''Man in Motion'' is the fifth studio album by

Night Ranger Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco formed in 1979 that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, ...

, released in 1988. This album was the first studio album recorded by Night Ranger after the departure of keyboardist

Alan Fitzgerald Francis Alan Fitzgerald (born July 16, 1949) is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the second bassist of Montrose and as keyboardist for Night Ranger. He has also performed with Gamma, and former Montrose bandmat ...

, who was replaced by Jesse Bradman.

Background

"Man in Motion" saw a change in the musical direction of the band, focusing on a more guitar driven sound. Unfortunately the change in direction did not result in much radio play and the album became the first

album to fail to achieve gold or platinum status Bassist and singer

Jack Blades Jack Martin Blades (born April 24, 1954) is an American rock musician. He has worked in the bands Rubicon, Night Ranger (as bassist and one of the lead vocalists), and Damn Yankees (as one of the founding members). He has also recorded with To ...

would leave the band in 1989 to form rock super group

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during ...

with

Tommy Shaw Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the rock band Styx (band), Styx as co-lead vocalist. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with other groups includi ...

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

and

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock an ...

. Jeff Watson also left to join the band

Mother's Army Mother's Army was an American hard rock supergroup founded in 1993. Their original line-up consisted of vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, guitarist Jeff Watson, bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Carmine Appice. For the last studio album, Aynsley Dunbar ...

. Jack Blades discussed why he left Night Ranger, stating that the members of the band were going in different directions, with everyone writing separate songs and their egos clashing. The band would not release another album until 1995's album ''Feeding Off the Mojo'', which featured Gary Moon of

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...

on bass and vocals.

, Jeff Watson, and

all returned to the band for 1997's album ''Neverland''.

Reception

"Man in Motion" received mixed reviews and its singles were unable to gain much recognition. The first single off the album was "I Did It for Love", which topped out on the Billboard Top 100 at 75. The second single "Reason to Be" reached position 48 in 1989 on the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. The third single, "Don't Start Thinking (I'm Alone Tonight)", failed to chart at all.

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original release.

Personnel

;Night Ranger *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and backing vocals *

Brad Gillis Bradley Frank Gillis (born 15 June 1957) is a guitarist most famous for playing with the band Night Ranger. He was in the band Rubicon during the 1970s before Night Ranger. Since forming in 1979, Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy are the only membe ...

–

and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

guitars,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Jeff Watson – lead and rhythm guitars *

Kelly Keagy Kelly Dean Keagy (born September 15, 1952) is an American drummer and co-lead vocalist, best known for his work with Night Ranger. Keagy sang lead vocals on several of their hits, such as "Sister Christian", "Sing Me Away", and "Sentimental Stre ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, lead and backing vocals,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

;Additional musicians *Jesse Bradman –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Alan Pasqua Alan Pasqua (born June 28, 1952) is an American rock and jazz pianist. He studied at Indiana University and the New England Conservatory of Music. His album ''Standards'' with drummer Peter Erskine was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008. As a ...

, Claude Gaudette,

Eric Persing Eric Persing is an american sound designer, professional synthesist and producer based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known as the Founder and Creative Director of the music software and virtual instrument company Spectrasonics. He has ...

– additional keyboards * Joyce Imbesi – keyboards on track 5 *

John Purdell John Purdell (July 8, 1959 – July 10, 2003) was an American musician and multi-platinum rock music record producer who is credited on such albums as Ozzy Osbourne's ''No More Tears'' (1991) and Dream Theater's ''Awake (Dream Theater album), ...

– additional keyboards, additional backing vocals *

Kevin Chalfant Kevin Chalfant is an American singer and a native of Streator, Illinois. He obtained a BMI award for co-writing and singing on one of the most frequently aired rock radio hits of 1992 and 1993, "I've Got a Lot to Learn About Love", by The St ...

– additional backing vocals *Mark Newman – computer programming ;Production *

Keith Olsen Keith Alan Olsen (May 12, 1945 – March 9, 2020) was an American record producer and sound engineer, who worked with Magnum, Rick Springfield, Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, the Grateful Dead, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar, Heart, Santana, Saga, ...

– producer, engineer and mixing on tracks 1 to 4, 6 to 9, 11 *Brian Foraker – producer, engineer and mixing on tracks 5 and 10 *Jimmy Reitizel – additional arrangements on track 5 *

John Hanlon John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, Mark Segal – engineers *Ron Da Silva, Squeak Stone – assistant engineers on tracks 5 and 10 *

Greg Fulginiti Gregory Fulginiti (born February 13, 1951 in Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey) is an American recording and mastering engineer. Fulginiti grew up in Wildwood, New Jersey and graduated from Wildwood High School in 1969 ...

– mastering at

Artisan Sound Recorders Artisan Sound Recorders was one of Southern California's premier disk mastering facilities. It was founded by Robert M. MacLeod Jr. in the 1960s, and acquired by Kent Duncan in 1979 when MacLeod retired. In the early 1990s, it was sold to Jon Lo ...

, Hollywood, California * David Cole – executive producer on track 5 and 10 *

Hugh Syme Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC) who is best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has appeared on some Rush ...

– art direction, design

Charts

Album

Singles

References

{{Night Ranger Night Ranger albums 1988 albums Albums produced by Keith Olsen MCA Records albums Glam metal albums