out.

Dancing Undercover is an admirable attempt at shifting up the sound Ratt had helped shape up until this point, creating an album that is strong and different with neither taking preference over the other. While not an album you can pull a track off and listen to in isolation, it is an album that has strength in numbers, stronger than the sum of its parts when listened to together.