Dancing Undercover

Dancing Undercover
Studio album by
Ratt
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1986 (1986-09-24)
StudiosVillage Recorder, Los Angeles, California
GenreGlam metal
Length34:55
LabelAtlantic
ProducerBeau Hill
Ratt chronology
Invasion of Your Privacy
(1985)		 Dancing Undercover
(1986)		 Reach for the Sky
(1988)
Singles from Dancing Undercover
  1. "Dance"
    Released: October 1986
  2. "Body Talk"
    Released: January 1987 (Japan)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStar
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10
Metal Hammer4/7

Dancing Undercover is the third studio album by American glam metal band Ratt, released in 1986. The album was produced by Beau Hill and contains the hit single/video "Dance", which appeared in the Miami Vice episode "Down for the Count". Two other videos were made: "Body Talk", which was used on the soundtrack for the Eddie Murphy film The Golden Child, and "Slip of the Lip". It charted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 chart and at No. 14 on Rolling Stone's Album Chart. The album went platinum.

Music and release

The second single, "Body Talk", was released in January 1987 in Japan. The song was written by Pearcy, Croucier, and DeMartini. Ratt's guitarist Warren DeMartini had the song's opening riffs for years. However, no one was able to develop it into a song. Under a very tight deadline (one day to be exact), Ratt bassist Juan Croucier stepped in. He wrote all the vocal melodies and lyrics, adding additional chord progressions to the one riff that had been around for years. The song title was apparently conceived of by Ratt producer Beau Hill or vocalist Stephen Pearcy. It was featured on the compilation album Ratt & Roll 81-91. It was also used as a soundtrack for Eddie Murphy's film The Golden Child. The video was added on MTV in late '86, while "Dance" was still in heavy rotation.

Tour

Ratt's opening acts on the tour in support of the album included Poison, Cinderella, Cheap Trick, Queensrÿche, and Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Poison were kicked off as an opening act for Ratt, due to tensions with some of the members, which led to Queensrÿche replacing them for a few weeks. However, ticket sales dropped once Queensrÿche replaced Poison, with Poison eventually returning as an opening act. In a June 2001 interview, guitarist Robbin Crosby reflected on Queensrÿche being an opening act for Ratt, saying, "it was just a bad mix. Because we were like a party band, and they were like a dark thing. I liked them personally, [but] it just wasn't a good mix."

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dance"
4:17
2."One Good Lover"
  • Crosby
  • Pearcy
3:06
3."Drive Me Crazy"
3:42
4."Slip of the Lip"
3:15
5."Body Talk"
  • Crosby
  • Croucier
  • Pearcy
3:44
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Looking for Love"
  • Crosby
  • Croucier
  • Pearcy
3:09
7."7th Avenue"
  • DeMartini
  • Croucier
  • Pearcy
3:11
8."It Doesn't Matter"
  • Croucier
  • Pearcy
3:08
9."Take a Chance"
  • DeMartini
  • Croucier
  • Pearcy
4:00
10."Enough Is Enough"
  • DeMartini
  • Crosby
  • Croucier
  • Pearcy
3:23
Total length:34:55

Early pressings of the CD had "Slip of the Lip" and "Body Talk" errantly mastered into one track as track 4.

Personnel

Ratt
Production

Charts

Chart (1986–87) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)49
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) 17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)23
UK Albums (Official Charts)51
US Billboard 20026

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ) Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA) Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ↑ "Top 50 Glam Metal Albums". Metal Rules. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Ratt - Dance". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  4. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Ratt - Body Talk". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  5. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Ratt - Dancing Undercover review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 283. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  7. ↑ Ling, Dave (November 1986). "Albums: Ratt – Dancing Undercover". Metal Hammer. No. 11. London: Metal Hammer (UK) Productions Ltd. p. 73.
  8. ↑ "Cheap Trick Setlist at Five Seasons Center, Cedar Rapids". Setlist.fm. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  9. ↑ Crosby, Robbin (June 10, 2001)
  10. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs. Volume 45, Issue 14 (1986-12-27)". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  11. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Ratt – Dancing Undercover". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 19/10/1986 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Ratt Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  15. 1 2 "1910: Ratt 1986 Dancing Undercover Canada Gold Record Award Presented to Beau Hill; 1911: Ratt 1986 Dancing Undercover Japan Gold Record Award Presented to Beau Hill". Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  16. ↑ "American album certifications – Ratt – Dancing Undercover". Recording Industry Association of America.