Shane’s Rock Challenge: Y&T – 1982 – Black Tiger

Shane’s Rock Challenge: Y&T – 1982 – Black Tiger
8/10

Y&T had released three albums by the time they put together Black Tiger, still considered one of the best from this stalwart but sadly underrated band.

A Heavy Metal band when the term meant something specific to fans – hard rocking music with melody and style, rather than the catch-all generic label it has become for anything from AC/DC to extreme noise – Y&T deliver the goods with big riffs, tight harmonies, unforgettable melodies and, above all, excellent songs.

Featuring the Meniketti-Kennemore-Alves-Haze line-up and produced by Max Norman, Black Tiger expanded on it’s predecessor (the similarly undervalued Earthshaker) and virtually mapped out a technical description of what a great heavy rock band was, circa 1982, with the hard rocking Open Fire, Don’t Wanna Lose, Hell Or High Water and the heavy ballad Forever.

The title track is a slicker affair, showing Dave Meniketti’s confident – almost Sammy Hagar-ish – vocals, while Barroom Boogie is a more self-explanatory tale of chasing some late-night love down at your local.  The album finishes with the slow-burning Winds Of Change, which features a tasty solo and an impassioned vocal.

Black Tiger is full of great songs that are tailor made to be sung loudly while motorin’ down the highway with the wind in your hair, but unfairly, they would have to wait a while longer for a taste of mainstream commercial success.

By Shane Pinnegar

Category: Shane's Rock Challenge