Ten

Ten is a record on which Y&T, keeping sturdy riffs and expressive singing, powerfully sounded the core of hard rock as their milestone tenth album. Dave Meniketti’s expressive vocals and guitar lead throughout, and the band’s language cultivated through the 1980s is presented with a settled maturity. Rather than chasing flashy trends, it carefully polishes the melodic hard rock they excel at. From the strength of the opening “Hard Times” and the catchiness of the flow-changing “Red, Hot & Ready” to the lyricism of the closing “Surrender,” the album carefully differentiates each song’s temperature and expression. Songs like “Don't Be Afraid of the Dark” and “Ten Lovers” breathe the band’s firm melodic sense too. Though it is spoken of less often than the career’s major works, it conveys the fullness of Y&T in the transition from the 1980s to the 1990s — a rewarding record.