As I gazed upon the cover of a CD that I thought I would never, ever see, it got me thinking back to the first time I ever heard Y&T. It was somewhere around the mid eighties. Ahh the eighties, wasteland to some, oasis of musical bliss to others. That was a much younger Torgo back then let me tell you, and maybe all his marbles were not spinning in the same direction, but It was not uncommon to catch me buying a K-TEL compilation albums with my hard earned drachmas. Sure why not? I mean, yeah, most of the songs were edited singles that ran around 2 minutes each, but it was a CHEAP way to sample a vast cornucopia of cranium pounding Rock and Roll.
So anyway, I picked up a K-TEL from K-MART called "Masters of Metal". Needless to say, when you are young and your biggest goal in life is to make your ears bleed profusely, this was a title that caught my eye. Many songs I had heard, many I had not, many I had heard and certainly did not want to hear again! So without expecting much, I plopped my 3 penny tone arm down into the smooth brand new groove of a song called MEANSTREAK by a band with a really stupid name, Y&T. Y&T? What kind of a name was that? It didn't sound tough. I didn't bring to mind visions of a fiery hell full to bursting with chittering, scampering demons. Hell, it sounded like a vocabulary lesson. Oh I'll probably hate.......
And then it hit me.
Well to make a long review short, those crunching Dave Meniketti guitars and smooth yet intense vocals grabbed me right away. A quick trip to the music store later, I had, in my collection, a vast collection of what was referred to at the time, facemelting music.
Well now I'm a little older. I've got a paunch. What hair of mine that doesn't decide to commit suicide in my comb turns white in fear of the future. I've learned to expand my musical taste to things a little deeper than crunching guitars and blistering leads, yet, not unlike the kid in me who still loves the frosted side of things, a big part of me still craves the decibels of Y&T.
Y&T's latest album, Musically Incorrect, is a MONSTER of an album! It has very similar styles to that of their previous fare, TEN, yet it has a certain edge that I cannot place. Intact are the bone-jarring leads and blistering vocals, yet MI seems to be a wee bit more edgy. It seems like the boys have said, "lets do what we do best... only lets hurt 'em this time". With rockin' songs like "Long Way Down", "Quicksand" and the sexual innuendo laced "Cold Day in Hell", MI seems to be right on the mark. Yet the album goes a bit deeper.
Standout songs like "Nowhere Land" mark a new sound for Y&T. This Kennemore (Bassist) vocaled song sounds not unlike a cool Kings-X tune, as Kennemore proves he is a competent vocalist, improving vastly over his "Earthshaker" effort, "Squeeze". Other unique songs include the slightly offbeat "Confusion", with Drummer Jimmy DeGrasso proving once again that soul, style and sheer backbone intent will not only win over an audience, but leave them slack-jawed in wonder.
Yet the big question on my mind, besides "When can I listen to this gem again?", would have to be, is this the final hurrah for the once departed Y&T? Y&T has always been an band plagued with popularity problems. Poser bands with minimal talent seem to be exploding onto the rock scene daily like unsavory things floating to the surface of a septic tank, yet talented, driven bands are forced under and onto lesser known labels, into the cutout bins, and out of the limelight. Musically Incorrect has the tenacity and, for lack of a better term "balls" to rock anyone who can take it 'till they are begging uncle for them to stop. It would be a shame if the 90's turned it's back on them, yet as loud as they are knocking, they will be hard to ignore.
Long Live Y&T!
Dr. Torgo
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