On the Prowl: Best of [Best of, Import]

One of those great, but almost unnoticed NWOBHM bands that couldn't break into the spotlight like Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head or Judas Priest. They were, however, one of the better bands in the late 70's and 80's if you liked good hard rock. Tygers of Pan Tang were a blend of heavy riffs, power pop, some blues, and straight forward almost no gimmicks rock. Whether the guitarist was Robb Weir or John Sykes [Whitesnake/Blue Murder/Thin Lizzy] the guitar licks were sensational, particularly with both guitarists after their debut album Wild Cat. These guys went head to head with Samson, Saxon and other bands in the revival that brought Heavy Metal to the forefront of the music industry in the 80's. Some great and quite different sounds on this disc include Love Potion #9, Rendezvouz, Hellbound, Silver & Gold, and Danger in Paradise. If you are already familiar with the Tygers then you may want to move on to The Cage, Spellbound, Crazy Nights and Wild Cat [listed in the order that I like them]. This disc spans the years with MCA and their single that got them that contract Don't Touch Me There. For the price this is an exceptional disc that will let you know if you need to search out the other masterpieces from this truely exceptional band

Back to the good old days of NWOBHM. All the classic John Sykes stuff is on here [check out Thunder and Lightning by Thin Lizzy too]. The band really came into its own when Sykes joined them for the Spellbound album. The haunting guitar melodies on Don't Stop By and Mirror are sheer genius. Crazy Nights was the third album, a more harder edged sound with tracks here like Love Don't Stay and Running Out of Time continuing to demonstrate Sykes creative abilities on the axe. The Cage, the most commercial set of tracks the band had produced. The awesome Rendezvous taking on a Def Leppard electronic drum beat, the melodic Paris By Air [strange lyrics] but yet memorable mix of guitar and keyboards but the best track, which I played continuously as a spotty teenager was the old Leiber & Stoller classic Love Potion Number Nine. 2 minutes and 7 seconds of kick ass, in yer face rock - just turn this one up! TOPT, great memories, different from the run of the mill metal.

Tis indeed a warmer of cockles to see releases like this celebrating one of the NWOBHM's better acts. Top of the losers pile may be too harsh a sobriquet but top of the second tier may be just as accurate and certainly somewhat kinder! This release is a collection of the best bits of the bands albums for MCA spanning the debut full length through to their final release for the label The Cage with the tracks arranged in chronological order. As such this disc sidesteps the later non MCA releases and doesn't address the incarnation of the group active throughout the 00's.

But these quibbles aside this is a fine recorded slice of NWOBHM which should be in any hard rockers collection. Early tunes like Suzie Smiled are interesting when sent forth on the same disc as numbers like Paris By Air and Rendesvous and the changing feel of the band is thus portrayed. It's versatility is also shown by tracks like Mirror and the listener is able to pick out the nuances more with the assistance of brief though lucid liner notes and an additional paragraph of thoughts/thanks from the bands original vocalist Jesse Cox.

For many this will probably be all the Tygers they need for the non MCA albums of the later years of their first incarnation are not highly regarded and the reunion years may not be of much interest due to innumerable line up changes bringing into question the motives behind the continued use of the name. But that's not to deny this is a good place to start your Tygers exploration.