Y&T – Earthquake; The A&M Years 1981-1985 [Box-set 6 albums remastered + bonus disc]

As requested by many, here’s the complete box-set “Y&T – Earthquake The A&M Years 81-85“, a must have remastered pack from the most brilliant era – the Eighties – from Dave Meniketti’s legendary hard rock band.
Almost silently released, “Earthquake: The A&M Years 1981-1985” is a great deal; you get 6 albums plus a bonus disc of Unreleased material, spread over 4 discs – a terrific collection with all the material Remastered for an exceptional value for money.
Yes, many would prefer each album into one single disc, but this way you have a glossy edition packaged in the old style ‘fat’ box, an extensive booklet in exceptional print quality with detailed info, and the most important; a superb sound remastered by Andy Pearce (Rock Candy Records headquarters), all for less than U$D 25.

“Earthshaker” was Y&T’s first album for A&M and the first under their current name, after changing it from Yesterday and Today used on the two prior records. This record changed everything for Meniketti & Co., with a polished production (yet still retaining a quite melatized sound) and full of radio-friendly hooks.
The whole album standout driven by hot riffs, even present on the ballsy power ballad “I Believe In You”, a reference for just about every hair metal to come in the way of crafting their power ballads.
The remaster on “Earthshaker” is excellent as on all the albums in this box, particularly this one rescues Phil Kenmore’s vocals which were too much buried in mix on several tracks.

“Black Tiger”, the second Y&T record for A&M Records, was recorded at Ridge Farm, in Dorking, County of Surrey, England and produced by wizard Max Norman (Ozzy, Lynch Mob). The classic Y&T logo makes its first appearance on the cover on a record with rather diverse material including the typical uptempo Y&T hard rockers like “Open Fire” together with melodic rock gems such as “Don’t Wanna Lose”, a real gem of a tune.
Title track is fast and furious, while the bass driven “Barroom Boogie” gives the album character and the captivating fan favourite “Forever” gives an example of a classic Y&T trademark rock.
“Hell or High Water” shows Y&T’s ability to be slow & melodic but still groovy and heavy, and the closing “Winds of Change” is one of the band’s best ballads.

“Mean Streak” was a gateway album for Y&T, and the one which made the group finally get noticed by American audiences. There’s no mistaking that the opening riff to title “Mean Streak” represent the melodic (hard) rock music scene of the early eighties, together with Night Ranger and alike.
Meniketti delivers his trademark melodic yet husky vocals reminiscent of Sammy Hagar & Ronnie Montrose. It should come as no surprise that Dave has collaborated with Ronnie many times. There’s a killer track on “Straight Through the Heart”.
More of that great Y&T vocal harmony is present on my favortie “Lonely Side Of Town”, while the group chronicles their first-ever trip to Japan on “Midnight in Tokyo”.
“Hang `Em High” has Y&T crossing the line from AOR to hard rock as they pump up the distortion, quicken up the riffs, and lay down some pounding drum beats. “Sentimental Fool” has a great melodic rock radio appeal to it, as the main arrangement is instant and catchy.
“Mean Streak” is a good representation of the rock music scene at the time as shows the incipient Melodic Rock / hard rock / hair metal wave to come & conquer the US market.

“In Rock We Trust” was the definitive breakthrough album for Y&T, becoming the band’s highest charting album at the time, reaching No. 46 on the Billboard 200 and coming close to gold status the year of its release (it hits the mark later).
Although Y&T never obtained the massive recognition they deserved, with this record the band reached audiences like never before; the wheels were certainly in motion for Meniketti and the guys. Not only was MTV playing their videos for “Lipstick and Leather” and “Don’t Stop Runnin” but they were also the chief opening act for Twisted Sister.

“In Rock We Trust” is a great melodic hard rock album from beginning to end. Produced by the at the time en-vogue Englishman Tom Allom (Def Leppard, Krokus, Judas Priest) we have kickin’ anthems on “Rock & Roll’s Gonna Save the World” and especially “Break Out Tonight!”, both top notch arena-ready monsters.
While the aforementioned “Lipstick and Leather” and “Don’t Stop Runnin” are very good songs, the lesser known “(Your Love Is) Driving Me Crazy” and “I’ll Keep On Believin’ (Do You Know)” are even better. As evidenced throughout the album, the heart and soul of Y&T was Dave Meniketti. One of the few lead vocalists in metal that doubled on lead guitar, he had a gift of throwing in tasty leads during the verses that gave the band’s songs more punch.
Other great tracks include the riff heavy “Masters and Slaves”, the mid-tempo “Life, Life, Life”, and the frantic “She’s A Liar”. Finally, the closing “This Time” is one of their best power ballads, something the band always had a knack for.

“Open Fire” was the first live for Y&T. And what a killer record.
The live material was recorded at various locations earlier in the same year of release (1985) seeing Y&T at the peak of their popularity and solid, tight as band as never before.
The performances are top notch and the recording quality was amongst the best during the ’80s. Well, this remastering has turned out this “Open Fire” even better, adding more punch to it but isn’t overblown dynamically. It’s a remarkably clear recording considering it was originally made over 20 years ago, and every instrument and vocals come crystal clear out of the speakers.
You need to listen “Open Fire”, seriously, it’s a step ahead to many more famous records of this kind.

Y&T’s last recording for A&M, the criminally underrated “Down For The Count” (1986), isa must have for any Melodic Rock / mid-’80s AOR fan.
The album features Y&T’s biggest hit “Summertime Girls”, a keyboard driven catchy AOR song to die for, which charted at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song had initially appeared as the lone studio track on the band’s previous live album, Open Fire.
But all tracks into “Down For The Count” are great: the killer, scorching hard rock opener “In The Name Of Rock” about a young guitar player who broke through heck or high water, the AOR heaven of “Anytime At All” (with some Journey on it), the Melodic Rock gold of “Face Like An Angel”, and one of my Y&T favorite songs ever: the bluesy and hot “Looks Like Trouble”.
There’s more ass kickers on the melting “Don’t Tell Me What To Wear” and “Anything For Money”, and the mid-tempo AOR ballad “Hands Of Time” has an intensity few times seen in this type of songs.

“Live On The Friday Rock Show”, this is the ‘bonus album’ from this Y&T box-set, offering recordings from the band’s shows at the now legendary English festivals ‘Reading’ and ‘Donington Park ; Monsters Of Rock’.
While the Reading Festival performace was released on CD by a small label in limited quantities some time ago (but now out of print), the Donington Monsters Of Rock show was previously unreleased and it’s exclusive to this Box.
Both shows are well worth to listen, not only for fans of the band, but also by any hard rock aficionado out there.
The passion, the musicality, the energy of Y&T on these shows were second to none, and are wonderfully immortalized on tape. The sound quality is truly good, perfectly mastered to maintain the stage rawness.

We Highly Recommend this awesome box “Earthquake: The A&M Years 1981-1985”, including 7 albums for the price of two, with a terrific remastering work and fantastic packaging.

Earthshaker (1981)
01 – Hungry For Rock
02 – Dirty Girl
03 – Shake It Loose
04 – Squeeze
05 – Rescue Me
06 – Young And Tough
07 – Hurricane
08 – Let Me Go
09 – Knock You Out
10 – I Believe In You

Black Tiger (1982)
01 – From The Moon
02 – Open Fire
03 – Don’t Wanna Lose
04 – Hell Or High Water
05 – Forever
06 – Black Tiger
07 – Barroom Boogie
08 – My Way Or The Highway
09 – Winds Of Change

Mean Streak (1983)
01 – Mean Streak
02 – Straight Thru The Heart
03 – Lonely Side Of Town
04 – Midnight In Tokyo
05 – Breaking Away
06 – Hang ‘Em High
07 – Take You To The Limit
08 – Sentimental Fool
09 – Down And Dirty

In Rock We Trust (1984)
01 – Rock & Roll’s Gonna Save The World
02 – Life, Life, Life
03 – Masters And Slaves
04 – I’ll Keep On Believin’ (Do You Know)
05 – Break Out Tonight!
06 – Lipstick And Leather
07 – Don’t Stop Runnin’
08 – (Your Love Is) Drivin’ Me Crazy
09 – She’s A Liar
10 – This Time

Open Fire (1985)
01 – Open Fire
02 – Go For The Throat
03 – 25 Hours A Day
04 – Rescue Me
05 – Summertime Girls
06 – Forever
07 – Barroom Boogie
08 – I Believe In You

Down For The Count (1985)
01 – In The Name Of Rock
02 – All American Boy
03 – Anytime At All
04 – Anything For Money
05 – Face Like An Angel
06 – Summertime Girls (Studio Version)
07 – Looks Like Trouble
08 – Your Mama Don’t Dance
09 – Don’t Tell Me What To Wear
10 – Hands Of Time

Bonus Disc: Live 1982-1984 Previously Unreleased
Live at Reading 1982:
01 – Hungry For Rock
02 – Black Tiger
03 – I Believe In You
04 – Open fire
05 – Forever
06 – Rescue Me
Live at Donington Monsters Of Rock 1984:
07 – Mean Streak
08 – Barroom Boggie
09 – Lipstick And Leather
10 – Rescue Me
11 – Rock ‘N’ Roll’s Gonna Save The World
12 – Masters And Slaves

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