Ranking the Studio Albums: Tygers of Pan Tang (w/ Rich Catino)

Join Pete Pardo & Rich Catino as they rank the discography of NWOBHM legends Tygers of Pan Tang. #tygersofpantang
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[@MickyCrystal]

Hey guys, thank you for the kind words about the playing and noticing the little tip of the hat to Sykes on Ritual and the S/T album too.

[@TimmyTantrum]

You were the best lead guitarist in Tygers since Sykes, I'm sorry you left.

[@stuartsmith739]

Prior to you being in the Tygers I'm sure I saw you in a band a number of years ago at the Garrick's Head North Shields. Could that have been you and if so can you remind me of the name of the band. Cheers and good luck for the future.

[@kevinturchin]

I listened to a Tygers of Pan Tang for the first time today and I can confirm... “Do It Good” kicks ass!!!! Great show.

[@turefromfinland3264]

Crazy Nights album has absolutely lousy sounds. Very poorly produced.

[@guadalahonky4002]

Tygers - 'Rendevous'

[@BaronQ]

Hi Pete, good rundown! Fred Purser (great guy) produced my band in the 90s and told me a little known fact that goes to your observation that the cage was a couple of years early: the cage was one of the reference albums Mutt Lange had in the studio when he put Pyromania together for Def Leppard.... Keep up the good work!

[@ArcangelofRock]

Sunday Brunch....a good choice for this format. My favorite Tygers' albums: 1. WILDCAT 2.CRAZY NIGHTS. 3.SPELLBOUND. 4.RITUAL. 5.THE CAGE.

[@matma84]

Great ranking! My favourites are Wild Cats and Spellbound. My all time favourite song being Insanity. I am surprised no one mentioned that one! Great bass riffing!

[@katesjanice]

Love Rich Catino. When he is alone with you Pete, he is able to speak much more and has so many great things to say. Thanks Rich!

[@EliphasDesni]

Wild Cat my #1.

[@MrZenkman]

Used to be part of the Tygers of Pan Tang “Fang Club”. Had a bunch of autographed stuff that I can’t find anymore. Favourites are Spellbound and Crazy Nights.

[@steinarskaaland1570]

Top 5 for me is: 1 Wild Cat 2 Crazy Nights 3 Ambush 4 Ritual 5 Spellbound Have listen to Tygers since their debut album that took me by storm.

[@Dominixx1]

I have no problems with Jess Cox vocals on "Wild Cat". His singing fits the songs perfectly. And no bad singer in my opinion. He's in the same school of singers like Bon Scott, Lemmy etc. Singers that doesn't quite sing "good" in a traditional sense, but has an unique character in their voices and an attitude that fits the music. The singers that came afterwards were good also but a different era. The original Tygers was a bunch of guys that grew up in the same block so to speak and there's a charm to that.

[@arunsabherwal6256]

Wow! What a kick ass band ...superb hooks ...excellent heavy sound . 🚀🤘🔥🤘

[@johnmichaelwilliams6694]

Great to have the Rich and Pete Sunday brunch back in session! Here in north central Florida, don't remember any record stores that had import sections and I shopped most of the stores at the time and spent hours some days just browsing the whole store. That makes this episode and the one scheduled next week for Praying Mantis very interesting to watch and learn. Of course, now it is going to mean more album purchases. Thanks for your discussion and highlights of this band and the your preferred parts of the catalogue and why you prefer those. A great guide for a NWOBHM starter like I am.

[@peterichards3261]

Regarding buying albums based on the cover alone, my cousin Garry and I did it fairly often in the 70s and early 80s. One I remember especially was an album called "Bold As Brass" by a Dutch metal band called Bodine featuring none other than Arjen Anthony Lucassen on guitar. The 2nd of three great albums

[@johnkearns9500]

Love Bodine

[@turefromfinland3264]

Icon's first album (s/t, 1984) is awesome record. One of the best (melodic) hard rock records ever !!!!

[@stuartsmith739]

First saw the Tygers at Whitley Bay High School when I was 14. This was the gig that the guy from Neat Records attended and decided to sign them on the strength of their performance. Great memories!

[@gwts1171]

Though I've heard some of their later stuff, I only know the 80's records enough to rank. 6) The Cage (I hate that cover of "Love Potion No. 9" that was a hit for them) 5) Burning in the Shade 4) The Wreck-Age To me, my top three are quite a bit better than my bottom three 3) Wild Cat 2) Spellbound 1) Crazy Nights These three are all pretty dang good, but Sykes' guitar makes the top two just a bit more enjoyable. They could easily flip - they're pretty close to me. Thanks for the video,, Pete & Rich!

[@trencher7]

I grew up on Wild Cat from a tape my friend made for me from his album. When it wore out I bought it again and then realized my friend had accidentally had the turntable at 45 speed. It sounded great though.

[@sneakyuploader_4477]

Sorry to correct you guys but John Sykes was actually still in the band, at the start of The Cage sessions. His solos feature on both "Danger in Paradise" and the cover of "Love Potion No.9".

[@martinford1644]

Enjoyed that film, thanks lads. I have loved this band since the start. Was a 'fang club' member as well and got a plastic badge and a newsletter. Great, great days.

[@markdodds6141]

Aaand yes the fun of discovering new music because you liked the album cover and took a chance. Iron Maiden Killers comes to mind. I had never heard of them but that cover was so cool, I had to get it. Glad I did.

[@christianhaynes1954]

Thanks to you Pete, Rich! Love this bands last several albums are great ! Thanks for making me aware of them !

[@minsterhill]

The Cage my #1 so original and catchy. That's what I remember when it came out. Loved the band before and anxious to hear the next record and what a shock but a wonderful one was far from disappointed with it. Still love all their works.

[@treffbennett6534]

Ritual, Ambush and self titled (their last three albums) are all excellent and are chock full of fiery riffs, stellar vocals and strong songwriting with modern day production-nice comeback!

[@guylanglois1802]

Yup the last 2 have been killer

[@andrelfcunhaii]

Yes! These three albums are incredible.

[@iainholmes2735]

Bear with me on this: I get a kind of 'Sliding Doors' vibe about Tygers. But for a couple of small rolls of the dice, or chance events (who knows what they were ?) I think they could have been as big as Maiden and Leppard in terms of NWOBHM crossover into the mainstream.

[@colinrgage]

I'm from Grimsby in UK tygers played here all the time back in the day tbh they're been here twice in last few years

[@gladiator22666]

My top five Tygers albums .....5 The Cage 4 Ritual 3 Crazy Nights 2 Spellbound and number one is Wild Cat .....raw , heavy with fantastic vocals 🤘👍

[@turefromfinland3264]

You mean awful vocals, right?

[@747jono]

Back in the day there was a fantastic record store opposite the Hammersmith Odeon Flyover Records that shop was where I bought my US imports many by just looking at the album covers. Zon,Starcastle,and Angel to name a few. My friend and myself knew it was rock/ metal so took a chance never any regrets. In those days imports were the only way we could get US hard rock and metal. The reviews in Kerrang in brackets Import opened the door.

[@independenceltd.]

3. Crazy Nights 2. Spellbound 1. Wild Cat

[@ronforeman2556]

Re: "The Cage" (1982) does feature John Sykes on two tracks, including their cover of "Love Potion #9," which was the band's commercial high-water mark. Sykes also appears on the "Love Potion #9" performance video.

[@DutchDixon94]

Another good episode. I know very little about Tygers of Pan Tang. I have to give them a listen!

[@inmyhouse11]

Going to Rock N Roll Heavenin NJ back in the day was like being a kid in a candy store. They had all these great albums with great covers and scooping them all up based on the covers. Great times

[@cezarmaatubang8236]

I remember the band but never heard anything. You've convinced me. I'm getting that box pete! lol

[@BlackMoore82]

Spellbound. Wild Cat. Crazy Nights. Ambush. The Cage. After The Cage I was done until Ambush came out in 2012, it's a solid album.

[@JoseEspinoza-ly3rk]

Thanks Pete got to check out there albums

[@gladiator22666]

Back in the day our local record store would get to know its customers and would play an album for you while you were in the shop . Us over fifties would make a visit to our local record store every week and go through the albums like a ritual. I remember perusing through the albums and Freebird was playing .....the song came to the bit that everyone knows ......I looked around and everyone's head was banging and feet were tapping . A moment that has stayed with me all these years ......the power of music at its very best.....love it 🤘👍🥃🍻🍻🍻🍻

[@CanadianCharlie64]

I'm just getting into the Tygers Of Pantang after all these years, there was too much metal to listen to in the early 80's and I'm not disappointed. Picked up the first 2 CD's and will get a few more. Thanks for your great videos

[@unchattytwit]

Great show. I first heard TOPT on The Friday Night Rock Show in the UK - first session. Heard the albums up to and including, The Cage then lost interest amongst the avalanche of other NWOBHM and Prog. But when Pete described 'Noises ...' I listened on KZbin and it sounded great. I'm def going to revisit TOPT. Rock on.

[@kevbonett]

Totally agree with the top 2... Crazy Nights just about wins it for me. I spent many hours as a teenager learning all the drum parts, and I copied the album cover for an art exam! Saw them live in a small sweaty club in the UK with John Sykes.

[@djgerman5705]

I recorded "Tides" on cassette from the radio and I didn't know who the band was, but I loved the song. I only found out that it was TOPT when I bought "The Cage" twenty years later. It came as big surprise to me, how AORish they had become, but I still dig this song a lot.

[@LuchaLibertaria]

Great show. My fave is Wild Cat - love the raw energy on that album. Honourable Mentions: Spellbound, Crazy Nights and their last album Ritual

[@captainshadowdreamer]

how about one on girlschool

[@Rolf2112]

Hello friends. 1) Spellbound 2) Wild Cat 3) The Cage 4) Crazy Nights. Recent stuff really good too. Jess Cox such an important role on the development of NWOBHM. Rich check Fields of Blood by GD if you havent..

[@deadliestassassin3092]

Tokyo Blade is another good nwobhm band. I got their first 3 albums and a rarity cd in a boxset like Petes Tygers boxset. I also got some other similar boxsets like Warlock, Witchfynde, all of Samson's discography, and a few others last year.

[@stephennorris2524]

Excellent show guys, couple of other favourite bands of mine from this era are Tokyo Blade & Saracen.

[@747jono]

Mr Weir still writes a column each month in Powerplay magazine in the UK 🇬🇧.

[@camrock3534]

Excellent show Pete and Rich! Can’t wait for Praying Mantis next week! I hope there is a ranking the Demon albums on the horizon at some point too!🤘🏻

[@747jono]

Great band saw them so many times back in the day

[@andrehb]

Wild Catz all day everyday

[@MrSicilian16]

​Love the Jacopo Mellie era,of course of all the old stuff Spellbound is just easily The Best!! Great Album,i have it on SHM RM Japan CD...

[@lening9]

1) Spellbound 2) Wild Cat 3) Crazy Nights 4) Ritual 5) Ambush 6) Tygers of Pan Tang 7) Mystical 8) Animal Instinct 9) The Wreck-Age 10) The Cage 11) Noises from the Cathouse 12) Burning in the Shade

[@diannecarpenter7718]

Thank you, “Pete” and “Rich” for your ranking of Tygers of Pang Tang! I love this band!! My picks and ranking are from my CDs & records I own. 1. Spellbound 2. The Cage 3. Crazy Nights 4. Wild Cat 5. Ambush 6. Live at the BBC 7. Ritual *and more 🎤🎸🎵🥁

[@pvdguitars2951]

Exactly, after the NWOBHM era, they sounded more like Icon, but definitely also like the other British AOR bands : Shy and FM.

[@esteeb67]

I have heard their MCA albums in the past and have a few songs here or there. I did just pick up the MCA collection, so once I digest that fully I can rank those records. Thanks for your insight!

[@giampaolopaoletti7393]

I love all album. When a person asks you about tour children what your favorite child is, what can you answer? Each of them has something special and some flaws but still you love them all and keep them in your heart! Thank you to speaks about this great band.

[@LarryFleetwood8675]

I never had their albums but many years ago, I bought a batch of their singles and still have them.

[@diannecarpenter7718]

I have the Tygers of Pan Tang CD box set and found Wild Cat , The Cage and Spellbound on record.🎤🎸🎵🥁

[@MartyMurray]

I was a big fan of this band, and I was like you guys, I bought those two top albums you did after seeing them in the imports bin, because I liked the looks of the covers, and when I got them home, I really liked the music. And yes, that new one, "Ritual," is a terrific record.

[@kevincastle776]

Love this cd...

[@arunsabherwal6256]

Hi Pete the new Tygers album released on 28th May 2021 is really blistering 🔥...it's awesome...look forward to your review asap ...thanks

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

Not sure I need to get that, as it's all stuff from the prior 4 albums.

[@arunsabherwal6256]

@@seaoftranquilityprog it's one blistering track after another. Great compilation.

[@pvdguitars2951]

Still have the original 81 vinyls of Spellbound and Crazy Night. My Crazy night version comes with a 12” bonus record 👍

[@stefandanev8117]

Thanks pete, can you please do vander plas ranking. Thanks

[@charlesdoyle7600]

Bought Spellbound when it came out because of the Album Cover. I was a huge fan of Tygers back in the 80s, then I forgot about them until Ritual came out and I love the Ritual Album and the new Singer sounds awesome.

[@johnwheatcroft1188]

Wildcat at 9 Pete ...😲😲

[@Danimal77]

Spellbound is without a doubt number UNO!!!!

[@EnemyKnown]

Been wanting to get into Tygers, I knew about them for years but didn't make the jump until the tail end of 23. Got Ambush first and then all the ones with Jack singing then grabbed Spellbound & Crazy Nights. Also waiting to get Mystical not to sure about the some of the other ones you both ranked kind of low. I also agree with Pete about Wildcat with the vocals.

[@kamranmalik8546]

Any chance you'll do a show on Sepultura?

[@erikberg5363]

That would be awesome!

[@Danimal77]

Would be cool if you guys ranked "Witchfynde's" albums. One of my favorite NWOBHM bands! They also only released 6 studio albums and their first four from 1980-1984 were all stellar!

[@shaunsmith3538]

Great show! My top 5... 5. Crazy Nights 4. Ambush 3. Spellbound 2. Tyger of Pan Tang 2016 1. Ritual 👍

[@janerikmellesdal3868]

Wild cat no 1, jess cox. Classic

[@grahamtaylor8912]

Cool video Pete, thanks..

[@derekclacton]

Crazy Nights also came with a 12” single with “Stormlands”, which is my favourite track from that release. I really liked The Cage at the time but now not so much - when it’s good it’s very good, although different but the record company’s push for popular commercial appeal was just too much and although “Love Potion Number 9” was a great cover, the more poppy songs were too light. Maybe Pete has a point; that it was before its time.

[@Peatmoss0979]

That is the set I got to Pete I got it off Ebay it was around 15 dollars. There is other sets that this company makes Y@T, Deep Purple, ZZ top and UFO all box sets I suggest getting them before price jumps.

[@jasonmarkham2592]

Dang it. Had both bands on my queue for quite awhile, so thanks to this video I'll get to those....along with Diamond Head. Check out these other bands, Tokyo Blade, and Briar.

[@philjm3103]

First thing I did when I saw this was to dig out my 7" single "Don't touch me there" (original label, obvs!) that I bought in 1979. I then saw them at the Reading Rock Festival in 1980. Weirdly I never bought anything else from ToPT, although I still like, and occasionally play, the single.

[@Danimal77]

Speaking of bands that went from a heavier and hard rocking metallic sound to softer in a short time span, you can look no further than King Kobra. Their first album from 1985, "Ready to Strike" was loud and had balls to it, but their follow-up album from 1986, "Thrill of a lifetime" had all the edge sucked right out of it with over the top keyboards and gloss. The singer, Mark/Marcy Free is so underrated.

[@ukrocksounds3419]

1 Wildcat 2 Spellbound 3 Ritual 4 Crazy nights

[@ljp711]

Hey don't forget guitarist Steve Purser was from Penetration, one of my favorite British punk bands who also featured excellent female singer Pauline Murray.

[@steveclem]

My 123, 1 Wild Cat, 2 Spellbound, 3 Crazy Nights.

[@chiragchittar4179]

Great stuff. Agree with the list, I lost interest after crazy nights so here is my list Top 3 Spellbound Wildcat Crazy nights

[@foobman]

Spellbound. No competition. The Cage second, though I get why many call it a sellout album. I has the privilege of seeing them live at a small festival in Belgium a few years back. Enjoyed that very much, but I especially was very impressed with the vocals.

[@nazaholicable]

I was big fan back in the day. I saw them play Wigan pier night club, on the same day that Prince Charles married Lady Diana. A year or so later, we saw the Tygers play at the Liverpool Empire. 'The Cage' was number 13 in the album charts. They were great on that tour. Their single releases were still falling short of the top 40, but it felt like they'd arrived, and would move on to bigger sales. Instead, they imploded. Subsequent re-inventions of the brand name would sporadically surface thereafter. Sadly, it was all too late. My fave Tygers album is 'the cage.' It wasn't perfect. Great tracks like 'Tides' rub shoulders with the lamentable lyrics present on songs such as 'Paris by air.' They even sang about it being "lonely at the top" without being qualified to do so.

[@qdaveq6597]

"I don't have the bread".

[@purpletemple1]

1. Spellbound 2. The Cage 3. Wild Cat 4. Crazy Nights 5. Ambush 6. ToPT (2016) 7. Ritual 8. Wreck-age. I don't have and have never heard the mid-period albums.

[@stevefletcher6163]

Not caught up with the post 2000 Tygers myself,It's on the to do list, but going off the Tygers album I go back and play the most for my number 1 then the ultimate contrarian choice for me. The Cage

[@purpletemple1]

Ok, Pete you got me with "Noises...". I just found a rather cheap 2x cd which combines "Noises" & "Live in the Roar" album under the name of "Bad Bad Kitty"...

[@careytamburrino746]

Yeah Ive taken that chance many many times and would still do it. Ive actually commented this same thing before snd the first one I did take a chance on was the first Molly Hatchet album. It was the only way to find great music back in the day!

[@snowdog202]

12? I only knew the first 4. This was an educational episode.

[@RueMorgueDweller]

I love the first few Tygers albums. Ambush was pretty good from what i heard, Im not too familar with their recent albums but i have heard great things about them. Im not into their other 80s albums like Wreckage, or Burning in the Shade. Problem with most of the NWOBHM bands after their first few albums were that they listened to the wrong people on what direction their music should go. For half of them they either try to go commerical, however there were others that went even more aggressive like Satan, and others. Pete, part of the appeal of Jess Cox's vocals is that they have this scrappy punk feel to them, which gives it that raw honesty to the music. I enjoy his vocals on the album, although Jon Deverill was their best singer.

[@petegreenfield3645]

Couldn't get along with Jess Cox's vocals but once he left they were great.

[@desbrown8119]

Tony was in Oliver Dawson band

[@terryjohnson5275]

One of my absolute favourite NWOBHM bands at the time - on a par for me with Saxon , Maiden and Diamond Head. I agree that The Cage was a few years too early, however at the time I loved it and love it still and though its at no 3 I rate my top 3 almost equally. Also agree that Wild Cat is spoiled by Jess Cox vocals. I actually got to see them with both Sykes and Cox in 1980 - the next night I saw Schenker so that was a great weekend for seeing brilliant guitarists. Also saw them with PUrser and Deverill at both Reading Rock and on tour and Purser was great, at te ime I then dodnt miss Sykes, and actually was pissed with him for jumping ship to join Lizzy. I agree with Rich in that Do It Good shouldnt have opened the album and at the time I wasnt that impressed with it but it has really grown on me over time - though one of the best tracks, Stormlands, wasnt on the album proper being released on a bonus 12 inch that came with it. They definitely came back to form with the last four though. And my bottom 3 are still good albums. 1 Crazy Nights 2 Spellbound 3 The Cage 4 Ritual 5 Tygers of pan tang 6 Ambush 7 Wild Cat 8 Wreck-Age 9 Animal Instinct 10 Noises from the Cat House 11 Mystical 12 Burning in the Shade

[@snagmansnagman4087]

Most of the NWOBHM bands that made it past 3 to 4 albums seemed to go through a more "commercial" peroid berore returning to a more metal sound in the last few years. Been listening a lot to the latest albums of Angel Witch, Diamond Head, Raven, Tygers, Cloven Hoof, Satan, Venom, Tokyo Blade and of course Saxon.

[@hecatecrossways2505]

Do It Good was obviously Tygers of Pantang's version of Scorpions - Make It Real ( which was also an album opener ) . There was a unique drum sound on Crazy Nights . I would not say Spellbound is a Heavier album , Crazy Nights has a crunchier guitar tone . The Vocals are more aggressive , and some faster songs on Spellbound . Spellbound also features Don't Stop By , The Story So Far , and Mirror , Mirror ( which oddly enough bares resemblance to the Def Leppard song from the same year ) which are all lighter weight than any of the songs featured on Crazy Nights . Crazy Nights has some Heavy songs such as Never Satisfied , Make A Stand , and Running Out of time . I would say that Spellbound has a wider variety of styles , but to me you have to own both to enjoy each of them more . When I first saw the Cage album cover I believed the album would be their Heaviest . The Cage is kind of a Foreigner style , but the Wreckage has a definite sugary Hair Metal vibe . Wreck - age reminds me of TNT - Intuition in the way they both sound like Christian AOR of the mid 1980s even though neither album was actually intending to capture that type of audience

[@747jono]

Awesome shirt Rich.

[@giles7662]

Incidentally, "Spaced Out Monkey" by Demon is the best hard rock/prog rock crossover album I can think of, and very overlooked.

[@anderswidercrantz9918]

Ihave them all on cd n. 1 Noises from the cathouse n. 2 Ritual n. 3 The cage , thats my top 3. thanks.

[@captainbeyond7469]

Fantastic episode. I’m still pushing for a King Diamond ranking the albums from you gentlemen. Would make for a very dark Sunday Brunch with Rich Pete and the King. lol

[@marknorman9657]

Oh Pete. Wildcat at #9? Each to their own, obviously, but it's a great album and the Tygers' best. Jess Cox captures the era perfectly!! 😉

[@seaoftranquilityprog]

Don't like his vocals at all, which drops the album a bit for me.

[@ozzyvaldez1265]

Favourite album the cage

[@MorryB]

Finally decided to give these guys a listen and between Crazy Nights and Spellbound, the latter is definitely the better one for me.

[@747jono]

Got that Majors and Minors on preorder great

[@ronbartkowiak3459]

I was out after you said Wild cat at number 9...lol

[@andywild9183]

For me this was the THE album, with Jess on vocals, I think they were truly distinctive. I saw them live on the Wild Cats tour with John Sykes on guitar. Was a great gig!