I guess if you ever had to refer to a band as a supergroup, Damn Yankees would certainly fit the bill. Formed in 1989 by arena rock luminaries Tommy Shaw of Styx, Jack Blades of Night Ranger, Ted Nugent of the insane asylum, and drummer Michael Cartellone. Damn Yankees breathed new life into the careers of three guys whose own bands were in serious decline, and in the case of Cartellone, provided his first taste of mega-success. During their brief four-year run. Damn Yankees went on to release two successful albums, 1990's Damn Yankees, and 1992's Don't Tread before calling it quits in 1993.
Damn Yankees were very much the synthesis of their previous bands. Shaw's songs would have fit comfortably on any Styx album, Blades' songs channeled Night Ranger, and Nugent's songs were straight out of the Motor City Madhouse. They pretty much followed the Styx and Night Ranger formula for success, by laying down a solid hard rock foundation, adding tons of memorable hooks and vocal harmonies, and then letting the ballads sell the albums. In concert, they alternated effortlessly between the hit power ballads and the balls-out rockers, never quite giving you enough time to catch your breath.
Uprising Live! documents a killer concert that the band performed in 1992 at the Rocky Mountain Jam in Denver, Colorado during their final tour in support of the Don't Tread album. I can't say that I have paid much thought to this band over the last decade, but when I saw this DVD it definitely peaked my curiosity. I have seen the post-Yankees incarnations of Styx, Night Ranger, and Ted Nugent a few times in concert over the last decade and came home satisfied each time. Some of this stuff is simply a nostalgic guilty pleasure, but mostly it still kicks some serious ass.
The setlist is a run through of the band's biggest hits from each of their albums. With the exception of Nugent's ultra-heavy "Uprising" you will probably be intimately familiar with every one of these songs if you tuned into rock radio at all during the 1990s. Once they get started they wisely alternate between fast rocker and power ballad, which gives the show a great pace. The intensity builds throughout the performance and each song seems to outdo the previous one.
Article comments
1 - Pete
This is it...My warn out vhs finaly in the dumpster....A+