Book Review: 'Down For the Count-The Y&T Album Review' by Tim Durling
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- Опубліковано 2 січ 2024
- Join Pete Pardo for a review of the new book by Tim Durling, 'Down For the Count-The Y&T Album Review' along with Tim Durling! #y&t
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I am proud to be a part of this excellent book. Thank you for participating as well Peter.
I love Y & T. Mean Streak and Black Tiger were the Two Albums I owned in the 80s that I listened to over and over again. Later in life I rediscovered them again.
I will have to buy this book. Y&T is in my opinion the most underrated band ever!
Wish Tim/ the absolute best success. Go TIM 👍💯
As a Bay Area native & a sie hard fan from the get-go, I always was perplexed that they never broke through in the US on a larger scale. In a way, you could say they were a kind of West-Coast equivelent of (East Coast) Riot; popular & well respected in the metal scene in their home base(s), but for some reason never caught on nationally.
I'm a big fan of Y&T I have all their studio albums.
They were amazing live.
I never saw a crowd lose their 💩
And go nuts over a band like they did when Y&T took the stage
I am a huge Y&T fan! See them a bunch of times, with all lie-ups! Starting with them and Queensyrche opening for DIO's Holy Diver tour! It is a shame they were never huge! I felt that way about other favorites of mine like: Wishbone Ash and UFO! I have seen these bands more then anyone, other then DIO! Now I am going to go order this book to enjoy!
Love Y&T, first watched them opening for AC/DC in 82, here in the UK...
I love Martin's books, so using his format is a great idea. Ordering now!
Y&T is a tremendous band. One of the top 5 most underrated bands of all-time. I love every album, and yes, they absolutely deserved more. Contagious is probably the weakest, but even that album has some great pop metal tracks. They are also a pretty heavy band. Your mileage may vary, but I truly think that they are a Metal band. In Rock We Trust and Down for the Count are quite underrated in their discography, very good commercial Metal albums. I am looking forward to reading the book, Tim. I'm glad to see them getting some love. Interested to read more about their history.
I love y&T so underrated love whenever Pete talks about them. One of my fav bands, going to check out this book!
Great discussion Pete and Tim. So many good points made. Been a fan of Y&T since Mean Streak. Never could understand Summertime Girls being put on the live album Open Fire. Especially since their catchiest songs Don’t Stop Running and Mean Streak weren’t on the live album as a gateway for the Summertime Girls single’s fan. Will buy the book.
The 2nd time I saw Y&T was at the '85 Day on the Green. So technically I saw Metallica opening for them. Lol. Y&T should've been bigger.
Edit for one of Pete's comments. The 1st time I saw Y&T they had Lita Ford and Twisted Sister opening for them. Great show.
Always enjoy when the weekly new product episodes include a book but this was particularly interesting by including Tim Durling to offer his insights into creating the book. Thanks to Tim for taking time to appear and, as always, Pete, thanks to you for keeping the weekly new product episodes near (or at) the top of the must watch SoT episodes.
My first concert was Y&T at Marin Civic Center in 1983 at 13 years old. Saw them with-Wasted-Tesla and Iron Maiden at Spartan Stadium in San Jose in 1986. My favorite was Steamers Gold in Petaluma in 1989. A small Country Bar. I was 19 but we all had fake I'D's. About 150 people in the crowd. A roadie allowed me to sit on the left side of the stage on the band's coolers drinking their beers. While I watched my buddy's fight for position in the front row mosh pit! My best concert experience ever! 7 kids driving from San Rafael in a Station Wagon. The good old days!
I was going to buy this book but Pete and Tim sold it to me even more, looking forward to reading this
I've been a fan since the 70s when the band's name was Yesterday and Today. We had KISS fm radio station in San Antonio that played all these great bands early on in heavy rotation. Congratulations on the book and loving this channel!
Really enjoyed this chat goingvto buy this book going to see them in Newcastle November 1st
Seen em yrs ago when they were Yesterday and Today....at Winterland in Frisco....they always put on a kick ass show!!
Always loved Y&T, Especially IRWT & DFt C. One of those guys who actually knew all the guys names.
Dave had such an epic voice, and a stand out on Stars.
All American Boy, Don't Stop Running, (And yes) Summertime Girls, absolutely were the soundtrack to my late teens.
Great conversation and review of this terrific sounding book about this underappreciated band. Thanks for doing this Tim and to all your Co contributors, just ordered my copy from Amazon.
Hey Tim I’m a fan not HUGE but a fan. My story is here in Saint Louis like you said Summertime Girls (which I actually thought was from Down For The Count till today), All American Boy, and even Lipstick And Leather got quite a bit of airplay. I NEVER heard anything before that of anything from the early albums at all.
I remember hearing/seeing Contagious a few years later and liked it enough because it seemed very hair metalish. It was 87 it was “the sound”. Went and bought it, and then and ONLY then I saw In Rock We Trust, and Down For The Count. Not much longer after liking most of Contagious I bought those two. Still never knowing about anything before IRWT. Being a KISS fan I had read about a band in the mid 70’s called Yesterday and Today that was an opening band for them. I wondered if it was the same band looked it up and WOW it was. Still to this day I have never seen or heard those albums under that name. So I didn’t hear or see anything from Earth Shaker, Black Tiger, or Mean Streak until hearing a special one day on the Hair Metal channel on Sirius XM all day Y&T, and they talked about songs coming from those albums. That was the mid 2000’s before I knew they existed. I now have those. Funny you got into the band at Ten and I thought that was a disappointment after Contagious. I also have Facemelter and like it a lot.
Thanks Tim for writing a book that a least in my area MOST people know very little about
Underrated band for sure. This book sounds very intriguing. Thanks for bringing this book to our attention. I always thought that "masters and slaves" from IRWT was sooo heavy.
Another congrats to Tim for putting together yet again a great musical document!
Great discussion. Good to hear the book is doing well.
Y&T great band & 100% agree totally underrated!! Live they were outstanding when I saw them at the Beacon in '87 - looking forward to reading this book !!
Oh, nice, Tim!! I just ordered three more Y&T albums today. I loved the band in the eighties and still do.
The "Down for the Count" title stopped me in my tracks--What? Really? Someone actually wrote a book on Y&T? And used one of their "non-classic" album titles? Wow! So of course I had to check it out. That was a few days back when you were featured by Martin on The Contrarians, if I'm not mistaken. "DFTC" is one of my favorites--if not my favorite-Y&T album. I wore the writing off the cassette back in '85 and believe it or not, I learned "Face Like an Angel" on guitar. Anyway, congratulations Tim on the release of the book. I would have loved to contribute to this in some way had we been previously acquainted. I'm also a long-time follower of SoT and thanks Pete for featuring this here. I enjoyed your discussion. You've both made some terrific points about why they weren't bigger or better known.
Being a product of the '80s and growing up in that period of heavy music that became more synonymous with image and fashion, even then I couldn't understand Y&T's relative obscurity. Perhaps transitioning from a '70s hard rock band into the '80s wasn't a good fit--in terms of public perception. Many similar bands like Riot, Anvil, Saxon, Raven, Accept, Krokus, etc. just didn't fit neatly into these newly popularized (and more marketable) categories like Glam or Thrash that allowed the Dokkens and Metallicas to thrive. But then again, there was AC/DC. Y&T, I would argue, was better than the majority of bands that hit it big during that period, and in terms of musicality, quality albums, strong singles, etc. deserved much more success. They were excellent musicians and songwriters that could produce anthemic heavy rockers, ballads, and everything in between but never lose their integrity or identity. "DFTC's" album opener and closer, "In the Name of Rock and Roll" and "Hands of Time" are perfect examples of this. Absolutely brilliant.
In the end, I think Y&T needed a hit song or a hook, but had neither. They needed a stronger identity and to make a statement. In hindsight, they made the right moves in terms of album releases and rolling with the changes, but it was never enough. To me, that comes down to lack of label support and poor management, which Tim and Pete both alluded to. It's interesting to think about how a band like Y&T would have fared if they were more prominent in the '70s or '90s. Anyway, great job guys, and I'll definitely pick up the book. Cheers!
Congrats on the Book Tim
Didn't know about this book, can't wait to purchase! Exactly the consumer for this as I'm a big fan but probably not a die hard so there's much I could dive into and want to dive into.
Great review, and what an amazing band Y&T are! I’ve seen them live here in Norway a couple of times, the first time in 2008, and they’re one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen!
Earthshaker was a classic. If this is even as half as good as that, it's a must read!
Saw them many times in the Bay Area. They were huge during my high-school days (80-83). I thought they were in the big leagues because Black Tiger was played all over the airwaves at the time. I personally never became a mega-fan like my brother. If memory serves I'd take Earthshaker over any of their other albums. Overall I would contend their lyrics are a little lacking. At any rate, congrats on the book!
Good stuff!
i love the production on Contagious
I have been a fan for a loooong time now and could not agree more that they are criminally under-appreciated and overlooked. On the first album, Yesterday And Today, Leonard Haze puts on a drumming masterclass on hard rock drumming. Leonard himself is criminally under-appreciated. While Dave Grohl gets picked time and time again as the greatest thing since sliced bread Leonard gets squat. And Dave Meniketti is only one of the very best hard rock guitarists/vocalists on the planet. I have seen the band numerous times so I know. Of course the original lineup is near and dear to my heart but the current version does justice to the Y&T catalog. Their catalog speaks for itself.
Seems like a great book. I did a video last year myself about hard rock bands that did not fit into the sub categories of metal. Y&T were one of the bands I mentioned. I think a couple of factors played into them not totally breaking through.
1. As said A&M were not really a hard rock label, but in fairness they did get a lot of MTV airplay. I remember the "Keep on Running" video airing even during the day not just on the metal shows.
2. Dave has a great voice but for some reason I don't think it had the appeal to women like Don Dokken or Jon Bon Jovi.
3. Timing, they were part of that original 82/83 hard rock group and they just got lost in the shuffle. When Contagious came out all the hard rock fans were like what are they doing?
4. They used that whole "They're huge in the Bay area" thing too long. People get the perception they were a local band and were not big time.
The documentary they made a few years ago is great and has some other big points about why they didn't break big.
Y&T remind me of UFO - should've been massive but various factors stood in their way. Both bands were in that middle ground where perhaps they weren't heavy enough or for others too heavy....
Obsession-great album!
Nice discussion here Tim & Pete !!. I was 'heavy' into them in the early 80s, I've still got that sweet spot period 1981-1985 on vinyl. First heard Y&T on the dutch radio show 'Stampij' (hosted by Hanneke Kappen) with tracks from the then released Earthshaker album. I bought it right away ! Earthshaker is one of the most underrated hard rock classics of the 80s for sure. Then in 1982 they played at the Pinkpop festival (there is still footage from that show on youtube) at an open air venue which is funny enough about 2miles/3kms from where I now live 😉 Saw them live just once, again at another dutch festival: in 2005 at the Bospop festival. Great memories. I think there are still a lot of dutch fans out there, which is proven by the fact that they recorded their live DVD ' One Hot Night' in The Netherlands. Congrats @tim for releasing the book. Cheers from a dutch guy.
always a good band i guess they needed a gimmick .i have about 20 books i just ordered but im gonna get this one for sure .
Ordered the book today! Looking forward to it & about time Y&T get some real respect! Such an underated band
The recent documentary explores everything. They had airplay on MTV and had some minor hits. They did break through .😀❤️🎼
i bought that collection of the A&M records & Contagious recently…pretty cool
I gotta wonder...I always liked Y&T. But when I was a kid they always sounded as if your dad and his buddies were in a metal band. They had a maturity to their music and Dave Meniketti's voice sounded older than most of his peers. And I wonder if that went against them.
i’d be curious to read about the later albums. i bought up all i could of their catalog (i still need “Ten”) and the first couple before Earthshaker…i wonder why Dave’s voice changed so dramatically post Contagious
Does this cover the first two Yesterday & Today albums? I heard Beautiful Dreamer on WNEW-FM in, I think, 1976 and was hooked on that first album. Alcohol is a god-awful track but the rest of that first album is very strong
As a follow up, and after listening to the interview, I thought it was a big mistake to emasculate Leonard Haze's drum style after the first record. His bass drums on that first record is phenomenal, dare I say Bonham-esque. This was a huge miscalculation in the studio. Of course, Leonard's life style and health became a consideration, but I can't find anything that comes close to what he did on that first record.
Yes, this covers the first two Yesterday and Today albums.
I think the band's name holds them back. For some reason, when I see the name, I think of a disco or R&B band.
I saw Yesterday & Today at Winterland way back when.
I will be seeing the band Saturday 1-6 in Santa Cruz. I can't wait.
I wonder if the book will be for sale at the gig?
I've only saw these guys twice in concert: the 80's classic line-up & their last full length tour;supporting FaceMelter....just outstanding!!! Dave Meniketti just has a tone/vibrato/power chords mastery/blues sensibility that rivals: Sykes,Robo,Gillis,Montrose,etc. Underappreciated by some,but legendary to those who've seen them live & enjoy pure hard rock. 🪨🔥.
Had I not had met people from all over the country while in the service I was privileged to be around what other people listened to and that’s when I first heard the Black Tiger record I was hooked,I hate the fact that IF anybody mentions Y&T they always say “Summer time girls” which was to commercial and not there style and considered just another hair band,hated that
😄👍
Dave Meniketti is one of the most underrated guitarists / vocalists in hard rock / metal history ....... hey bartender , set em up again .
You know, the name's not great. Neither was Yesterday & Today, but Y&T...Y&T? S&M? P&H? PB&J? It just did not have that silly "TOUGH DUDES!" aesthetic like their competitors.
just got the book!