From My Collection #77: Y&T – Earthshaker

Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. Happy belated birthday to Y&T founder Dave Meniketti! Yesterday, the hard and heavy icon turned 70. What better way to commemorate this milestone than with a From My Collection entry? Going into this essay, it was hard to pick which Y&T album I wanted to explore. I’m of the persuasion that there isn’t a bad album in their ranks, and will even champion the Bon Jovi inspired Contagious until the day I die. That said, today we go back in time to ’81 and revisit arguably the most important American metal album of the year alongside Riot’s Fire Down Under, Earthshaker. If you’re “Hungry for Rock”, prepare for a 10 course meal of it.

Despite being most associated with the ’80s, the Y&T story goes back much further to the ’70s. The band got their start in 1972 as a cover act, before pursuing their own material in 1974. Their original moniker was Yesterday and Today, named after the 1966 Beatles album of the same title. As Yesterday and Today, the band played live all over California and subsequently scored a record deal with London. This resulted in two albums: Yesterday and Today (1976) and Struck Down (1978). While both albums are hard to find on physical format today, they’re worth pursuing as they embody metal’s transitional mid ’70s period between its early ’70s origins and subsequent NWOBHM boom.

It was upon the release of Struck Down that the burgeoning Yesterday and Today were dealt the terrible news that London would be phasing out rock music completely. Considering Van Halen’s self titled debut was the hottest thing since sliced bread at the time, this was one of the dumbest moves in music history, but I digress. The move left Yesterday and Today, one of the hottest live draws of their scene, without a record deal and its accompanying support. They’d remain in limbo for the better part of a couple years before finally inking a deal with A&M Records in 1980.

A lot had changed for heavy metal and in turn Yesterday and Today in just a few short years. The NWOBHM was in full swing, producing bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon, Girlschool, Tygers of Pan Tang, and more, all vying to break ground in the States. This evolution would show in Yesterday and Today’s new and improved sound, shedding nearly all ’70s influences by now, and name: Abbreviated for simplicity’s sake as Y&T. It was short and punchy, something the kids could chant when demanding an encore. And boy would they be screaming for more when treated to their first offering under this moniker, Earthshaker.

Upon dropping the needle on Earthshaker, we’re treated to a no frills metal anthem in “Hungry for Rock”. With its muscular riffing, unforgettable chorus, and all around energetic delivery, American headbangers were pleased to have a “new” band join the exclusive ranks of Riot and The Rods. Meanwhile, English headbangers exclaimed, “It’s about time the Yanks caught up with us!” It’s no surprise Earthshaker would become a favorite amongst the NWOBHM scene and Y&T, American as they were, would be adopted as one of England’s own.

Following “Hungry for Rock” is a cut that would go onto become one of Y&T’s signature songs for good reason, “Dirty Girl”. Back in the early ’80s, being a metal band who sounded like “X, Y, and Z” didn’t get you too far. You had to build your own identity and offer something that set you aside from the pack. In Y&T’s case, it was Meniketti’s affection for soulful vocals, bluesy guitar licks, and undeniable swagger, all delivered within a traditional metal framework. This is exactly what we get on “Dirty Girl”: A sleazy, sultry hymn that quickly became the envy of the California metal scene. 40+ years later and those grooves are still untouchable.

The hard-driving upbeat attack of “Shake It Loose” cranks up the heaviness, but with a strong sense of melody, which would become another staple of the Y&T song. It’s heavy enough to headbang to, groovy enough to dance to, and hooky enough to stay in stuck in your head for days on end. Put all these factors together and you’ve got pure heavy magic. That said, this aforementioned accessibility goes straight out the window on the raucous “Squeeze”. Sung by bassist Phil Kennemore, the rock n’ roll on crank delivery of this rager recalls the gonzoid stylyings of Motörhead and Raven. It’s no wonder “Squeeze” remains a staple of Y&T’s live shows to this day.

Side A closes with the epic ballad, “Rescue Me”. Their greatest display of superior songwriting and untouchable musicianship up until this point, “Rescue Me” is everything that a metal ballad should be: A true and powerful display of raw emotion, yet without sacrificing heaviness. The acoustic buildup into the meat and potatoes of the song gives goosebumps to this day. Meniketti’s vocals and guitars are an absolute tour de force, as is the rest of the band’s performances for that matter. In my Top 10: Y&T Songs list, I described “Rescue Me” as “if Johnny Winter penned a NWOBHM inspired ballad”. My description still stands.

As we flip over to side B, we’re hit over the head by the aptly titled “Young and Tough”. Everything about this song, from the riffs and lyrics, to the chorus and driving beat, screams UFO in all its simplistic metallic glory. Funny enough, I recently compared Riot’s “Hot for Love” to UFO as well. Perhaps I should start a playlist entitled “The Best UFO Songs That Never Were”? The rip roaring “Hurricane” keeps the heaviness up, pummeling the listener with unrelenting riffage and explosive drumming, the latter courtesy of Leonard Haze. If this had been released as a single with the aforementioned “Squeeze” as a flip side, the good folks at the Metal Archives would likely confuse it for a NWOBHM obscurity.

The catchy “Let Me Go” can be filed alongside “Shake It Lose” in the melodic metal category, albeit being even more accessible. There’s something about the arrangement and structure of this song that remind me of AOR bands of the era like Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, and Survivor with a metallic twist. Even stranger is that it was never released as a single, despite having “hit single” written all over it. Whatever AOR tendencies there are on Earthshaker are quickly dashed by the unrelenting steel of “Knock You Out”. Meniketti tears up a storm with face-melting solos and fist-pumping riffs, bring the rest of the band along for a hell of a ride.

Closing it all out is one more power ballad (extra emphasis on the word “power”, mind you), “I Believe in You”. The most ’70s flavored song on this undisputedly ’80s outing, “I Believe in You” was one of those songs MADE for the stage. It stands on its own as a studio song, sure. However, when played live, Meniketti is given room to stretch this lengthy suite out 15-20 minutes, pouring his heart and soul into every vocal line sung and guitar note played. Even at 7+ minutes on the album, one can’t help but recall gods like Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple when cranking this one. “I Believe in You” is absolutely of the same caliber as these bands’ finest work and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.

Although Earthshaker didn’t accomplish much commercially stateside, it did establish Y&T as a driving force of the American metal scene and opened doors for them globally, especially in the UK and Japan. Subsequent albums would perform even better, eventually leading to Y&T donning the makeup and hairspray look come the mid ’80s to much success. While Meniketti remains the sole surviving member of the classic Y&T lineup, the band lives on today, tearing up clubs all across the globe with one of the most energetic, high volume, over the top metal shows you’ll see in your life. Indeed, the earth still shakes to the sound of Y&T.