Don’t Tread released in 1992 is the great sophomore effort by Damn Yankees who are made up of tough-guy superstars such as Jack Blades of Night Ranger, Tommy Shaw of Styx and Ted Nugent rock-n-roll beast icon.

It is as damn as their debut album in 1990 and one of my all time bests as well. Damn Yankees as a whole is predominantly
Night Ranger minus keyboard,partly Survivor partly Styx with extra damnness.

My first pick is Where Are You Going Now, first single from this album. It is as if popped out from Survivor’s Vital Signs(boy it is also produced by Ron Nevison). And Silence Is Broken, Zep&Purple styled Mister Please. Rockers such as Fifteen Minutes of Fame, mid-tempo tracks such as Dirty Dog, Someone to Believe
are fine as well.

Why such great album has been treated so damn bad by classic rock market?

Note: Michael Cartellone who looked obscure and fresh guy among the gang of four found his place as an ACCEPT drummer just before the band broke up. Also known as a drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd tours

Verdict: Well-done second effort
Rating: 92 out of 100
Recommended for: Night Ranger, Tommy Shaw and Survivor fans and wide range of 80s and 90s hard/pop rock fans.

All of these guys are killer players. Together, they rocked and sang their nuts off. Great songs, great guitars, great drums, great hooks = Great sales.

So WHY did the IDIOTS AT WARNER BROS. MISMANAGE THIS BAND SO BAD, CAUSING THE BAND TO SPLIT AND LEAVE A THIRD ALBUM IN THE CAN???? Seriously stupid move on their part. Yeah, the same company that gives us music virtuoso’s like “Snoop frickin Dog” and “Ashlee Simpson” chose to let one of the great R O C K acts slip out of their fingers. STUPID F**KING IDIOTS! Wake the he** up Warner!

This album and their debut sold a buttload of CDs and both of these still stand up to ANYTHING out today. Grunge may have scared the crap out of every record company suckup during the time of the Damn Yankees, but where is grunge now??? Also VH1 pans this band as ‘lightweight’. Give me a break! You think it’s light weight? Put on ‘Uprising’, ‘This Side of Hell’, ‘Don’t Tread, or ‘15 Minutes of Fame’. Hardly light weight. Stupid public just thinks “Oh Tommy Shaw’s in there so it must be “Babe” ” Niggah Please!!!

While I’m a huge Styx fan and Night Ranger was a great band too, THIS BAND was the SH*T. These records blow away their former bands. And Micheal Cartelone- nobody ever mentions him. ONE KICK A$$ drummer!

BUY THIS AND THE DEBUT. If you like to rock, you’ll love these cds.

I love every song on Don’t Tread!!! From the title track to Mister Please and Uprising. Just an all around good rock cd.Compared to their first album, this one has more variety to it.A little rock, blues, and of course the ballads. Its all here.Plus, the production is better on this one than the first. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the first album, but this one just gets me. I can’t stop listening to it. Its too bad they didn’t regroup to put out more great music. Well, I guess I’ll have to get the new Styx, Ted Nugent, and Night Ranger cds.

Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, Ted Nugent, and Michael Cartelone are back with a vengance on this hard-driving follow-up to their highly successful debut cd. Shaw and Nugent both play lead guitar on this disc, which gives every song a definitive sound. Blades’ bass and Cartelone’s drums combine to make the sound that much better.

From the opeing title song, along with such others as “Where You Goin Now” and “The Silence is Broken”, the listener is treated to a brand of high energy rock and roll. Shaw sings lead on both “Where You Goin Now” and “The Silence is Broken”. He proves his versatility by being able to sing ballads as well as the great rock songs he was famous for while with Styx.

Its too bad that Damn Yankees only produced two cds. I’m a fan of great rock and roll, and they were definitely one of the best bands of the early 90s. I highly recommend this disc, as well as their self-titled one. The songs are first-rate, and the vocals and insturmentals will keep you coming back for more. Buy this great cd and hear some really great rock and roll at its absolute best.

You know when you listen to an album and can just tell the band who made it was having a blast playing the songs. Don’t Tread is like that. You can just hear Damn Yankees having a blast recording this disc, and the songs and spirit of the album reflect that. This disc reminds me alot of the first couple Van Halen albums. You just want to put this disc on when you are in the mood for good guitar rock. Most of the songs have a Southern Rock flavor like the title track “Don’t Tread”. “Uprising” features the best drum work Damn Yankees ever recorded. There are a couple ballads of course, but not the typical “Every Rose has it’s Thorn” syrupy stuff. They are just solid rock ballads. If you are a fan of Ted Nugent, this album should be a must have. If you liked the earlier Damn Yankees album with “Coming of Age” you will definately love this album. I think “Don’t Tread” is a better written and better played album than the first one. And seeing as how Amazon is offering used copies for under $3 you can’t go wrong!!