Customer Reviews

Cage (Mini Lp Sleeve)

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This is the fourth studio release by the "Tygers of Pan Tang" originally released in 1982. Although their monumental album "Spellbound" (1981), which effectively defined the N.W.O.B.H.M. genre, is their career highlight, its follow up "The Cage" is just as historic and influential for a different reason:

This album is the first Glam Metal record of the 80s; the originator of a sound that was to be undertaken and developed by the likes of American powerhouses such as "Quiet Riot" "Motley Cure", "Ratt", "White Lion" etc.

Sound wise the album's choruses are sung "choir-like" in the style that was later to be recognized as poser vocals. The drum toms are synthesized to deliver that extremely huge sound while the guitars add standard rhythm parts topped by catchy melodies.

Time has shown that this album's biggest hit came to be the frenetic cover version of "love potion number 9" however the release features superior- metal wise- songs such as "Lonely at the top", "Paris by Air", "Danger in Paradise", and a masterpiece of a composition which is "The Actor"

If you are a fan of 80s US & Euro Glam metal, buy this and apart from the tremendous classics you will hear where it all begun.

The NWOBHM started as a grass-roots underground movement in 1979 with bands releasing music on their own, often with little thought of financial return, and was chiefly inspired by the D.I.Y. punk movement that exploded in England only a couple years prior. Any underground music movement is only as strong as the bands it consists of and tends to stagnate once oversaturation and lack of creative drive set in among said bands.

The NWOBHM seemed to peak around 1981, and one of its key players was Whitley Bay's Tygers of Pan Tang, who were going so strong in '81 that they managed to release two classic LPs during the course of that one year, April's "Spellbound" and November's "Crazy Nights," both of which forever cemented their reputation as one of the brightest stars the NWOBHM had to offer.

After enjoying success like this at an underground level, it's only natural that the band would want to branch out and take it as far as they could go and make an attempt at more commercial acclaim.

Perhaps another reason for the change in direction on the Tygers' part was the departure of second guitarist John Sykes, who became a hired gun for Thin Lizzy and later Whitesnake. Indeed, it was Sykes' influence that contributed to some of the faster, rawer sounds on the two aforementioned 1981 sets, as compared to the more dirty (but still classic) pub rock found on the 1980 debut "Wild Cat."

The band would prove to soldier on though, enlisting Fred Purser of the UK punk outfit Penetration as second guitarist, and in March and April of 1982 recorded their fourth LP in just two years, "The Cage." Tracks from this session were released as singles throughout the months that would follow, before MCA issued the LP proper in August '82.

I'll admit that with this more commercial sound it took me (a huge fan of the earlier Tygers LPs) a little while to warm up to "The Cage," but I can attest that great rewards await those heavy metal diehards who give this album a chance. On first listen it sounds a little banal compared to the earlier material, but with repeated airings the soulful harmonies of vocalist Jon Deverill and the still highwire riffs of guitarist Robb Weir and the aforementioned Purser ingrain themselves in the listener's consciousness. I've lived with this album for a good month or so and now can't get enough of it. Tracks like "Letter From L.A.," "Paris By Air," and "Danger In Paradise" are absolutely stellar hard rock numbers. The public at large seemed to take notice at the time, as "The Cage" peaked at no. 13 on the UK national charts, making it the Tygers' most commercially successful album of their career. It's unfortunate that the band didn't outlast this brief period of success though, as they would disband before the close of 1982.

All Tygers of Pan Tang is noteworthy music that deserves to be heard by more, yet at the time of this writing the CDs remain hard to find and expensive here in North America, though they seem to be more readily available in Europe.

The date on my CD says 2006, so it's good to see that this music is still being pressed by someone, especially since there was a time in the '90s when Tygers of Pan Tang CDs were available in Japan only and one had to pay ridiculous import prices on this side of the Atlantic to obtain a copy.

These current releases on Metal Nation are all stellar examples of how to reissue an album, each containing all original artwork and photos from the original releases, bonus B-side tracks taken from the original singles and even a helpful Tygers discography. All well worth the extra money you will likely spend on them.

But whether you can find or afford the CDs or are still jamming out to the original vinyl, the Tygers' early work remains some of the best NWOBHM you are ever likely to hear. Highly recommended.

I knew of the Tygers Of Pan Tang in the 80s but never got any of their albums until the 90s. I was not very impressed by their first few albums except for tracks like Gangland and Do It Good. The NWOBHM produced some great bands and classic albums but also a lot of overrated junk. I'm sure die-hard TOPT fans will disagree with me, but I think this is their most solid effort. The songs are more commercial but very catchy. Rendevous, Letters From L.A, and Paris By Air all have great choruses. Their version of Love Potion # 9 is simply smoking! I can't think of any cover song that blew away the original version so much. And the orignal version isn't bad.

Tygers of Pan Tang was one of the more noteworthy (and yet highly underappreciated) acts from the legendary New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) scene. With their hard charging, melodic style, Tygers of Pan Tang leaned more towards the Diamond Head end of the NWOBHM spectrum. In today's music scene, they probably wouldn't qualify as a "metal" band, but at the time they were a vital part of a scene that helped define the heavy metal sound.

There were big changes in store with the band's 1982 album The Cage (their fourth album in just three years). Guitarist John Sykes moved on to bigger and better things (namely Thin Lizzy and later Whitesnake), which had an obvious impact on the band's sound. Producer Pete Collins also made his mark, shifting the band's sound away from their early, Saxon/Diamond Head sound and towards more radio friendly melodic rock. Metal purists weren't happy with the change, but it did bring the band the only significant mainstream exposure of their career. For my part, I think The Cage is an outstanding album. I have no problem at all with the mid 80's melodic rock sound, and these erstwhile NWOBHM bands (like Bronz, Nightwing, Heavy Pettin' and Tobruk) seemed to adapt really well to it. It's definitely not as gritty and dangerous as Wild Cat or Crazy Nights, but it's still a rocking album, keyboards and all.

Love it or hate it (and like the first Tygers album there doesn't seem to be any middle ground), The Cage is an important album in the band's history, and one that serious NWOBHM fans should check out.

NOTE: The Metal Nation reissue of the Cage includes four bonus tracks. Three of the songs - Life of Crime, Love's A Lie, and What You Sayin' - were b-sides to the singles that were released from this album. The fourth is an extended mix of Making Tracks. The Tygers back catalog seems to go in and out of print with some regularity. If you can't find this album for a reasonable price at the moment, you may want to give it some time and see if it comes around again.

Not the original "rough and tumble" Tygers. This was an '80s revamp album. That's when I got it the first time. I bought it this time out of nostalgia. If you're looking for the hard-edged Tygers, this is not what you are looking for. I like it for nostalgic reasons.

I don't know what that other reviewer is thinking.This is a dam good album.If you like 80's metal,this is a good find. Don't pay over 17 dollars for it though. John Sykes is no longer on guitar for this album,but it still rocks.This is what would be considered a more commerical release than their previous efforts,but don't let that fool you this album rocks!

1.Rendezvous(9/10)This song is just pure fun.

2.Lonely at the top(8/10)Another solid song that has some good guitar work.

3.Letter from L.A.(6/10)This song's alright,but sounds a tad weak!

4.Paris by Air(10/10)This song is excellent.The guitar work is catchy!

5.Tides(7/10)Solid track.

6.Making Tracks(6/10)Didn't care too much for this one!

7.The Cage(Instrumental)(5/10)Nothing Special.

8.Love Potion Number 9(10/10)This song rocks!

9.You Always see(7/10)Good song with crunching riffs.

10.Danger in Paradise(9/10)This track is a very cool rocker!

11.The Actor(10/10)Slower song for the most part,but listen to that guitar solo in the middle! This song is great.

12.Life of Crime(Bonus Track)(10/10)Kicks some major a## this one!

13.Love's a Lie(Bonus TRack)(7/10)Not the best.

14.What You Sayin(Bonus track)(8/10)Cool song.

15.Making Tracks(Remix)(Bonus Track)(6/10)Not bad!

Overall if you find this for under 20 dollars pick it up.Any 80's fan should be interested in this one.

Also check out Spellbound and Crazy Nights.Those are the best Tygers albums.The Wreck Age, is pretty good to if you are a die hard 80's fan!

THE CAGE is another sad example of a potentially good band going to oblivion due to record company pressure and bad decisions. In this 1983 album, producer Peter Collins led the band to record a dreadful commercial album full of love lyrics and a slick sound close to hair metal. The result was familiar: they lost the old fans and managed to gain few new ones...

This album is so bad, that you can not believe it is the same band that recorded "WILD CAT" only three years ago.