TYGERS OF PAN TANG – Noises From The Cathouse [remastered +3] (2016) out of print

Originally released in 2004,”Noises From The Cathouse” was the second post-reformation album by Whitley Bay’s finest TYGERS OF PAN TANG. While in 2016 the band was finishing their brand new record, “Noises From The Cathouse” got re-released, fully remastered and with some really good bonus tracks. A limited Edition now out of print and requested by some here.

After more than 10 years after the band dissolution in the second half of the Eighties, original members Jess Cox and Robb Weir assembled a Tygers Of Pan Tang momentary line-up for a one-off show at Wacken in 1999 – immortalised later on the cunningly-titled album ‘Live At Wacken’.
With Cox out of the picture for a second time Weir put together a new Tygers for a new century, with Dean Robertson joining him on guitars, Brian West on bass, Craig Ellis on drums and Tony Liddell replacing Cox behind the mike stand.
The result of a trip to the studios was 2001’s ‘Mystical’, and two years and one vocalist later ‘Noises From The Cathouse’ appeared on Communiqué Records, with the solid Richie Wicks now fronting the band.

Clocking in at 62 minutes for just ten songs, the album featured some of the most intriguing and exciting music the band had recorded, taking its cue more from the heavy progressive songs like ‘Slave To Freedom’ and ‘Insanity’ from debut album ‘Wild Cat’ than the later, more chart-friendly, four-minute material like ‘Rendez-Vous’ or ‘Paris By Air’, the successful singles from ‘The Cage’ (1982).
It also re-united the Tygers (albeit in a vastly different form) with mastermind Chris Tsangarides, the man who’d produced both ‘Wild Cat’ and its follow-up ‘Spellbound’.
But despite this pedigree, “Noises From The Cathouse” didn’t resound that widely and the album soon vanished into obscurity (in grand part due its poor label promotion), taking with it the hopes of the band themselves who wouldn’t be heard from for another five years.

Fast-forward thirteen years and “Noises From The Cathouse” has now been given a new lease of life in 2016 via Angel Air Records. The revamped album features new artwork, a shuffled running order that redefines the dynamism of the original ten songs, and three bonus tracks which take the running time up to a hefty 75 minutes.
The material certainly hasn’t lost its bite over the intervening years, and songs like the huge, sprawling ‘Master Of Illusion’ is just one example of the band’s ability to create a grandiose hard rock / metal epic, while the haunting but power chord laden ‘Cybernation’ is as dystopian as its title suggests.

The previously unreleased bonus tracks were recorded in 2004 during the same recording sessions, including the album cut ‘Highspeed Highway Superman’ in a ‘Two Wheeled Version’ much more funny and ready for the road, alongside fresh versions of the Tygers debut album classics ‘Slave To Freedom’ and ‘Don’t Touch Me There’, perhaps their most famous song.
Both re-recorded classics are tweaked according modern times but still sounding assassin.

My favorite Tygers Of Pan Tang era is their last ’80s when they turned melodic hard rock, but always had a soft spot for all this band stupendous material.
“Noises From The Cathouse” is a kick ass record, quite heavy and traditional hard rock with some progressive passages. This is straight ahead guitar driven British stuff with a crystal singer and very good compositions.
Production is pristine, and this remaster has provided much more punch and stronger bass lines.
One of the most underrated and criminally ignored albums from the past decade, now revamped with an excellent edition to enjoy.
Highly Recommended

01 – Bad Bad Kitty
02 – Highspeed Highway Superman
03 – Cybernation
04 – Boomerang
05 – Running Man
06 – The Spirit Never Dies
07 – Three In A Bed
08 – Deja Vu
09 – Godspeak
10 – Master Of Illusion
BONUS TRACKS:
11 – Highspeed Highway Superman [Two Wheeled Version]
12 – Slave To Freedom
13 – Don’t Touch Me There (New Version)

Richie Wicks – Vocals
Robb Weir – Guitar
Dean Robertson – Guitar
Brian West – Bass
Craig Ellis – Drums

Out of print:
www.angelair.co.uk/?tcp_product=tygers-of-pan-tang-noises-from-the-cathouse
www.amazon.co.uk/Noises-Cathouse-Tygers-Pan-Tang