Hidden Treasures - Artist Showcase ... Y&T

[Scott]

Time for a showcase! This week were looking at a band that has gotten a small bit of airplay on here, not much, but some. I think we've mostly dealt with their Black Tiger, and they're most recent Facemelter release, but we've posted very little from their other releases to date. Lets fix this.

I first heard Y&T when at a friends house. He had, what was then, the new Black Tiger album. I clearly remember being taken by the title track and then Barroom Boogie. I also remember hearing the band Starz at that visit, but I don't remember much else about that first listen of Y&T other than those two tracks. But it was enough to know I liked what I heard. My first purchase was the follow-up Mean Streak and then at the recommendation of someone else, Earthshaker - which is the best of the 5 showcased here IMO). Eventually I had everything from Earthshaker to Down For The Count before losing track of the band. I caught back up with them in 98-99 when I found Musically Incorrect in the used bin.

My one other memory of Y&T is a couple of concerts. One in particular that I got to work backstage. And though I never met the band formally, I did get into their dressing room to stock it. So close... But the best memory is watching Meneketti sing and play lead. The guy was comfortable and technically near perfect. Impressive to say the least. Though many will say these albums are uneven, I've always felt the band deserved to get a bit bigger than they did.

But don't take my word for it, listen for yourself...

PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/a1j5g59n

	Earthshaker 1981 1 - Rescue Me Earthshaker is the only unanimous moment of Y&T's lengthy career. The only studio album that came close to capturing the power and energy of the San Francisco quartet's legendary concerts onto disc, the band's third L.P. was their first for new label A&M, and the first to see their original moniker Yesterday & Today shortened to its better-known incarnation. Vein-busting metal anthems like "Hurricane" and "Knock You Out" boast a menacing swagger not seen before or since, and, even though they slow things down just a bit, melodic hard rockers like "Let Me Go" and the classic "Rescue Me" never waver in intensity or purpose. Songs off the record Earthshaker make up an important part of the band's live shows.
	Black Tiger 1982 2 - Open Fire Black Tiger is the fourth studio album by American hard rock/heavy metal band Y&T, released in 1982 through A&M Records. It was recorded at Ridge Farm, in Dorking, County of Surrey, England and produced by Max Norman. The classic Y&T logo makes its first appearance on the cover of this record. ‘Ye Olde Metal: Y&T’s Black Tiger', an app penned by Martin Popoff for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, released in May 2012, tells the story of the making of Black Tiger in singer and guitarist Dave Meniketti’s own words – including 25 minutes of audio clips.
	Mean Streak 1982 3 - Sentimental Fool The band's first three studio albums under A&M, Earthshaker, released in 1981, Black Tiger, released in 1982, and Mean Streak, released in 1983, did not gain mainstream exposure, but are regarded as some of the band's best work. Mean Streak's title track opened the proceedings in promising enough fashion, its raw energy and aggressive riffing making it one of the band's strongest singles yet.
	In Rock We Trust 1984 4 - Life, Life, Life Y&T's sixth studio album, In Rock We Trust, released in 1984, became the band's highest charting and selling album, reaching No. 46 on the Billboard 200. The album produced Y&T's first big radio hit Don't Stop Runnin' ; the rights to She's A Liar were purchased by Dr Pepper and used in an ad campaign. To date, In Rock We Trust has sold over 450,000 copies, close to reaching gold certification status. This album was the only Y&T album to chart in Canada, reaching No. 77 on the RPM chart.
	Down For The Count 1985 5 - In The Name of Rock Contains the band's biggest hit "Summertime Girls", which charted at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song had initially appeared as the lone studio track on the band's live album, Open Fire, released earlier in the year. It received tremendous airplay worldwide, played frequently in the Baywatch television series, is graced in several feature films, received heavy rotation on MTV as well as MTV’s top video playlists, and gets regular airplay today on classic rock radio stations throughout the United States.

[Jon]

The albums here are actually listed from best to worst with the first two interchangeable. After DFTC, I kinda lost interest in Y&T but still picked up the next couple albums, listened to them once and then really lost interest then picked up MI and ES well after they were released and then discovered that I really liked both those albums. Some people think MS is their best album, but I'm afraid they're wrong, the song featured here really isn't that good. LLL is much better and ITNOR is even better so if I were to rank the songs here it would be RM, OF, LLL, ITNOR, SF.   

Now if someone would post "Struck Down", that would be awesome...... 

[RJhog (Admin)]

Y&T is one of those "fringe" bands for me.  I usually like most of what I hear, but I've never really dug deeper into their catalog.  I own three of their albums, Black Tiger being the only one featured here.  Other than Summertime Girls, the one song I remember that I really liked was Temptation.  As for these tracks:

Rescue Me - This is a very nice song.  The track has a great, melodic feel to it.

Open Fire - This is that "barroom boogie", right?  I'm not a particular fan of that style, just never have been.  But this track rocks hard and the guitar is terrific.

Sentimental Fool - Again, more melodic than the previous track, which is why I like it more.

Life, Life, Life - I really dig the "big" guitar at the beginning of the track.  Sounds like a bit of a political statement.

In The Name Of Rock - Nothin' special here, but it's also not bad.

So, my ranking would be:

1. Rescue Me

2. Sentimental Fool

3. Life, Life, Life

4. In The Name Of Rock

5. Open Fire

Nice showcase!

[Gordon Williams]

Enjoyed this list. Do not recall ever hearing either of the first two tracks, and liked them both. Have liked "Life" for years, having that album for a long time. The title track of "Mean Streak" is a great rocker as well. "Open Fire" is pretty cool, but "Sentimental" does nothing for me. But overall, a very fine post. Some  decently cool album covers in this band's catalog.